Welcoming in the new Year

Puerto Rican New Year's tradition:  Fireworks & Firearms.  12 midnight - BOOM BOOM BOOM.  Stay weeeeeeeeeeell inside your house.

Commentary from the family!

Thoughts on the day:

• Mary:  We had a wonderful day at the rainforest and beach with family.  I'm happy because I finally got my pina colada!
• Dad:  Katie is too close to other cars on the mountain roads. It's scary!! She's a good driver, but you don't even have two feet on each side of you when you're driving down the road!
• Rick:  I'm packing.
• Katie:  Adjusting from living alone to having 5 people in my apartment gets stressful... but I'm sure glad everyone is here for Christmas!

Thoughts on Katie's Spanish:

• Mary: Crazy good.  She could be a translator anywhere.
• Dad:  Excelento  (hahaha,  I can only trust she's saying the right stuff!)
• Becky:  You can translate while other people are talking to you, that impresses me.
• Katie: Never good enough. (PS: Dad, it's excelente)

Thoughts on  Puerto Rico food:

• Mary: Most of it is great, but I don't like those sweet plantains.
• Roger: I like it a lot, it's all flavorful.  There wasn't anything I didn't like.  Had a great meal tonight - thanks Nana!
• Becky: Yum,  Trifongo. It all felt light, even the fried stuff didn't feel greasy.
• Rick: The desert stuff was great.  Pollo Tropical!
• Katie: Pleeeease remove me from deep fried everything and  take me back to the world of cheap and healthy produce!

Thoughts on Puerto Rican Driving:

• Mary:  You take your life  in  your hand every time you get in the car.
• Roger: No blinkers. 
• Becky: Everything's  optional - operational street lights, street signs, lines on the road, one direction roads.
• Rick: It seems natural - just go with the flow (...even if the flow is making a left hand turn from the right lane on a red  arrow)

Water FALL

Yesterday I was adventuring the north shore w/ mi hermano y cunada (my brother and my sister-in-law).  We hiked into a hidden cave, listened to the bats squeaking above us, took pictures, and agreed that it would be an insanely awesome childhood fort.  Later in the day we hit the beach, walked up on the lava and watched the waves crash into the shore, avoided hitting a humongous truck that was driving in our lane, honked the horn around every corner of the one lane/two directional switchback road up and down the mountains, and agreed that some days  are just not meant to be experienced  with parents.

Why no parents?? Because I fell off of a waterfall.  A high waterfall. First I jumped, that was excellent.  Then I went up to do it again so we could get good  pictures...  and I overstepped the "push off here" point and slipped on the stone.  **Life flashes before eyes**  Yes, Becky got pictures. No you don't get to see the scary ones.

Funny things you see on the PR highway

In No Particular Order: 

1. Volvo with dangling headlight (...yeah...that's my car we're talking about)
2. Car being towed down the highway, tied behind a different car with just a little yellow rope!
3. Flooding!
4. Fruit stands that sell coco frio
5. Random  horses and chickens (but sometimes those cross the road... no idea why!)
6. Nothing (as in no lines, no street lights, NO way to spot the pot holes!)
7. Street people asking for chavo aka $$$$$$
8. Cars parked  on the side of the road facing the "right" way... and the other way... intermitently
9. Road signs in Spanish a few miles away from road signs in English (Transito = One Way)
10. Stranded people with flat tires (ok, not so funny...I've been there).

Hi all!

This is the "other" Katie and Krafty, as we call her in my family, has asked me to write a blurb for her blog on our last few days in Puerto Rico!  She described PR as a sloppy mix of Latin America and the United States, and I definitely agree, but I also saw quite a few similarities with my favorite country for travel- Ireland.  Some examples: two way roads that are only wide enough for one car, unmarked roads the GPS names "road" that are essential to get places, signs warning you to watch for loose cattle, and amazing green everywhere, a different kind of green, but still green.

We had a great time on our stay, the first day we did a rock climbing/rapelling/ziplining day trip into the mountains south of Caguas, had an awesome time and we were so wet from climbing up the river we didn't notice the scattered rain.  The second day we did a road trip to the west of San Juan with several stops I won't go into details on, all of them beautiful. At night we drove through the Christmas lights in Old San Juan.  And today we started the day with the Bacardi tour- come on what better way is there to start your day? Which was fun and pretty much what we expected.  We also went hiking in the el Yunque rainforest, had dinner at Sizzler (silly and fun, haven't eaten there since I was a kid) and ended the day with a boat tour of the biobay.

In the morning we fly out so I am going to go crash for the night, hopefully this was entertaining for all of you to read!

Safe Travels Everyone!

-"other" Katie

X-mas Prep - Food & Fiesta

San Juan Christmas started in October... before Halloween!  There were fake trees being put up and decoarations then, and there is a LOT more now.   It's funny to see pine trees in the Caribbean, but they import them and decorate just like we do!  Last weekend I went to the KC Christmas party, complete with 12 person Merengue band (somebody hates me... maybe it was a salsa band?!? I'm clueless), Lechon (roast pig), fancy dresses and dancing.  It was a cool night to hang out with people from work.

Traditional Puerto Rico Christmas Foods (Thanks WIkipedia!)

•  arroz con dulce - coconut rice pudding with spices and raisins.

• arroz con gandules - yellow-rice and pigeon peas with olives, capers, and pieces of ham.
• coquito - Puerto Rican spiced coconut eggnog.
• majarete - rice and coconut custard, made of coconut milk, milk, rice flour, sugar, and vanilla or sour orange leaves with cinnamon served on top.
• dulce de papaya con queso Boricua - spiced papaya paste with Puerto Rican white cheese, sharp cheddar, manchego, and/or gouda on a soda cracker.
• guineitos en escabeche - boiled green bananas in Puerto Rican style escabeche.
• pasteles
• pasteles de guineo
• pasteles de yucca
• pastelón - sweet plantain "lasagna" smiler to pionono.
• pig roast
• potato salad - made with chorizo and hard-boiled eggs.
• tembleque - a pudding made with coconut milk.

Goofy Girly Dreams

I bought six new pairs of shoes (three pair with ridiculously high heels).
I devoured pancakes with real WI maplesyrup at 1am
I  cried over the book I just finished.

I try to be tough and  independent, but the girly side is ALWAYS there butting in!!!  I decided to try to embrace  it for a while and see where that leads me.  Brace  yourself.