Honeymoon Recap: Day 5- Old San Juan

One of my New Year's resolutions is to finish my honeymoon recaps before our one-year anniversary! :)

We awoke to another GORGEOUS day on our last morning in Naguabo at Casa Flamboyant. 

 A girl could get used to having breakfast with a view like this...

 As we waited for breakfast, we sipped coffee and hot tea and made contributions to the traveler's journal we found in our room. It was so nice to read the experiences of the visitors  before us and leave a note for our wonderful hostess, Shirley!

 We did our best to soak in every last ounce of the absolutely stunning scenery.

 We spent some quality time with the resident pups too- Soma is shown here- I don't know where Blackie was hiding!

 Another perfect breakfast- chicken sausage, egg and potato scramble and multigrain toast. I wish I could take Shirley home with me! :)

On our way back to San Juan we swung by the Luquillo kioskos again for lunch and a quick swim.

 I enjoyed some of this homemade hot sauce on our empanadas from kiosko 52. 

The bathroom costs $0.50 if you're not a customer... In case you were curious...

This picture was taken immediately pre-meltdown ( I got a little overheated)... the frosty smoothie helped a bit!

We dropped off our rental car and promptly sniffed out the nearest cafe with wifi. 

Iced coffee and internet connection... yes, I am addicted.

We arrived at the Gallery Inn to discover that we had been bumped up from the cheapest room in the hotel to the top floor Ocean Room- the nicest room in the house- at no extra charge! AMAZING!

The view from our private verandah.

The Gallery Inn is essentially the Puerto Rican Clue Mansion. I can best describe it as a well-lived in museum. It's truly unlike anything anywhere else ever. All the doors are unlocked (unless someone's occupying a room) and you're encouraged to explore. 

Secret stairways!

Hidden piano rooms!

Open air passageways and dining rooms!

And then there's the birds. 

Jan D'Esopo, the extraordinarily talented matriarch of the Gallery Inn and mastermind behind nearly all of it's gorgeous artwork, taught Joe the secret to keeping the birds in line. 

 Super soakers. 

 I made friends with the particularly sassy Campeche.

 Joe tried, but Campeche seemed suspicious.

The canopy by the pool. I could lay here forever.

We headed out for a quick stroll before dinner and watched the sun set over the ocean. 

Following TripAdvisor recommendations, we headed to Marmalade for our 'splurge dinner'. Aside from the fact that I'm a student and we're a young couple without a ton of money to spend, Joe and I generally prefer low-key budget travel, getting off the tourist track and eating where the locals eat, but we promised ourselves one fancy-pants dinner on our trip. 

Marmalade did not disappoint. Literally EVERYTHING that we put in our mouths was perfection- the highlight being the White Bean Soup with Truffle Oil. Sweet. Baby. Dinosaur. Perfection.

TIPS FROM DAY 5:

-If you're on your honeymoon, TELL PEOPLE. It got us an incredible upgrade at no cost. 

-Figure out what's important to you and prioritize. Like to spend big on fancy dinners? Keep your accommodations cheap. Like to stay at fancy hotels? Look for free attractions and activities to offset the cost.

In case you missed them, here are my other Puerto Rico Recaps:
Day 1: Luquillo and Naguabo
Day 2: Hiking in El Yunque and Condado
Day 3: Caving Near Lares and Arecibo
Day 4: Fajardo and Vieques

Recap- Honeymoon Day 3:

Up with the rainforest, bright and early again! :)

The fruit plates Shirley at Casa Flamboyant puts together are simple and divine. The freshest, most perfect local fruit on the planet. Ahhh....

She also makes some ridiculously delicious breakfasts. A ham and broccoli quiche and a tomato jalapeno quiche. :)

We had intentions of visiting the Rio Camuy Caves, but when we arrived around 11a, the park was completely full- we were told to come back later, but when we returned, there was a line of cars waiting to get in.... Not our scene. So we hopped over to Lares to snag some fancy ice cream!

They boast over 120 flavors! I got arroz con dulce (sweet rice) and maiz (corn).  Joe got sweet potato and pumpkin! :)

In our research we had learned of a nearby DIY cave (without guides or parking lots or entrance fees) called Cueva Ventana and decided to check it out, since Rio Camuy was so jam-packed. Boy are we glad we did! We parked in a nearby Texaco station parking lot and hoofed it on the nearby foot trail. There was a decent incline for the first 15-20 minutes of the walk, and some gorgeous vegetation! 

Wild lantana! Beautiful!  

About 30 mins in, we came across the entrance to the cave. Yep- my husband carries my pink backpack. That's love.

This cave is DARK. As in, DO NOT enter without a flashlight-dark. We were prepared with our headlamps and offered to share our light with a few unprepared hikers. There are a few large chambers with small side rooms upon immediate entrance. It takes a bit of poking around to figure out which way to go. Eventually, we saw a light in the distance, and when we got closer, we realized it was the ventana (window).

This cave opens up onto the side of a mountain overlooking a valley and river. A. MAZING.

Not for the faint of heart- Joe went down to get a closer look.

It's kind of hard NOT to do a SuperWoman pose- it's like being on top of the world!

We headed back to the entrance but noticed another cave entrance and decided to scope that one out, too!

This one was a bit more intense...

We made it out in one piece (the hole in the roots behind us was the exit from the cave- would YOU go in there?) :o

We were STARVING after all that hiking, so we splashed around a bit on the beach at Arecibo and then went to Salitre for dinner. 

The view from the back patio. Stunning.

I got baked something (MahiMahi? Kingfish?) with yuca fries and a tamarind sauce.

Joe got baked something else (a white fish) with a Caribbean mash (yuca, sweet potato...) and a mango sauce. 

 The food was great, paired with what was probably the most amazing sunset I've ever seen...

Perfection.

Tips from Day 3:

-DO YOUR RESEARCH! We found www.puertoricodaytrips.com to be extremely helpful!

-Have a backup plan, or a GPS!