In which Roz and Layla up the adventure quotient of their Caribbean vacation

By Roz

We arrived in St.-Martin after a very choppy ferry ride and found ourselves in a cute port with lots of French cafes etc. I might have cast a longing gaze towards them (not least because of a somewhat menacing looking sky) but Layla was having none of such tame plan and hailed us a cab. We were off in pursuit of a Tripadvisor promise of horse-riding! We arrived at the 'nature park', which entailed going through a dodgy looking industrial park, and I certainly had some doubts. But the woman who greeted us did so very cheerily (if with a certain amount of amusement that we had brought suitcases in odd contrast to their usual cruise clientele) and soon we were booked to go out on a ride at noon. This left us with an hour to spend sipping drinks overlooking the sea and reading our books. But our books got somewhat scant attention as we both enjoyed seeing other groups going out into the sea on their horses... Soon enough it was time for our ride, and our very sweet guide laughed at us for our semi-genuine nerves. Our nerves turned out to be not unfounded, given that Layla had a horse with an enthusiasm for rolling in the sand and mine an enthusiasm for nipping the other's bottom. Notwithstanding these terrors, we had a very cheery ride along trails in the countryside passing cacti and suchlike. The ride concluded with an expedition into the sea, and although neither horse absolutely swum, it was very cool indeed to be up to our chests in the water on horseback. 

From there (having changed) we taxied to the airport and got on board our plane to San Juan, Puerto Rico. As long-standing readers of this blog will know we came here not long after moving to the US so we had worked quite hard in advance to come up with some plans to entertain us during the last part of our holiday that we hadn't already done on our previous trip (successfully, as you will soon see). But it was very cheery to land in San Juan and be back on the cobbled streets and - on this occasion - staying in a small apartment in the heart of the old town. Having dumped our stuff and acquired a few supplies to ensure breakfast for the next two days, we went down to a bar we remembered from last time, ahead of the main event of the evening - dinner in Marmalade. Last time we went it was one of the best meals I've had, and this occasion proved similarly delightful with a four course vegetarian tasting menu (with wine pairing for me). We had beets, and beautifully fragrant gnocchi and fancy mac'n'cheese and felt very cheery to be there. 

We didn't stay up too late that night, though, since the next morning was a very early start. Up before 6 we emerged from our apartment at 6.30 to find a hipster bearded man (our guide for the day) waiting in his pick-up truck. He cheerily greeted us , inspected our shoes to ensure that they would be hard core enough for the day, and then we set off on a 90 minute drive towards the middle of the country and our destination - the Arecibo Observatory. This is the world's largest single-aperture radio telescope and our plan was to go on a giant hike around it. Our guide was very cheery - it turned out that he runs the tour company as a part-time thing and spends the rest of his time working for the US Department of Agriculture as an environmental planner. This meant he had huge enthusiasm for showing us bits of nature (which we were enthusiastic about because of his enthusiasm if you know what I mean). He handed us a couple of life jackets and hard hats (for a hike?) and then we set off. We began with a steep uphill hike giving us a perfect view of the telescope. It was huge - much bigger than I imagined - and it was fun to imagine all the researchers working there, in what seemed like the middle of nowhere. After a bit more hiking in the downwards direction, we found ourselves at a river which circles most of the telescope. And then our guide walked right into it. Thus commenced an energetic, hair-raising but jolly time rock climbing, wading and floating down the river, including through three giant, black, bat-filled caves through which the river ran. We saw nobody else all day, as we traversed miles of glorious forest, stalactite-encrusted walls, and crystal clear gushing water. It felt a little as though we were in a Disney film since it was so lovely and so deserted with beautiful water, little waterfalls and such like - almost cartoonish in its perfection. We slid and clambered and - on one occasion - used the rocks as a big slide into the water (which was simultaneously delightful and terrifying). We declined the high leaps into the water below... After we'd gone several miles, and had a small picnic outside the last bat cave,

 our guide left the water and point to a small piece of red rope, and told us that we just needed to hop up that to get back on to the path. At first I thought he was joking. Then I thought it was impossible. But yoga seems to have given me slightly more arm strength than I knew, and so I hopped. As did Layla, leaving me thinking that her recent gym excursions have not been in vain. We then continued hiking - though being wet from top to tail made this a bit less fun than it was at first. And then, we were back in sight line of the telescope and could even hear signs of other human life. Eventually we got back to the pick-up truck, changed and consumed a vast number of grapes and pita chips with great enthusiasm. And then we headed home to San Juan...

Having showered and de-rivered more generally, we went out for a (slow) wander along the river, stopping for a beer with a sea view and contemplated the cruise ships with interest and trepidation (ahead of our own trip to the UK on the Queen Mary in August). And then, dinner. We found a lovely place, Verde Mesa, with lots of vegetarian food which was really interestingly done. San Juan has such good food. And if brussels sprouts aren't terribly Puerto Rican they are certainly both delicious and very American. So I didn't feel that ashamed. We then went for a wander through the streets - which feel very old Europe if you know what I mean - and stumbled across a movie being shot which we watched for a bit before heading home to read - and then sleep. 

Next morning we had a long lie - by which I mean we got up at 8.15 - and then got our stuff ready for an insane weekend expedition into the mountains. Then we went out for a wander by the old fortress by the water, and  then had a coffee and a contemplation of where we should buy a property in London (a seemingly never ending debate). And then lunch in a cute nearby cafe and then coffee (and finally wifi to post our last blog) ahead of meeting a man called Juan Carlos in a nearby square. And who is Juan Carlos and why are we meeting him, you ask?! Good questions which I shall leave Layla to answer in our next blog. But he is our companion for the weekend and we have high levels of confidence in him despite knowing very little about him because he used to work in Arlington Public Library. Logical indeed.