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Snapshot of San Juan: The Nispero Tree

Gray Cargill — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:02:39 +0000

One of my favorite features of El Convento is its interior courtyard. During my recent stay, it served as a constant reminder that I was in Puerto Rico–or at least a much warmer climate than Vermont. Every time I walked to the balcony railing to gaze upon the courtyard, my glasses steamed up. At times humid, at times cooled by a slight breeze, you could find sun in the courtyard or sit in the shade and enjoy the soothing, piped-in music playing in the background. It was an oasis in the busy city.

The centerpiece of the courtyard is a very old and large nispero tree, which bears a small, round, fruit. There is something appealing about an old large tree growing in the center of a hotel courtyard. It adds character. (As if El Convento needed any more character than it already has.)

Nispero Tree in El Convento Courtyard

One night, I sat in one of the cozy seating areas in the open hallway, enjoying the night air, and heard a persistent squeaking sound and felt a whoosh of air as something flew by my head. Then a second missile flew past. I could hear the whirring of wings. They were bats, drawn by the tree–or, more specifically, the tree’s small, round, golden-colored fruit. There might have been a day when this would freak me out (I mean, EEK! BATS!), but after seeing countless news items on TV about this white-nose fungus that’s been killing off bats by the millions in the northeast US, I have come to appreciate the role of the bat in our fragile ecosystem. I was more than happy to share the nispero tree with them, so long as they ate bugs as well as fruit.

My friend Osvaldo Soler, Reservations Manager at the hotel, told me that years ago, when the new gardener arrived at the hotel, the tree was dying. She lovingly revived it and now it thrives, almost as tall as the hotel itself. In fact, if you stand on the fifth floor, you could reach out and pick some fruit from it. I’m not sure how edible it is, though, or what it tastes like, so do so at your own risk. Me, I’d prefer to sit in its shade with a cool drink, a good book, and some soothing music playing in the background.

Note: I was a guest at El Convento at a discount media rate in January 2010.

El Convento: Luxury for the Solo Traveler

Gray Cargill — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:58:03 +0000

El Convento

Anyone who says that to have a luxury hotel experience, you must sacrifice character, history, and culture hasn’t stayed at El Convento. This boutique luxury hotel, located on Calle Cristo in the heart of Old San Juan, is one of the city’s oldest structures. Founded in 1651, it served as a convent for 250 years. The convent’s closing in 1903 ushered in several decades of a colorful, but sad, history: After laying abandoned for years, it was rented out as a retail store, a dance hall, a flophouse, and a parking garage for garbage trucks. Today, it has been restored to its historic glory. You can easily picture what the convent might have been like in its heyday, with the open hallways, interior courtyard and Spanish arches everywhere. It has, over the past decade, earned a reputation as being the creme-de-la-creme of San Juan hotels. For the solo traveler on a large budget, it is my recommendation as the place to stay in San Juan.

El Convento Foyer

Beware: If you stay here, you might be tempted never to leave the hotel. But that would be a shame, because it is ideally located in Old San Juan, across the street from the Cathedral of San Juan Bautista and within walking distance of the lovely Paseo de Princessa along the water and historic sites such as Forts El Morro and San Cristobal. Spend the day wandering the cobblestone streets of Old San Juan, admiring the Spanish colonial architecture and soaking up the history and culture of this port city. When you return to the hotel, you will feel as though you are living in the past–but with all the luxuries and amenities of the present.

Sitting Area off the Lobby

The public rooms are adorned with exquisite tapestries, antique furniture, and marble floors. Your room key is no plastic key card, but a real key on a heavy metal key chain engraved with an image of the hotel. There are keyed gates separating the public areas (restaurants, function rooms, and courtyard) from the hallways to the rooms–which should make all guests feel secure, but especially the solo female traveler.

Keyed Gate Between Public and Private Areas

The rooms are tastefully decorated–rich upholstery, wrought-iron lamps, a settee at the foot of the bed, thick area rug, and Andalusian floor tiles in a terra cotta color. The high ceilings feature mahogany beams, and my room had a recessed archway. The bathrooms are small, but attractive and clean, and perfectly sized for the solo traveler. Turn-down service is provided.

Narrow glass shelf in bathroom for your toiletries

The rooms have the expected amenities such as in-room safe, coffee maker, refrigerator, flat panel TV, and air conditioning (though some instructions on how to adjust it would be welcome). Do you like to sleep in on vacation? No problem. The beds are comfortable and come with lots of thick pillows. And nine a.m. will look like midnight as long as the floor-to-ceiling drapes and window shutters are drawn closed.

Room 210

The room also has a soundproof interior door which was put to the test my first night there. A loud band played at the front of the hotel for the San Sebastian Street Festival and could be heard all the way to my room. But when I closed the soundproof door, I could only faintly hear the bass. I loved this door. I wish all hotels would install them.

Soundproof Interior Room Door

Every morning I would draw open the shutters, and enjoy the view of a tiny back street that served as a constant reminder that I was in beautiful Old San Juan.

Charming view from Room 210 at the El Convento

If you don’t feel like venturing out for your meals, the hotel has some restaurants on-site serving traditional Puerto Rican cuisine. I can recommend El Picoteo tapas bar for mojitos and a light dinner overlooking the courtyard, and Patio del Nispero for a scrumptious courtyard breakfast. An honors bar on the third floor offers free coffee if you prefer a liquid breakfast.

Outside Entrance to El Picoteo

El Convento has all the facilities of a luxury hotel, including a spa, fitness facility (with brand new equipment and flooring), a business center with internet access, and a fourth floor plunge pool and jacuzzi. You don’t have to miss out on the Puerto Rican beach experience, either: They have an arrangement with two sister hotels (one in Condado and one in Isla Verde) for guests who want to spend the day at the beach.

El Convento Plunge Pool

I found one of the most delightful features to be the fifth floor patio. You can lounge in the sun and read in this quiet refuge, surrounded by the hotel’s herb and vegetable garden. You might even see one of the chefs come out to collect ingredients for that night’s dinner.

Baby chili peppers are among the vegetables grown on the fifth floor

Daily between 6 and 7pm, the hotel hosts a wine and cheese reception on La Veranda Terrace on the third floor. This offers an opportunity to mingle with the manager and other hotel guests, or simply grab a bite to eat before heading out for the evening. I enjoyed relaxing over a glass of wine and chatting with some other guests as we watched the sun go down. I could not imagine a more perfect ending to a day in San Juan.

What I loved the most, aside from the luxury and rich character of the hotel, was the warmth of the staff to this solo traveler. Everyone I came in contact with smiled readily and was friendly and eager to be of help. The bilingual front desk staff (who double as concierge) were especially knowledgeable and patient with my questions. When I asked for a recommendation of a restaurant in Old San Juan with live entertainment, they booked a dinner reservation for me at Carli’s Cafe Concierto, a lovely restaurant with live jazz piano (which turned out to be a great choice).

I’ve stayed at four- and five-star hotels many times before, and while the staffs of those hotels were always professional, they sometimes lacked the warmth and familiarity of, say, the staff at a small B&B. El Convento strives to maintain that “small hotel” feel, and it succeeds. One of my fellow guests summed it up perfectly: “It’s luxurious without feeling stuffy.”

I stayed at El Convento in January 2010 at a discount media rate. The cost was still more than I normally spend on hotel accommodations. . .and it was worth every penny.

Ziploc to the Rescue!

Gray Cargill — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 12:07:19 +0000

Camera hood made from Ziploc bag

Travelers love Ziploc bags. Oh yes, we do. They have so many wonderful uses. We have to pack those 3 oz bottles of liquids in them, and they’re good for containing anything that might leak in your luggage. You can use them as a doggie bag for meal leftovers, as an organizational tool, and if you want to separate your dirty underwear from your clean, the Ziploc does the trick. Something else they are also useful for is to serve as a makeshift DSLR camera hood.

Cut the 2 bottom corners of bag and slip camera straps through

I read this tip online almost a year ago (but damned if I can find the link again), but didn’t have the opportunity to put it into practice myself until my recent trip to the El Yunque rainforest in Puerto Rico. Obviously, there’s a fair to middling chance it will rain on you in a rainforest. If you’re too cheap to invest in a camera hood (like me), you can make do with a gallon Ziploc bag. Just cut the two bottom corners of the bag. Unfasten the strap of your camera from the camera body and slip the body into the bag. Then slide the ends of the strap through the bag holes you’ve just cut and attach to the camera as usual. You will shoot your photos through the top opening of the bag, but you can also zip it shut between uses to keep your camera nice and dry. The bag is thin enough that your fingers will easily locate and press any necessary dials and buttons, and believe it or not, you can still see through the viewfinder and the clear plastic of the bag.

Shoot through the opening of the bag

I felt a little silly during the first hour or so at El Yunque, because it was sunny and there was no rain. The Ziploc bag on your camera does look kind of dorky. But believe me when I say I was very happy I had it on a little later when the skies opened up and it really started pouring as we were hiking through the forest. It would have been a shame if I couldn’t get photos of such a beautiful rainforest due to a fear of getting my camera wet.

Brook at El Yunque

Bridge at El Yunque

El Yunque Rainforest

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Yes, We Have No Mallorcas

Gray Cargill — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 11:25:55 +0000

One of the things you will read about Puerto Rico before going there is that the pace is much slower than what many of us are used to, particularly here in New England. We tend to be very time-bound, rushingrushingrushing from place to place, activity to activity, trying to squeeze as much in during the course of a day as possible. We expect fast service in restaurants and stores, because we have such busy lives to get back to. Slowing down the pace on your vacation is not a bad thing, as long as you know ahead of time what to expect to minimize frustration. Case in point: My first breakfast in San Juan was a leisurely affair, but I knew going into it that it probably would be.

On my first morning in the city, I walked from my hotel, El Convento, down to Calle San Francisco in search of La Bombanera, a very well-known diner that serves mallorcas. Mallorcas are sweet and savory pastries, dusted with powdered sugar much like a beignet, only stuffed with ham and cheese (or whatever you choose). It sounded a little disgusting and not in the least bit healthy, but I still wanted to try it so I could say I did. Somehow, while I was distracted by a labor union demonstration on the street, I missed La Bombanera and found myself in front of Cafeteria Mallorca instead. I was hungry, and it didn’t matter to me where I had breakfast, so I went ahead in.

It was a typical diner, bustling, loud, and crowded, the hubbub of dozens of conversations and the clatter of silverware and plates serving as background music. I claimed an empty stool at the end of the counter which allowed me a clear sight line behind the counter and around most of the restaurant, with the exception of the cash register by the door, which was behind me. I sat elbow-to-elbow with the people on either side of me, which left no room for notebook and pen or camera. I was lucky there was room for me.

photo by Alex Barth

The first thing that struck me was that every person working behind the counter was a man. Not young men, either. Where I come from, because waiting tables does not pay well, there are two kinds of waitstaff: College and post-college age young people and older women. The older women tend to work in diners. The only places I’d ever seen older men serve as waiters were high-end, expensive restaurants. So I was intrigued by this little diner with so many older men serving as waitstaff. They were dressed in an old-fashioned diner uniform, with short-sleeved, button up shirts, black vests and bow ties, peaked black caps, and black slacks. I felt like I had stepped back through time.

The men behind the counter spoke English about as well as I speak Spanish, so I felt a little thrill that I could try some of my Spanish out on them. I felt pleased with myself when I placed my order for a “mallorca de jamon y queso y cafe con leche” (ham and cheese mallorca and coffee with milk). That lasted all of two seconds before my waiter replied, “No mallorcas today.” I stared at him dumbly. He offered to get me bread instead. Rallying, I shook my head and perused the menu again and finally ordered eggs and chorizo sausage (“huevos y chorizo”). While he sauntered off to kill the pig and coax the chicken into laying a couple of eggs, I pondered the irony of a restaurant named Cafeteria Mallorca that runs out of mallorcas by ten a.m.

I sat at the counter sipping my cafe con leche (which was very good) and listening as customer after customer tried to order mallorcas and received the same grim message: “No mallorcas today.” They offered an explanation in Spanish, but I couldn’t follow it. The San Juan natives, who were clearly just stopping in for a bite on their way to work, seemed satisfied with bread as a substitute (probably because they knew how long it would take if they ordered anything else).

While I waited for my breakfast to arrive, I chatted with a nice tourist couple sitting to my left at the counter. They finished their coffee and headed off to find breakfast somewhere that actually had mallorcas that day, while I ate my fried eggs and chorizo sausage, which had finally arrived in front of me. It wasn’t anything to write home about, but it was fuel, and cheap fuel at that: My total breakfast tab was $4 something before tip. I paid at the cash register and headed out on foot to see the city. The day was already half over and I hadn’t even started sightseeing. But I was okay with that. Sometimes, you have to slow down and smell the cafe con leche, even if you can’t have a mallorca.

Photo credit: Cafe Mallorca San Juan by Alex Barth.

Snapshot of San Juan: Cat City

Gray Cargill — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 11:41:19 +0000

Old San Juan is filled with cats. Not to the point where you’re tripping over them or anything, but enough that it’s noticeable. I’m sure some are pets, but many are feral cats. Some residents think they’re a nuisance, while others think they’re part of San Juan culture and welcome them. There’s even an organization of volunteers called Save a Gato that monitors and feeds the colony of cats, implementing a “trap-neuter-release” program and trying to get kittens who can still be socialized adopted.

One of the things I love most about solo travel is being able to indulge in my love for photography. And among my favorite subjects for photography are animals (cats, dogs, squirrels, iguanas, farm animals, you name it). Once I see an animal I want to photograph, I tend to stalk it, snapping dozens of pictures. But the cats I ran into in Old San Juan were generally out prowling after dark, when I didn’t have my camera, or they would dart under parked cars when I started to draw close.

I took the above picture from the Paseo de la Princessa, a lovely waterfront walking path beneath the city walls where I have heard the cats tend to hang out (though I only saw this one that day). I snuck up behind this little guy when he wasn’t looking, which is, I’m sure, the only reason I was able to get it without him running off.

It’s not the best animal photo I took in San Juan by a long shot, but there is something I really like about it: That solitary cat just sitting there, looking kind of sleepy and staring off toward the water, captures my imagination. Is he a beach bum kitty, getting some sand between his toes on a lazy afternoon, maybe thinking about going fishing? Did he just wake up after a long night of carousing? Is he a solo traveler, like me, pondering what corner of the city he wants to explore next?

Catching a Ride in San Juan

Gray Cargill — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 11:56:51 +0000

Trolley Stop #18, San Cristobal

I take public transportation regularly at home and try to do so when I travel as well. It’s an inexpensive way to get around and get the lay of the land when you’re tired of walking. As a solo traveler, I also welcome the opportunity to interact with others, and that’s easier when using public transportation than when renting a car.

I took three forms of public transportation during my trip to San Juan: The free trolley in Old San Juan, the ferry to Catano, and the public bus. The first two were the easiest. The free trolley makes the rounds of tourist sites in Old San Juan. Each site is numbered, so you can follow along on your tourist map and know where to get on and off. A trolley stop looks like the photo above.

Seating on the ferry

Even if you’re not interested in the Bacardi Rum Factory tour, as I was, it’s still well worth the ferry ride from Old San Juan to Catano and back for the lovely views of Old San Juan from the water. It only takes about 5 minutes each way and costs $1 round trip. This is definitely not a budget-buster.

View of Old San Juan from the ferry

The ferry to Catano leaves from Pier 2, which is across the street from Senor Frog’s and the Sheraton. Once you get to Catano, start walking toward the street, and you’ll see someone there asking if you want a taxi ride to the Bacardi Factory. There’s a little garage, a short distance away where they park and wait for passengers. It’s $3 per person to go to Bacardi.

Pier 2 is across the street from Senor Frogs

The public bus was a bit more complicated.

Before my trip to San Juan, I researched the public bus system and read other people’s accounts of using it. What I read was not encouraging. People spoke of how unreliable the buses were, how dirty, and that they should not be ridden after dark. I normally take comments like these with a grain of salt, since people sometimes say the same things about the Chittenden County bus system, which is ridiculous. Usually the people who say such things are prima donnas who have no experience riding public buses at all. But one person told a particularly vivid story of his experience on a bus from Old San Juan to Isla Verde at night that gave me pause. So just in case, I figured I’d avoid riding the bus at night.

The unreliability of the bus schedule was reinforced for me by one of the valets at the Caribe Hilton, who said he takes the bus to work every day and it’s frustrating because sometimes, you only have to wait 10 minutes, and sometimes, you have to wait two hours–it’s unpredictable.

I wasn’t thrilled about the idea of having to wait two hours for a bus, but on the last full day of my trip, I wanted to head into Old San Juan, so it was either $24 for roundtrip cab fare or try the bus for $.75 each way. I decided I’d try the bus. Eric, the concierge at the Hilton, provided me with a terrific map that outlined where the nearest bus stops were, and which bus to look for (B-21).

Caribe Hilton Bus Map

The map made it quite easy to find, though I’m sure I could have found it with just verbal instructions as well. All you really need to know is that the bus stop is on the side of Luis Munoz Rivera Park away from the Hilton. Bus stops in San Juan are marked Parada, like this:

Parada = Bus Stop

I only had to wait 5 minutes for the bus into Old San Juan to arrive. It was not dirty, and everyone on the bus was well-behaved. It was like every other public bus I’ve ever taken, filled with a combination of tourists and commuters. Which was pretty much what I expected.

The bus terminal in Old San Juan is down near the piers. To be precise, it’s in a building across the street from the Sheraton. The entryway is beyond a gated archway in a building that also houses some small retail shops. On the trip into OSJ, I had gotten off the bus before the terminal in a neighborhood I recognized and walked the rest of the way. So on the way back, I wasn’t exactly sure where the terminal was. When I went looking for it, I ran across a young woman, Amy, who was also looking for it. We wandered in together and were directed toward the correct stop for B-21. Turns out she was staying at the Caribe Hilton as well, attending a cancer research conference there. We had a good time chatting while we waited for the bus, but it was definitely a long wait.

About ten minutes after we entered the terminal, the B-21 bus arrived, passengers got off, and the driver got out and walked away from the bus. It then sat there for another twenty minutes. More and more people gathered at our stop. Some sat, some stood, all looked bored. Meanwhile, we had seen two C-53 buses come and go. Amy was getting antsy because she had to get back to the Hilton for an evening session. Finally, we decided to see if the C-53 went by the Hilton, and it did, so we hopped aboard. The trip back to the Hilton seemed much quicker than the trip into town, so our abrupt arrival at our stop took me by surprise.

Unfortunately, there was no crosswalk anywhere near this stop, and three lanes of busy rush hour traffic to cross. We had to wait for a break in traffic and make a run for it, our flip flops slapping on the road and our backpacks slapping on our backs. But we made it back to the hotel in one piece.

The best advice I can give about the buses in Puerto Rico is make sure you are not in a hurry to get where you’re going, but otherwise, go ahead and use them, at least during the day. It’s a whole lot cheaper than renting a car or taking a cab, and they were perfectly clean and safe, if my experience is at all typical.

Guest Blog Post at Women On The Road

Gray Cargill — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 12:24:09 +0000

I just finished a guest blog post over at Women on the Road, Leyla Giray’s excellent resource for solo women travelers (especially backpackers). If you haven’t been to her site before, do check it out. She has tons of information and advice from her many years of backpacking solo around the world. My guest post can be found here:

The Universe Provides to the Solo Traveler

Thanks, Leyla, for the opportunity to be a guest on your site. You’re welcome over here any time!