Cape Cod: Sand dunes and Pine trees

I never thought these two could go together ... but near Provincetown, CapeCod, MA, they do! I had been hearing people rave and rant about Cape cod since I got to New England, and was always sceptical when they claimed that it was better than the west coast (I remain a die hard califirnia fan!). Last year's experince at Crane Beach made me less sceptical and Cape cod almost made me believe them! Yes, the water was freezing and dips were unthinkable (it IS after all barely spring) but the diversity in terrain was more breathtaking than I 've seen even on the Pacific coast line.



I am the official weekend planner and this time I decided we would choose quaintness over affordability and booked us a night at one of the cutest bed and breakfast possible - this place called Nauset House Inn, a few minute walk from the Nauset Beach. The inn is run by a friendly couple who serve a delicious breakfast (food always comes first in my travel blog!), have an ancient looking conservatory and hand-painted furniture ( the other high point for me was the little home-made cuddly toy on the rocking chair... but for the less mentally unstable, that may not be the high point.)



One of the big reasons I was so excited about cape cod was that it's full of light houses and since my enid blyton days I've always dreamt of visiting one. Since I was around 6 (Though I confess I still read them as soon as I step into my delhi house!) Enid Blyton has been my all time favorite no brainer read . All her racism sexism aside, she did create a great fantasy world and some of my favorites used to be the famous five adventures where Julian Dick George Anne and Timmy the dog (!) would go live in a light house with Tinker and his monkey (hehehehe I am so loony, I actually remember their names!). I desperately wanted to live in a light house but since none of them let you do that I chose the next best thing - go visit one. Nauset area has about 4 - one which was still operational and the Three sisters, which looked kind of abandoned.

Our first stop in Cape cod, was ofcourse these light houses. They weren't as old and quaint as I would have wanted them to.. but I was thrilled nonetheless. We had decided that we would explore Nauset beach the first evening but our friendly inn keeper John advised us to make most of the sun (a very rare commodity in New England) and check out Provincetown instead.
Apart from the fact that the Pilgrims first landed in P-town (which I didn't know and didnt much care about in any case), the town is known for being immensely gay-friendly, full of the most amazing book stores (check out the bizarro spanking monkeys pic), cafes, sea-food places, art exhibitions and craft stores and ofcourse for its sand dunes and beaches. We had the most wonderful time sliding down dunes, wondering into pine tree woods and then jogging on the beach. What more can you ask for? Ya, some good food!



P-town is full of great (but expenssive) places to eat. Everyone had recommended this place called Napis (portugese food) but we chickened out on seeing the prices (nothing less than $25) and chose a less fancy Hearth and Kettle instead. I was so hungry by the time they served me my special fish dish that even if they had served me beans I would have said they were great!

El Yunque, Puerto Rico: Of Coqui Frogs and hidden waterfalls

This time for spring break we decided to explore Puerto Rico a little beyond San Juan. A little trivia for you: Less than a century ago, Puerto Rico used to be the name of the city and San Juan the name of the island. Who knows why they decided to turn things around.
Our first stop was Old San Juan - the only spot I think is worth visiting in San Juan now that everything else has been taken over by Burger Kings, outlet malls and garish looking luxury apartments. Well, not to say that Old San Juan remains untouched by the evil powers of Macdy, but at least there are pockets which are pretty. The cobbled streets, the colorful houses lined one after the other with lovely iron doors and patios - for example. And El Morro by the night. Mmmmmm, I could just spend the week there, watching the sun rise, then set, the waves crashing against the fort walls and the flickering spooky lights lighting up the ancient cemetary. Not that I recommend this romantic nature watching for real, by the way, since its likely that the bugs and the stoned boys in the nooks and crannies of the fort will get you first
We had booked a room with a balcony (which is highly recommended for the people looking to get the authentic feel of San Juan night life but are too old to stay on the streets beyond 1 am) in the "Guest house on Tanca street". Yup, that's how everyone knows it (for those who need to get there for real - it's the yellow white building on 205 Tanca - between Fortaleza and San Francisco St). It's just across the street from the most happening local bars which plays pumping music till 5 am! And ofcourse since we had the room with the balcony we were forced to enjoy it till early morning - that's usually when the cops come in and line up all the drunk, stoned and wasted tourists from teh street. And the party stops at last
The guest house is not luxurious (that's why it's $50 a night for a room with abalcony or an AC, 45 without) . You have to share bathrooms (two for each floor), the manager knows no english (though his son does), the kitchen is filthy and the rooms can get stifling hot at night. But the size of the rooms are huge, the staircase, doors, balcony are pretty as hell - it all fits in so well in the Old San Juan ambience. Dinner was a problem for my veggie boy, I managed to survive on a beef burrito but all he got was tons of Pina Coladas, beer and a plate full of nachos. Ofcourse, if you are not traveling on a budget, San Juan has a lot more to offer - from Mediterranean, to fusion Indian, Spanish and whatever you can think of. But don't expect to get a meal for less than $30 or $ 40 if you pound drinks


Next stop was El Yunque - the rainforests about 2 hours drive from San Juan. We had reserved a "house" from a website . Since all the exotic sounding cabins were booked we got Ko's House instead. El Yunque is everything I expected it to be - okay, almost everything. I did not get to see as many birds (I swear they are invisible but SO loud!) or coqui frogs (ditto) but the vegetation, the waterfalls and the "house" was pefectly right.

Ko's house turned out to be a half-finished house in the middle of the rainforest with many locked doors leading to who knows where, a kitchen that barely functioned (with a refriderator which was probably bought in 1900) but a beautiful location. At night when we sat on the balcony we could barely hear ourselves speak becasue of all the bird and insect sounds, it was extraordinary.


For a change we had it all chalked out and had reserved a guided hike with Robin Phillips. And although his website says "about 4 hours easy hiking" don't believe him. It's more like a 8 hour hike, not that easy but out of this world. He delivers more than he promises - an educational tour of the forests, interesting facts about all the plants and trees, history of the area, taste of raspberries, edibles flowers and just his really quirky company (and if like us you have not eaten for two days his wife packs pretty yum sandwiches!).

Our hiking group was weird - a lesbian from the midwest who rejected all kind of help very aggressively, a 4-month pregnant woman having her 7th baby, her eldest son and us. The pregnant woman talked non -stop, the boy hardly did and i did not notice much else beyond a point! To be fair, maybe it IS actually a pretty easy hike for people who climb mountains everyday, do not get all weak-kneed with heights and are generally fitter than I am. The pregnant lady managed just fine till the end when we reached the bizarrest part of the hike.


So, there is this one point where to reach our next "hidden waterfall" we had to climb up from one level of the mountain to the next. Once upon a time there used to be a tall steep ladder to make that climb simple. But I guess some hikers fell and borke their bones and sued the govt or soemthing so now they don't want anyone to climb up the ladder and have chained the first rung. Ofcourse, our brilliantly crazy guide has decided (rightly) that if you take so many precautions you lose half the fun so he makes his hikers squueze through the side and climb up. It sounds simple but trust me it is not! The fat boy got stuck and had to give up, teh pregnant woman ofcourse didn't try and rest of us (except my brave lil thin boy) took quite a bit of cajoling. Robin literally lifted me up and planted my foot on the second rung and forced me to do it! But once you reach the top - the gushing waterfall makes it all worth it.

Tips for El Yunque visitors: Carry AND use a bug spray especially when you go on hikes. Wear long pants and carry some rain wear. I was bitten red and blue by a really sneaky group of fire ants, when they bit me I didn't even realize it but I was left scratching and crying for weeks after. definitely bathe in the waterfalls, and always carry your bathing suit in case you feel like jumping out of your car when you see the blue blue carribean waters while driving from one place to the next or going under a waterfall while hiking.

The only beach we spent much time in was Luquillo. We did stop at the beaches off route 3 in the Naguabo district, the beaches there were even prettier than Luquillo but the watre had too much sea weed. Luquillo, as the pic tells you, was amazing. I spent about 5 hours floating around and 2 hours devouring a 2-feet long red snaper all by myslef! The two days of eating out of tins and eating stale bread with banana on top (ya, we were a little unprepared for the no food scenario in the rain forest!) had taken its toll. Thank you for all the fish.