Puerto Rico Recap

In late July Brendan headed to sunny Puerto Rico for a week of sun and relaxation.  We bunked at the St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort.  The Resort itself was absolutely stunning and it felt like we were staying in the rain forest.  The hotel was situated literally in the jungle but on the ocean.  Each building had about 6 rooms in it and the buildings at the resort were connected by wooden walk ways.

The lobby was made to look like a plantation house and again was beautiful.


The shops, which I never went in so I have no idea what they had to offer.



Our room was very spacious and had the largest shower I've ever seen. The ceiling was by far my favorite part with the wooden beams lining it.








One place I did spend a lot of time was the pool. It was so serene and peaceful.









We made a friend throughout the week, we named him Iggy. He was probably 4ft. long from head to tail and enjoyed oranges and cherries. He didn't care for lemons or tortilla chips. Iggy also enjoyed an occasional afternoon dip in the pool.



Brendan went deep sea fishing one day and enjoyed himself, but didn't catch the elusive blue Marlin.

We headed into Old San Juan one afternoon and had dinner. Old San Juan was really interesting with all the old architecture and the buildings were bright and colorful. Completely different from anything we have here in Iowa.









We headed down to the castle that surrounds Old San Juan at dusk.








That evening we ate at a restaurant called Marmalade, it was AMAZING! It was the best meal I've ever had and we found out that the chef was actually from Iowa. If you ever visit Old San Juan go to Marmalade, you will not be disappointed!

Another evening we went to a plantation house up in the mountains and the sunset was beautiful. The building was stunning especially at night.






Most of our vacation we just hung around the resort and enjoyed spending time with each other. We went on a few long walks on the beach and we felt so secluded .We could walk and as far as the eye could see, you couldn't see anyone or anything.






We also used some of the hotels amenities. We rented bikes and were able to see the grounds a bit more. We were able to see the estates which were enormous homes that were around 10,000 square feet. Justin Timberlake and Ben Affleck were both renting homes back in the estates as they were filming a movie in Puerto Rico.



One tip I would suggest is to rent a car if you are staying any distance away from San Juan. Taxi's are very pricey and we were able to rent a car for four days each day the cost of the car was less expensive then a one way taxi ride into Old San Juan.



All in all we had a wonderful time. The travel was very easy and it was so nice to be able to reconnect as a couple and just enjoy each others company. Although it was good to be on vacation we couldn't wait to get home to the kids!