Final Days in Puerto Rico

This picture is from one evening earlier in the trip when we went out for dinner and drinks. We were going to go to this fancy club inside Hotel San Juan but instead we just went to another bar and had a mojito. It was one of the best mojito's I have ever had and the hotel lobby was exquisite. I felt funny taking pictures in such a fancy hotel but Kevin took one as I was coming out of the restroom.

Hotel San Juan

On our last day left of having the rental car we knew what we had to do. We were in search for this area in the mountains to check out La Lechonera's. We'd read in our guide book that this is a 'must-do' while in Puerto Rico. 

They slow roast a pig for up to 8 hours and cut the meat for you from the pig when you order. It was so tender and juicy...delicious! I guess if you go on the weekends there are a ton of them lining the streets and there are live bands and it is a big street party. We went on a Tuesday so it was pretty quiet but wonderful nonetheless. 

On the way back to our hotel we decided to go ahead and stop by the Bacardi Factory for a tour. The tour was free and they gave you tickets for a couple of free drinks afterward.

It was fun learning the history of Bacardi and getting to smell all the different kind of rums that they make. I was a little disappointed that there wasn't more history associated with Puerto Rico. The company originated in Cuba and the headquarters is now in the Bahama's. All that is in Puerto Rico is the distillery. I honestly had never really noticed that the Bacardi's symbol is a bat before but I learned why they chose it. I guess the first distillery they bought had fruit bats inside of it inspiring it's use as their symbol.

One of my favorite parts of the tour was when they had this guy show us how to make a few classic rum drinks and gave us some history behind them. He had the best 'announcer' voice and he was very entertaining. We learned how to make a cuba libre (rum and coke w/lime), a classic mojito, and a real daiquiri (not the frozen stuff you normal think of). 

After the tour we were taken back to the outdoor seating area where we were able to get our free drinks. It was a gorgeous day and it was fun to just relax with our full bellies from lunch and enjoy their beautiful grounds.

They had a view of Castillo San Felipe del Morro but they didn't really allow people up to the gate for pictures. Kevin ran up and took one anyway. I had to crop out the ugly fence but I liked this perspective of the fort after having been in it.

On our last day we stuck pretty close to the hotel. We didn't have the car anymore and we were sort of tired of driving all over the place anyway. We rented a couple boards from the hotel and spent some time trying to body surf.

Not wanting to leave our camera on the beach unattended, we took a couple pictures and then I ran the camera back up to the room so we wouldn't have to worry about it.

Once we'd had our fill of the ocean we headed back to the hotel pool and just hung out there for awhile. We grabbed lunch at the swim up bar and got to see a couple of iguana's that hang out by the hotel. Our waitress even gave us some lettuce and I was able to feed one of them. It's crazy watching them walk and it was fun seeing them up close.

Our hotel

The whole trip was incredible. After the hectic month of December and the Holiday's it was nice to have some time to get away and relax. We're really glad that we decided to take the time to travel before heading up to Michigan and starting a new job.