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In an effort to take advantage of our free time before going back to the daily grind, we booked last minute tickets to San Juan to escape the frigid Boston weather. We enjoyed glorious weather and time with family. PR never looked (and felt) so good.
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After eight months of travel, Chris and I moved back into our place on December 31st. That night we had a fantastic New Years with friends in Boston and spent our first days home catching up with people and surviving our first blizzard of the year. Winter was already taking its toll on me, and five days after moving back to Boston I was flying to sunny Florida. My sister-in-law, Jen, and I booked a last minute four-night Caribbean cruise with Royal Caribbean leaving from Miami. I was thrilled to be back on the road and in the warm weather again! We boarded the ship early on Monday and sat on the deck soaking up the sun, which lasted about an hour. Then, a few intimidating clouds rolled in, but we ordered another round of piña coladas and willed the sun to come back out. Apparently our willing didn't work. In fact, it had the opposite effect, because the sun didn't come back out until we stepped off the ship five days later. We spent four full days stuck on a boat packed with people bobbing through the tumultuous Caribbean Sea. We later discovered there was a giant polar vortex over the country which caused the blustery, cold weather. So what do you do on a boat amidst a squall? You have a heck of a good time!  Arrived on the boat in Miami! Cheers to the sun!  A few hours later, Mother Nature slapped us in the face.  So we went inside to find our room. Our room attendant asked us if we need anything else, to which I promptly responded, "Yes. Space".  Luckily, Mom and Dad Barbier surprised us with a bottle of champagne and chocolate covered strawberries!  First stop was Nassau where we picked up these sweet ponchos.  We didn't last long outside in Nassau. We hit up the bar for a few Margaritas along with the rest of the ship...at 11:30 am. Notice Jen's sweater. When we first arrived, I made fun of her for bringing a sweater to the Caribbean. At this point in the trip, I was eating my words and chasing them with that massive 'rita.  On Day 2 we were supposed to be basking in the sun on Royal Caribbean's private island. Instead we were stuck at sea because the waves were too big for the boat to anchor.  The giant yellow ponchos proved to be very entertaining....  ...until they split apart. They were no match for the vortex.  Our last day was in Key West where we found a tiny patch of blue sky in the distance.  The rain stopped and we could finally toss our yellow ponchos (which were destroyed at this point).
 I found a life sized Barbie car. I really wanted to drive this around the island, but only if Jen sat in the back seat clad in her yellow poncho greeting the locals in a formal Brindian manner. Sadly, this did not happen.  We spent a lot of time in the Schooner bar. Much of it was spent playing trivia and sharing drinks with our new friends - a group of 70-something retirees who looked like Whitey Bulger, Bernie Madoff and Judge Judy. Later on our motley crew tore up the dance floor.  We ordered most of the desserts on the menu. No surprises here.
 One night this little guy was waiting for us in our room. We have no idea what animal it is supposed to be. Any guesses? Royal Caribbean, not quite as regal as it once was...
As you can see, the weather was a BIG bust, and Royal Caribbean wasn't quite equipped to handle all the people stuck inside the boat. Their service was definitely underwhelming. We have been on two other cruises together as an entire family - most recently several years back - and remember their service being wonderful. Perhaps that was because we had nice weather and weren't stuck on the boat the entire time. The company is also way behind the times in terms of technology - you have to pay for internet per minute and when I asked them about changing my rewards number to my married name they told me I'd need to send a FAX to their Crown & Anchor club. Not an email with a scanned attachment but a freaking 1990's style paper fax. I told the guy that I haven't seen a fax machine in about 10 years and asked why I couldn't settle this there in person since I had my passport and he apparently had access to a fax machine. Nope, that wasn't his job and I'd have to call later and find a fax machine. First I need to find a time machine to take me back to 1998. It's not where but who... Despite the polar vortex, mild seasickness, miniature room, and lack of technology we still had fun. Sometimes it really isn't about where you are but who you are with. And there are very few people I'd prefer to be stuck with on a boat in the middle of a storm. Luckily for me, Jen is one of those people! We laughed A LOT and I think we'll continue to laugh about this trip for many years to come. Miami Surprise! Go figure, when we got off the ship in Miami the sun came out. We were psyched because, thanks to Chris and his Dad, our vacation was extended through the weekend. Chris came down to meet us in Miami and the sunshine followed him. More about Miami in the next post... After an amazing trip to Cuba, we traveled to Puerto Rico, excited to share stories and pictures with our family. We made our way home via Mexico City, spending the night near the international airport. Our flight left the next morning out of Toluca airport which was about an hour away from the Mexico City airport. We thought we could take a shuttle from the airport to Toluca but it only left three times per day and the departure times were not convenient for us. So we took a taxi and while it was a lot more expensive, it got us there on time and once we left the city the drive was really beautiful. The countryside right outside of Mexico City is stunning, complete with rolling mountains, hiking trails, and lots of delicious looking restaurants. It was a long trip traveling back to San Juan but we were happy to be home in Puerto Rico. We spent the next couple of days catching up with my grandparents, showing them pictures of family and places from Cuba. We also showed them pictures of what we thought were their former homes in Cuba. Turns out we took pictures of the wrong houses! That was a little disappointing, but now we know what to look for (or not look for) the next time we go back. The rest of our time in PR was really relaxing. One night we celebrated my birthday with my uncle, aunt and cousins. Then my parents came down from Connecticut and we spent some time catching up with them and enjoying the beach. It was a great visit and we can't wait to go back! 
Happy Birthday to me! Sorry about the picture quality - My uncle (next to Chris) is lighting up the room!
Yum
Merry Christmas from the Caribbean!
Daily view from the house. An older gentleman lives in the house across the canal. Everyday at 5pm he walks laps around his pool for about a half hour. My grandparents cheer him on from their patio. It's hilarious.
Miss this beach already!
Puerto Rico is a fantastic vacation destination, offering everything from stunning beaches, awesome surfing, beautiful hikes, delicious food and lots of culture. Plus it's really easy to get to if you are traveling from the US (no passport necessary). If you are looking for a Caribbean getaway, check out Beyond Voyage's Puerto Rico page to see our favorite spots on the island!
One afternoon, Pepe from Casa de Ana y Pepe offered to show us around the old city of Havana. On another day, my cousin Tere and her family brought us around the neighborhood to see many of the notable areas of Vedado and Miramar. When we weren't with family, we also spent some time on our own in Havana, exploring the old city, walking along the Malecon (Havana's sea wall) and wandering through the streets of Vedado. Much of the city has been frozen in time since the 1950's, so it's a fascinating place to simply wander around. Here's a photo recap of many of the things we saw.  Pepe gave us a lift into town in this old Ford from the '50s.  We drove through a beautiful park called Parque Almendares.  Old American cars at Parque Almendares  Monument to Jose Marti, a famous Cuban poet from the 1800's. The monument is located in the center of the Plaza de la Revolucion, where many of the government offices are located.  One of the government buildings in the Plaza de la Revolucion. Che Guevara is a national hero in Cuba and his image can be found everywhere.  This is Camilo Cienfuegos - one of Fidel Castro's top commanders. Below his facade it says "Vas bien, Fidel" (You’re doing fine, Fidel), representing the famous response of Camilo to Fidel when he asked, "Am I doing all right, Camilo?".  Old cars parked along the Plaza de Revolucion  This is the main entrance to the University of Havana. It's a huge university with tens of thousands of students. University tuition is free to Cuban students, but they must pass a test in order to enroll.  This is the athletics area of the university which has clearly been abandoned. I imagine at one point this pool hosted swim meets. A common theme we saw around Havana was pools and fountains without water. We suspect the fountains and pools remain waterless due to the electrical requirements and associated cost of operating pumping and filtration equipment.  The Capitol Building, modeled after the US Capitol  The Payret Theater with the Capitol in the background. This main street is called the Paseo del Prado.  Gran Teatro de la Habana, home to the Cuban Ballet and currently undergoing renovations. It is a stunning building, reminiscent of something you'd find in Paris or Vienna. The building was originally built to hold social gatherings for the immigrants from Galacia, Spain in the early 1900s.  In some respects, not much has physically changed since the 50's other than the passage of time, and certain things that either were or were not given a fresh coat of paint.  Across the street from the Capitol building  This is the Havana Libre hotel in central Havana. It used to be the Hilton pre-revolution. The Hilton opened a matter of months before Castro took control of the government. It was then taken by the government and was home to Castro's offices for several years in the early 60's.  Statue of Christ overlooking the city  This is Havana's oldest cathedral. My mom and uncle were baptized here.   Inside the cathedral. The chandelier was a gift from Mexico and is supposed to represent a traditional dress worn by Mexican women in the old days.  Plaza next to the Cathedral  Beautiful windows in Cathedral Square  Students visiting the Museum of the Revolucion. This building used to be the Presidential Palace for Cuban presidents prior to the revolution. This is where Castro's army attempted to assassinate Batista. You can still see the bullet holes on the marble wall behind the students pictured above.  The Hotel Ambos Mundos, where Hemingway lived for several years.  In the hotel lobby  We passed by this place - La Bodeguita del Medio - where Hemingway is said to have gone for his mojitos. We stuck our heads inside to check it out.  Despite the fact that the bar was tiny, they had an amazing band playing,  More cowbell!  Chris in the doorway of the Bodeguita del Medio  This guy was rolling cigars in a local shop.  A smoking room near the cigar roller  Sevillanas! The Spanish culture is still alive and kicking in Havana. We spotted these flamenco dancers while passing by a restaurant named El Meson de la Flota on calle Obispo.  An old fashioned pharmacy named Taquechel. In the old days, the chemists used to keep medicines and herbs in the porcelain jars in the glass cabinets. They would mix them in the back lab and send them off to their customers. Today it's still a pharmacy - but the things that are actually for sale are on the lower cabinets. The jars are just for show.  We climbed up to the top of one of the taller buildings in old Havana to catch an aerial view of the city.  Up on the roof  How cute is this little ice cream shop on the roof?  The Capitol building in the distance  Looking down on the square  This is one of several old train cars that were used to shuttle Cuban and visiting presidents around the country in the old days. The US President had a special car reserved for him when he was visiting Cuba. Today it's on display in the old city.  Pretty street in Havana Vieja  Car trouble  This mini church is a Greek Orthodox chapel on the grounds of a larger church  In the same garden was a lovely memorial to Mother Teresa  Headless geese wander the premises  We peeked into the lobby of the Havana Club distillery  These mail slots are all over old Havana.  Happy New Year! This restaurant is located right in front of the Cathedral.  Strolling back along the Malecon  Lots of people come here at dusk to fish   Even more common than classic American cars from the 1950's are these Soviet-built Ladas from the 1970's and 1980's. There are also Mercedes from the 1980's. We were in one with almost 800,000 miles on the odometer.  This is the Hotel Nacional, maybe the most famous old hotel in Havana. It sits upon a promontory overlooking the Malecon and the sea. It's an art deco style building constructed in the 1930's. They keep this one in very nice shape.  Looking up at the Hotel Nacional from the street  Built into the rock outcropping is an old fort used during the time of the Spanish Conquistadors. It currently houses an exhibit on the Cuban Missile Crisis.  Sunset over the Vedado neighborhood of Havana  View of the Malecon and old Havana in the distance. People are just starting to gather along the Malecon around sunset. On Saturday nights, the Malecon is full of thousands of Cubans hanging out, talking, playing music and dancing until the early morning hours.  Granizado is like a slushie in the US or a piragua in Puerto Rico. It's shaved ice with some kind of sweet flavoring.  Colon Cemetery in Vedado. With 500+ elaborate mausoleums, it is one of the great historical cemeteries of the world. It is said to be the second most important cemetery in Latin America after La Recoleta in Buenos Aires. Unfortunately, we only saw the cemetery from outside the gate as the guards tried to charge us to enter (even though I have family buried here).  There are no advertisments in Cuba since it's a communist society. However, there is a lot of propaganda like this billboard saying "Everything for the revolution".  This flag was at half mast for Nelson Mandela, who died the day before. Final Thoughts
Walking around Havana was a fascinating experience, not just because it hasn't changed much since 1960, but also because of the of influences of the communist system on everyday life. For example, it occurred to us that neither of our careers (marketing and investments) exist in any form here. These are two growing industries worldwide, and neither career path is an option for young people in Cuba. Even China, which is still politically a communist society, has evolved to a largely free market economy. In one way, it's unfortunate that the people in Cuba can't benefit from these opportunities. However as a visitor, it was refreshing to experience a society free of chain restaurants, hotels, stores, in-your-face ads, etc. In many respects, life is much simpler here and people really seem to enjoy the company of one another. You'll find some of the friendliest people in the world in Cuba, even if you are an American:) As mentioned in our last post, we were journeying to Cuba via Mexico City. But getting to Mexico City from Caye Caulker, Belize turned out to be a bit trickier than we'd expected. Journey Stage 1: Caye Caulker to Mexico We learned that the most 'efficient' way to go was to take the daily ferry from Caye Caulker to Chetumal, Mexico, which lies on the Mexico-Belize border. Then we'd hop on a flight from Chetumal to Mexico City. There was one catch - there's only one ferry per day from Caye Caulker to Chetumal, and only one flight per day from Chetumal to Mexico City (or to anywhere for that matter). The daily ferry leaves Caye Caulker at 7am, stopping in Ambergris Caye. It then supposedly departs from there around 8am for the 90-minute ride to Chetumal. This would have put is in Chetumal around 9:30. The daily flight to Mexico City leaves from Chetumal at 11:20, so we thought we'd be there with time to spare. Of course, we did not take into account Belizian Time (i.e. the notion that schedules are meaningless). It turned out that the customs guy who stamps your passport in Ambergris Caye had overslept and didn't show up for work until around 8:30. This meant we pulled out of Ambergris about 40 minutes late. To make matters worse, the boat driver told us the trip to Chetumal would take closer to two hours that day due to the windy conditions and passing thunderstorm. We told him about our flight and he promised to do his best. After a tumultuous ferry ride through very choppy water and rain, we ended up pulling into the Chetumal pier just a shade under two hours later, around 10:30. This left us with 50 minutes until our flight. Next, the Mexican customs agents had to line up everyone's luggage on the pier and wait for the drug dogs to sniff through them all...twice. Then, we had to go through the standard immigration procedure at the pier, which included paying $25 each to enter the country. Fortunately, they brought us to the front of the line due to our flight! We ended up clearing customs around 10:45 - 35 minutes before our flight. We found a cab driver at the pier who, fortunately, was willing to take US Dollars and also had a heavy foot. He got us to the airport in about ten minutes (we tipped him well!), just as our flight check-in was closing. We made it with literally one minute to spare! So if you are thinking of taking the ferry from Caye Caulker to Chetumal and then catching the only flight out of Chetumal that same day - YES, it is possible, but NO, we do not recommend it! Journey Stage 2: Mexico City Our flight on Interjet was wonderful! They provide tons of leg room and free tequila. We met a really nice lady from Argentina on our flight named Patricia. She had lived in Mexico City for a year and was going to back to see some friends. We spent the entire flight talking about traveling in Argentina and Cuba - she had a lot of suggestions! She also gave us a recommendation on where to eat that night in Mexico City. After we landed, the three of us decided to split a taxi to Zocalo, the historic old town of Mexico City. This is where our hotel was located. It was supposed to take us 15 minutes to get to our hotel. It took 2 HOURS, and we didn't even get all the way there. We eventually got out of the cab and walked the rest of the way through the jammed packed Saturday markets in Zocalo. This was our introduction to Mexico City traffic, which after all of our travels, now holds the title of the worst we've ever seen. Lesson learned - if you show up in Mexico City on a Saturday afternoon, stick to the subway. We booked one night at the Gran Hotel Ciudad de Mexico, one of the city's beautiful old hotels. It sits just off the central Zocalo. Here are some photos of the building and the surrounding area:
 Outside Mexico City's beautiful old cathedral on the Zocalo  Happy New Year! Mexican Food - just what the doctor ordered We took Patricia's recommendation and hit up Cafe de Tacuba for an early dinner. This old restaurant, a few blocks from our hotel, offered a huge menu of traditional Mexican dishes at great prices. After a long day of stressful traveling, chili rellenos, tamales, tacos and guacamole were just what we needed. Mexican food makes everything better!  Cafe de Tacuba  Journey Stage 3: Off to Havana The next morning we headed back to the airport to catch our flight to Cuba. Fortunately, the traffic was non-existent early on Sunday morning so we made it to the airport in about 15 minutes. We bought our Cuba visas, checked in for our Interjet flight, and soon were off to Havana. The flight was uneventful, although at one point the crew made an announcement that the Cuban government requires them to disinfect the interior of the plane and its passengers before arrival, in order to eliminate pathogens. Then, a flight attendant walked up and down the aisle dousing everything with some sort of aerosol spray. After visiting 40 countries, this was the first time we'd seen anything like this. We arrived in one of Havana's older airline terminals. Going through immigration was a little strange, as you are only allowed to go one at a time (usually Chris and I go through immigration together), and you have to go into a small vestibule with the immigration agent where you wait while they examine your documents. If you pass muster, they unlock a door on the other side of the vestibule and you exit. Then the next person comes in. Once we passed through immigration and collected our bags, we found our taxi driver who had been called by our Casa Particular (B&B). He showed us where to exchange money, and then we were off to our Casa. As a side note, the exchange rates at the airport are among the worst around, so it's best to exchange as little as possible there, then hit one of the official Cadecas in the city later on. Upon exiting the airport terminal, we saw a small parking lot surrounded by lush green countryside. The parking lot wasn't completely full of old 1950's American cars as we'd hoped. The cars in Havana are a mix of old American cars from the 50's, lots of small Soviet-made Lada sedans from the 70's and 80's and increasingly, small late-model Hyundais and Kias from Korea. There are also a handful of German luxury sedans cruising around. Our taxi was one of the Hyundais. Casa de Haifa y Pavel When Cuba was opened to tourism in the mid-90's, there was a shortage of decent hotels available for people to stay. The government's solution was to allow Cuban citizens to apply for licenses to rent out extra rooms in their homes. These houses are known as Casas Particulares. We had done a bit of research online and knew we wanted to stay in the Vedado neighborhood (just west of central Havana) because it's a nice neighborhood that is close to my family and only a short taxi ride from old Havana. We found a place online that had received great reviews called Casa de Ana y Pepe. Ana, who has one of the oldest continuously operating Casas in the city, was booked (as she usually is), but referred us to a house around the corner called Casa de Haifa y Pavel. We booked a room here for just $30 per night. This is about the average rate for nice Casas Particulares in Havana and represents a great value relative to traditional hotels, where prices are similar to those in other countries. And while Casas are a bargain for travelers, they're also a great source of income for Cuban families, who typically earn an average of about $12 per month from government jobs. Best of all, you get to stay with a Cuban family and see what life is like for ordinary people there. We were greeted by Pavel, who was excited to have only his second set of American visitors ever! He is a biochemistry professor at the local university and hosts frequent classes and study sessions at the house. Pavel enthusiastically showed us to our room. Our place was around the back of the house with its own entrance, terrace, kitchen and bathroom. The room also had A/C, which we didn't need as it got very cool at night.
 View of neighboring buildings from our terrace. The buildings run the gamut from good condition to barely habitable. Our casa was in very good condition, likely because Pavel & Haifa can use money earned from renting out their rooms to maintain their large home.
 Our habitacion. It was simple, but very quiet, clean and comfortable.  With Pavel and Haifa  We really had a wonderful stay with Pavel and Haifa and enjoyed getting to know them over the next several days. The room was clean and comfortable, and their hospitality was amazing. We had a home cooked breakfast at their house every morning for $5 for the pair of us. This included scrambled eggs, a cheese sandwich, fruit, toast and Cuban coffee which was fantastic!
One night, we all stayed up late discussing the latest American movies and TV shows, about which Pavel and Haifa are much more knowledgeable than we are. Apparently many movies from the US are available in Cuba even before they are available back home. This was just one of many fascinating tidbits we'd discover about Cuba over the coming week. A couple of nights during the week when we weren't with my family, we ate dinner at Ana & Pepe's house. We had read that the Cuban restaurants can be very expensive and the food is usually sub-par. Ana & Pepe cook meals every night for their guests as well as guests from other casas in the neighborhood, and the prices are reasonable relative to restaurants. So we ate twice with them and got to know them a little better and met other travelers from Hong Kong, Germany and Italy. Like most Cubans, Pepe loves to dance and after dessert he threw on some salsa and gave his guests dancing lessons! The thing I loved most about Pavel & Haifa and Ana & Pepe was how welcome they make you feel. It reminds me so much of my own family. For example, anyone who visits my grandparents' house is greeted with "welcome to your home in Puerto Rico!". Well, it was the same in Cuba. Both couples insisted we think of their homes as our Cuban homes and by the end of our stay we felt like part of the family. Stay tuned for the next couple of posts, where I'll introduce you to my family and take you on a tour of the neighborhood and old Havana! After completing 10 dives each in Australia and Thailand, we were hooked! Since we had already visited the largest barrier reef in the world - The Great Barrier Reef - we decided to check out the second largest barrier reef - the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef. This reef runs along the coast of Belize so we chose the tiny island of Caye Caulker as our home base. Caulker has no paved roads or cars so people navigate the sandy roads with golf carts, bikes or on foot.  Caye Caulker's philosophy is "Go Slow" Getting There We flew into Belize City, then took a 45-minute ferry ride out to the island. The ferry then continues on to Caulker's more developed companion island, Caye Ambergris. Another option is to take an 8-minute flight from Belize City. However, we couldn't do this because we arrived in Belize City after sunset and the last flight leaves well before dark, since there are no lights on Caulker's tiny runway. OASI Apartments We booked five nights at a place called OASI, a collection of four apartments owned by a friendly Italian lady named Luciana and her husband. While the location was on the far side of the island from the central town area, it came with free bikes and nothing was more than ten minutes away. The apartment was perfect for us!    Biking Around Colorful Caye Cualker Caye Caulker consists of three major sand roads: Front Street, Middle Street and Back Street. It's a really laid back island, full of small colorful beach shacks. There are really no large sand beaches on the island, but there is a local hangout called "The Split" where people gather to swim , drink beers and watch the sunset. For us, it was the perfect vibe - not too developed but plenty of activities to keep us busy. Here are some photos we took around the island:  Biking is the best way to see the island!   One of the few sandy beaches on Caye Caulker  One of the many docks lining the shore         One of the reasons they say "Go Slow" in Caye Caulker is because there are two cemeteries and zero hospitals!  Beer in lieu of flowers?  Traffic enforcement Stunning Sunsets and The Split We saw a couple of spectacular sunsets on Caye Caulker. Our favorite place to watch them was the little bar at The Split. In Belize they say "If you haven't been to The Split, you haven't been to Caye Caulker".  Waiting for the sunset supply ship to arrive  Beautiful Caye Caulker sunset    Hanging out at The Split  Sunset at The Split  Team B at The Split Diving & Snorkeling We spent the afternoon of our first full day snorkeling. Our guide brought us to three different spots and pointed out several varieties of coral and local fish. One stop was Shark Ray Alley, where we swam with stingrays and nurse-sharks. The guides jump in the water and feed them bits of conch and fish so there were swarms of rays and sharks thrashing around in the shallow water. While it was cool to see the animals up close, I didn't like the idea of the sharks associating food with people.  Swimming with stingrays and nurse sharks  Storm clouds approached as we finished snorkeling On our second day, we investigated several of the local dive shops and settled on a small operation called Black Durgon. We went out the following day for two dives on a part of the reef called Esmerelda. The coral here was much different than what we'd seen in Australia and Thailand, and as a bonus we got to swim with nurse sharks, as well as green moray eels. Luckily we had another very small group in our boat, with Chris, me, a Korean guy named Lee, and our dive leader Mynor. Toward the end of the second dive, two dolphins joined us - a first for me and Chris! While we really enjoyed our dives, the boat ride was a little rough. The wind was strong, the waves were large and we were on a small open-air speed boat so we had to hold on in order to stay in the boat. I'm so glad I brought my wind-breaker and hoodie along for the ride because it was cold!  Black Durgon Dive shop  Quick stop in San Pedro on Caye Ambergris  Our dives were on Thanksgiving day  It was chilly post-dive. I'm glad I brought a hoodie and windbreaker!  Amigos, indeed! The Blue Hole One of the most famous dives in this area is the Blue Hole, a perfectly round abyss in the middle of a coral shoal, which drops straight down 450 feet. On the way down, you can supposedly see caves along the side walls full of stalagmites. If you're lucky, you can also see hammerhead sharks swimming in the middle of the pit. So badass. Sadly, we missed out on the Blue Hole for a few reasons:
For all these reasons, we decided to back burner the Blue Hole until we get some more diving experience under our belts. Here's an aerial photo of the Blue Hole that we found online:  One day. Photo courtesy of United Academics Roses Grill We found a tasty seafood spot near Front Street called Roses Grill. The menu is simple - you choose your seafood from the ice tray out front and they throw it on the grill for you. We couldn't decide so we tried a little bit of everything!  Roses Grill  Yum! We loved Caye Caulker and definitely want to come back one day (especially to conquer the Blue Hole!). We'd recommend this place to anyone who likes to dive/snorkel and wants a really laid-back vacation that doesn't offer your typical chain restaurants and hotels. It's truly unique!
I recently watched the movie Chasing Mavericks on a flight to Las Vegas. It's about surfer Jay Moriarity from Santa Cruz who trains to surf insanely large waves in Half Moon Bay called Mavericks. I once visited Santa Cruz with my good friends Leah & Ryan. We spent a perfect day walking along the beach and watching the surfers while keeping warm with coffee from Verve Roasters. I'm looking forward to going back to this corner of paradise one day with Chris. From one corner to another: Surfing movies always remind me of my favorite surfing spot - Rincon, Puerto Rico. It's the only place we have ever surfed but we love it more for its beauty than its waves. As you'll see from the pictures below, Rincon is a spectacular little corner of paradise (in fact, Rincon means corner in Spanish). If you want more information about visiting Rincon, check out Beyond Voyage's Rincon review. 
Domes Beach, Rincon, PR; photo by Eva Barbier
Domes Beach, Rincon, PR: photo by Eva Barbier
Rincon, PR; photo by Eva Barbier
Rincon, PR; photo by Eva Barbier
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AuthorEva has been traveling for 15+ years, including an 8 month journey around the world. Archives
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