Girls-On-The-Loose-And-Bruce

Let the Staycation commence!  Yes, our lives here in Puerto Rico COULD be called a "Permanent Vacation".  But, every now and then, we've gotta get OUT... and explore our Island Paradise!  So much to see... so little time!  This time, we coerced invited our neighbor, Sue to come along.  And the silly girl accepted!  This gives me the excuse to revisit some of our favorite spots, as well as ticking off some new ones from my very long list!  So, without further ado... Come with me!

Of course I had my itinerary firmly in place, but it allows for spontaneous dashes down previously untravelled roads.  We took a zag to check out Playa Bizarreta.  Come on.  With a name like that, we HAVE to go see it!

It was a nice curve of mostly rocky beach, with black sand and no people!  You can see Caja De Muertos in the distance.  What a nice little diversion... marks off another little section of coast in my quest to see every bit of Puerto Rico's coastline!

Off we go again, next stop... Yauco! I feel like this town is often overlooked.  Yet, it plays an important part in the history of the island. Many of the earlier immigrants here came from the island of Corsica, because the landscape here mirrors that of the European island.  This whole part of the island is so very different from the rest of Puerto Rico, it really is worth a visit.  And we have only scratched the surface!

An octopus with coffee beans!  Yauco is known for it's coffee!

Yauco is most well-known for the murals.  When you're driving west along PR-2, you can see the colorful houses stacked up on the hillside to your right.  There is no good place to stop for a photo of this, because there are too many tall trees in the way... some day I will find a way!  Turn in and wind your way through the narrow streets, all the while looking for little surprises!  There are murals painted on otherwise unremarkable walls throughout the town. 

I'm always ready to take the hike up the very steep and uneven walkway to the top.  Today, we found that there is an extra extended walk that was not there during our last visit.  It SEEMS like they may be extending the awesomeness to the west.  I REALLY hope they are! 

After our little hike to the top, we moved the car to the Plaza, where we strolled the streets in search of murals.  There are some that we've seen before, but these are some that we either especially enjoyed, or haven't seen until today.  The old town streets are very much worth your time.  They have the feel of days gone by, and I dearly wish that Puerto Rico can come back and be what it obviously was once upon a time.  Like so many "downtown" areas across the US, these walkable towns have been neglected or abandoned.  It's good to see some revitalization going on here!

We almost missed this one following the Google Map.  I didn't see it until we turned back.  Look UP!

Returning to the Plaza, we walked the perimeter and enjoyed the amazing old styles of these buildings. Sadly, there has been some damage from the earthquakes we had last year.  

Earthquake damage

More earthquake damage.

Today, we spent a lot longer wandering the streets and the Plaza.  Finally, we turned toward the car, and imagine my wondrous surprise... when we walked right up to this miracle. 

No... NOT the coffeebean sculpture!  

This!  This unrecognizable "thing" painted on the plaza.  My eyes could not organize it into anything at all, until I saw the little circle that directed me to stand in this spot and look at it again.  

Looks even less like a thing when you're walking across the top of it!

We were astounded!  Such artistic talent!!  We walked all around it and took some photos... Some we did not realize what we were doing...

Whoops!  I was trying for a kiss... but got this instead!

Everywhere you look, there is one, and another...

And peer over a brick wall, and you may find THIS! A work in progress!

Every Plaza has a church.

Just WOW!  After all that walking, we were pretty hungry, and I know a great spot to get something to eat, and to try that coffee that this town produces so famously...  Leaving many stones yet unturned in this magical little town, we wound our way out to the coffee shop ~ Carajillo ~  for some food!  OMG the Frappuccino here is delicious!  

We ordered a giant pile of nachos to share, and filled up on creamy coffee deliciousness... and continued on our way.  Next stop, our B&B at Playa Buyé!

So far, our adventure is off to a GREAT start!  We've seen some old things, and some new things, and we have plans.  So. Many. Plans!

But tonight, we got settled into our rooms and enjoyed the serenity of a nice balcony overlooking our tropical paradise.  

Our B&B is a huge, spacious house that looks like a work in progress.  There are some new upgrades, and some things that could use some attention.  But we had everything we needed, except for a coffee pot, which was remedied with a quick trip back up to Elis's Mini Mart, where we bought a bigger cappuccino maker, and a pitcher for our rum punches... Just the necessities, you understand...

We were all set!  Stay tuned for the next part of our adventure!