Phew! What an adventure it was arriving to Puerto Rico. I don't think I've ever felt this many emotions all in one day. Let me take you on my roller coaster ride. Strap yourselves in tight.
I arrived at O'hare airport at 4am in the morning, pimped out with the following items:
- an obnoxious hot pink sunhat (special thanks to Kathy)
- my movie-star sunglasses (also hot pink, stolen from a bartender in Scotland)
- a pink boarding pass (not pink on purpose, I was out of black ink)
- a backpack stuffed with all the skimpy summer clothes I own
- a cocky attitude
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Yes, people did look at me and probably thought to themselves, "Now is that
really necessary this early in the morning?" I didn't care. I was going on vacation to a paradise island in the Caribbean.
Of course I'm going to flaunt it. And as obnoxious as I probably looked, I did receive several compliments about my hat.
"We are now calling all first class passengers to board the aircraft..."
Yup, that's me! "Excuse me, excuse me, VIP coming through...."
This was my first time ever flying first class. (I had to make a phone call to Delta to book the flight a couple weeks ago and the lovely lady I spoke with gave me a free upgrade to first class. Score!)
The minute I sat down in my seat, I passed out. It was too early to function. In no time, we landed in ATL. I got off the plane and tried to orient myself within the hoards of other travelers. When I finally found my connecting flight to San Juan on the giant television listing, I realized they were already boarding the plane! I sprinted like a madwoman towards the magical train that takes you from one terminal to the international terminal.
Upon exiting, I hear, "Final boarding call for San Juan, Puerto Rico."
"WHAT!?!?!" There is no way I was going to miss this flight! Of course, my gate is miles away, at the very end of the terminal. I don't think I ever ran as fast in my life!
Oh, I made it alright! The flight attendant greeted me with a glass of champagne. I chugged. Then breathed a sigh of relief and made myself comfortable in my seat. OK, I'm ready. Take me away to paradise island...
Three hours later, we land in
Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (SJU). Whoop whoop!
When I left the airport, I had a really hard time finding the bus stop to take me to the city. A couple of cute security guards pointed me in the right direction. After I got on the bus, we kept driving and driving and I didn't hear my stop. Well maybe we just didn't get there yet. So wee kept going and going...
At this point, I was 100% sure I was not at the right place. I decided to get off, figuring I'll just go to the bus stop across the street and take it back.
Yep, like may things in life, not so simple. There was no bus stop across the street. I walked along the road, still in my obnoxious pink hat, completely disoriented, with no map, carrying my heavy bag in the hot and humid weather, sweating profusely, trying to figure out what to do. Every Puerto Rican that drove by was staring at the pink blob on the sidewalk, me. Obviously, I didn't belong there. I reach a gas station and ask the attendant for help. She had no idea about how the bus system worked. She recommended I ask the men outside.
So lil' 'ol blonde me approached a couple of big tattooed Puerto Rican men in a questionable neighborhood with a sheepish smile.
Boy, I thought I knew how to speak Spanish. They tried to help me, but I couldn't understand their Spanish. After trying to decipher what was being mumbled for 10 minutes, I realized that this isn't going anywhere cause they also had no idea what I was saying. They recommended that a taxi was my best bet. So I go back inside and ask the gas station attendant to call a taxi for me as I waited around. She comes back and tells me that she called a couple companies but because it's Sunday, they don't operate. WHAT?!? Why!? That doesn't even make sense. Dammit Puerto Rico! What the heck am I supposed to do now? Where am the hell am I? How the heck do I get out of here? This is not my fantasy paradise island, but a sketchy neighborhood in the middle of nowhere.
I was freaking out on the inside, thinking that my life is probably over and I will probably have to sell my body on the street. A small Puerto Rican lady that overheard my conversation mentioned that there is a bus stop a few blocks away. So I grabbed my things and walked out. The
second I step foot outside, it starts raining. First it's a light tropical drizzle, but a minute later, buckets of water are spilling from the sky. At this point, I am completely soaked and completely miserable. I may have even shed tears but I was so wet that I couldn't even tell.
I stood at the bus stop and stared at the cars drive by like a lonely lost puppy...
That's when I found Elsa. Gracias a Dios! Elsa is an older Puerto Rican lady that came to the bus stop with an umbrella in hand. First, she looked at me questionably. I got scared. Then she inched her way over and put half her umbrella over me.
Elsa was my savior that day. She explained how to get back to the airport and how to get to the city. She explained the bus system and pointed me in the right direction. She even talked with the bus driver to make sure he would stop at the right place for me. Boy, I couldn't thank her enough for saving my day.
Wet, starving and tired, I
finally made it to my hostel. A fellow traveler was cooking some food and kindly offered me a warm meal.
And that was all I needed. I was content. Even more than content, I couldn't be happier.
Today made me really appreciate the kindness of strangers, because everyday we cross paths with new people, and even the smallest of gestures can make the biggest impact.
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| Looking out from the airplane at San Juan, Puerto Rico |
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