Day 3 cycling from Las Crosbas to Emajagua, Puerto Rico

We earned these margaritas today!

I’m writing this at 7 PM after we had our dinner and are ready to collapse … we are both exhausted! Today had its high points and it’s “what the …” moments. 

Again this morning Tim was enjoying the sunrise as I was just getting going. We each had a granola bar (saved from last night’s after paddle snack) and a coffee that Tim purchased nearby. 

 Packed ourselves up and turned on the RIDE GPS app to help guide our way. We followed the turn by turn directions that within the first mile led us up an incredibly steep road. Yes,  it was so steep that neither of us could even get close to riding up it.  2 miles later we realize that we were retracing an easy portion of the previous days route. Our takeaway is that RIDE GPS does not always provide the path of least resistance!  That being said, we decided to look into Google maps, but it seems that Google maps does not have a bike option in Puerto Rico, but they do have a walking option. So guess what we used the walking option… very successfully for the most part, more on the not so successfully later. 

It’s nice to “stop and smell the roses” once in awhile. Tim will pull out his SEEK app to identify plants or critters or MERLIN app to identify bird calls.

11:11 shot of the day. 

The weather was gorgeous, low 80s with high humidity, and beautiful skies to go along with the lush terrain.

By the time we stopped for some food it was 11:30. We found an open air beachfront restaurant where we enjoyed lemonade and burritos. They had a couple murals to honor these hometown (Naguabo)  brothers in big league baseball Alexis Diaz and Edwin Diaz.

While at the restaurant we had to correspond with our overnight stay since we had received a message that the room was not available due to water leak. We decided to arrange a room in a town further down the road since the conditions were so favorable. 

The wind really started picking up and we felt raindrops, which was fine until it seemed a little risky. We found a Walgreens to take cover until the rain mostly subsided.

We got back on the road with only about 6 miles to go… those 6 miles would be the most challenging and intense in our collective cycling years. 

The first 2 miles were busy and not well maintained.  We then took the “walking” route provided by Google Maps. That was great for half a mile … then the climb started. It sort of twisted and turned so we could not see what was ahead.  There was no way we could cycle it. Neither of us could have cycled it feeling fresh and on a super light bike. So… it really was a “walking” route that lasted a mile and a half of one step at a time shlepping the loaded bike onward. 

Me hoping Tim is taking a photo from the top…. But NO, not even close! 

A well needed break to get a shot of these beauties. 

If you look real close you could see the ocean down below. At this point we still had more climbing! It was a 2 mile screaming downhill when we finally got to the top . 

We found our overnight stay and shortly after getting to our room the rain and wind came with a vengeance. The generators started and we hunkered down safe and sound in our room. 

The skys opened,  we walked to dinner and enjoyed our well-deserved margaritas. 

Day 2 cycling Luquillo to Las Crosbas (Fajardo), Puerto Rico

It was nice waking up knowing we could lounge about and take our time since our destination was just 15 miles away. Our destination location is special because the proximity to one of the only bioluminescent bays in the world.  

As early risers, we were up before most… enjoying the quietness of the morning. It was a big contrast from the night before. The street, 6 feet from our room door was extremely loud and rowdy. The hotel room came with an apology note and earplugs for the probably that the typical behavior would occur…. and it did!   

Tim looks forward to his daily sunrise grounding and  Qichong …. today on the beach. 

Our breakfast was across from the ocean in a village of container food shops. Fun location and so many locals in line that we knew it would be good. 

A morning stretch… no actually just lifting the panel to their shop while I secured the support. 

Surfers 🏄 and fishmen enjoying the morning waves. 

Once on our bikes, we experienced warm weather and  a variety of different environments of Puerto Rico. 

At one point when we stopped to make adjustments, I spotted these two iguanas in action. By the time my phone was out for a photo op… she was already on the get-away. 

11:11 shot of the day-  we forgot this yesterday. But the idea is not to look for a good photo opt, it is just to show what we are seeing at that moment in time. Today at 11:11 Tim was fixing his mirror in the shade of an auto painting business.  BTW… the high temp again today is 83 degrees with humidity - warm enough to seek out the shade. 

Yesterday and again today we saw a lot of these huge clay-like nests in lots of trees. These nests are commonly at least 4’ across are built by arboreal termites! 

Lots of bamboo along the rural roads… some groves seem very old and densely packed. 

We made to our destination… and were super thrilled to be able to acquire our room over 3 hours before check-in. It is so much nicer to stroll the area without bikes and out of sweaty cycling shorts. 

Tim is enjoying his chicken chatting time. 🐓🐥

A mango mojito and a pina mojito were our  drinks of choice to go with our delicious fish tacos. 🌮😋

The bioluminescent lagoon experience is a HUGE tourist attraction here. There are at least 6 tour companies in this small town! One of the most important things is to go when there is as little moonlight as possible.  Tiny organisms called dinoflagellates light up the water with a blue-green glow, almost like a spark when it is stirred by a hand or a paddle.   Our group had 10 double kayaks, but there must have at least 60 additional kayaks with the other groups. For us, the best part of the adventure was kayaking single file  through a narrow passage lined  with mangroves and other tropical trees, the canopy so dense it was hard to see the sky. 

As we were returning through the narrow passageway we encountered a couple more kayak groups making their way towards the bioluminescent lagoon!  In the darkness it was a bit tricky to maneuver past each other and not bump into the mangroves edging their way into the passage. Total kayak journey was almost 4 miles. 

We were very pleased that our hotel was only a 5 minute walk from the kayak put in site. 

Day 1 Cycling San Juan to Luquillo Puerto Rico

We woke up excited and ready to get going on our journey, but needed to figure out how to get everything packed in our panniers so we can retrieve it when needed. We’re guessing we’re each carrying between 20 and 25 pounds. We loved Viejo San Juan and are now ready to check out more of the island. 

First stop…. Coffee and a bite. This place, like many others grow their own coffee beans! What special about these beans is the way they roasted them - we both chose the whiskey roasted bean! 

The ride out of town was mostly bike paths, but we did need to navigate the busy morning traffic at times. Seeing the ocean and ocean front parks helped us get in island time. 

We just never know what we’re gonna see when we’re touring. This chocolate shop, off the beaten path,  popped up and essentially called us in.  The chocolate was pricey, but we couldn’t resist. 

We arrived in Luquillo shortly after 1:00.  36 miles and now we have time to explore this popular coastal town famous for its golden sand beaches and being a popular nesting ground for the leatherback turtle - the largest of the turtle species weighing up to a ton! We didn’t see any,, maybe because they usually come to lay their eggs in March.

 

A lunch stop with a beach view, pina coladas and fish tacos …. Island time and worth the wait. 

After a little siesta , we were ready to check out a new restaurant in town La Mar.  Jonathan was our server and did a great job helping us make our menu choices. 

The sangria was brought out with a  smoldering cinnamon stick … very unique !  

We shared the octopus salad with fries and grilled chicken with Puerto Rican rice and beans. 

We were stuffed silly!