*Puerto Rico is part of the US territory, so I have this under “USA Travels”. Until I travel to more continents, I will update my blog, and will move this to the “Caribbean” category. Last updated: 12/13/18*

February 2017

My first solo trip. I planned this trip right after when I received the call/e-mail for my first big girl job. So, I was like, “Hey, this is my graduation present, big girl job reward, and just a present for myself!” Ofcourse, my parents were very hesitant and the only way they would let me go was if I stayed in a hotel, which honestly turned out to be the best decision. Thank you mom and dad.

Day 1:

Flew from my place to Charlotte, North Carolina, to San Juan, Puerto Rico!! I could not believe my eyes when I woke up from my nap as we landed. GORGEOUS!

Got into a taxi and headed to Marriott Courtyard hotel. My room was not ready yet, but the hotel had storage for my luggage, so I left it there and grabbed lunch. As I walked outside, the scenery was somewhat of an old small downtown. There was a mixture of business people, locals, homeless, and small markets. I was a little bit scared, because this is my first time traveling ALONE. The weather was great though. Super warm.

I headed to a random restaurant and I went inside and stood at the door. I waited for a waiter/ess to guide me to my seat, but this restaurant was a self seater. I felt self conscious because, it was Valentine’s Day…everyone was with a friend, significant other, or a family member. I was alone and everyone looked at me.

The waitress came over a spoke super fast in Spanish and I was like “English?” and she said “Si” and showed me the menu. I understood a little bit of Spanish, because I took it in highschool and I ordered something with rice and chicken.

It wasn’t chicken. It was somewhat like a corndog/jalapeno popper with spam and yellow and white sauce inside. Then, I observed how the payment works. I saw some people go up to the cashier, the cashier went to the table, and gave the check. I was planning to go up to the cash register but my waitress came over.

Then, I went to the grocery store, bought some snacks, and water for the hotel and finally checked in. The view from the hotel room was very nice.

Then I rest, unpacked, and got ready for the beach! This was my walk over to Condado Beach, it was about a 25 minute walk from where I stayed. I had my swimsuit underneath my shorts and a cover up. I got hollered at twice and was a bit nervous. Thank goodness they didn’t do anything. (So solo ladies – please be careful! Always be aware of your surroundings!)

As I got closer to the beach, I saw all of the high end hotels and casinos. I felt safer. The water was warm and the sand was soft.

I wanted photos of myself at the beach, but it’s hard when you’re by yourself and you also don’t want to stand out like a tourist. I had my selfie stick but it was a bit awkward for me to just take out. And, I didn’t want to leave my stuff by itself either for it to get stolen.

Then, I saw this couple that took selfies of themselves and I was brave enough to ask them if they wanted me to take their photo and they did 🙂 They took my photos as well and we started a conversation. Peter asked me, “What are you doing on Valentine’s Day by yourself?! Come join us.”  They offered me a drink and the packaging looked like Capri Sun. I thought that was the warmest welcome ever. I thanked them and he said, “Welcome to Puerto Rico!” So they were not a couple haha, they were just friends! We sat, chilled for two hours, and watched the sunset. I made new friends!

They even told me that Puerto Rico has ubers/lyfts, BUT I should call them away from taxis because they would fight about it. They invited me out, but I was hesitant, because I just met them and it’s my first time traveling solo, so I kindly declined. They told me not to walk alone at night either, and this “shocked” me in a way. Ofcourse I know not to walk alone as a solo female traveler, but to hear it from them, who are the locals, made me even more grateful that they told me. You have to trust the locals when they warn you about your safety. Peter was nice enough to drive me back to my hotel which was 5-7 minutes away. Call me crazy…I was like in my head, “Should I even trust this?!” But, I feel like I have good instincts and ofcourse, I was safely dropped back. Gracias, Peter! It was great to meet you & Hilary.

Day 2:

I took an uber over to Castillo San Felipe del Morro which was about a 12-15 minute ride from where I stayed. The uber driver was shocked that I was traveling alone as well and commended my bravery. He gave me his business card and told me to contact him if I needed any other rides around the area.

The castle itself was gorgeous with the beautiful blue clear waters surrounding it. Breathtaking.

Believe it or not, this last photo took me a while to get LOL. I wanted a good shot at this location of the castle. I kept on going back and forth and asked multiple people to take my photo and I think the shot came out pretty good! Haha.

After the castle, I walked to downtown and I loved it. There were a lot of cobble stones and it reminded me of Europe. The buildings were all colorful too. There was a lot of tourists, because the cruise ships dock here and the tourists have time to go around and shop. I walked past by shops and this guy was handing out samples of hair/face products and asked where I’m from and we had a small conversation. Then, I continued to explore.

Then I went back to Castillo San Felipe del Morro to relax and enjoyed the view.

The sun was setting, so I called an uber and I definitely saw this first hand. My uber was far away from the taxi drop off location in front of Castillo San Felipe del Morro, but I walked over to the uber and he thanked me for walking over to him and I said no problem. He was super fun and played music from Venezuela!

Day 3:

Woke up, got ready, and called an uber to head over to the Bacardi Factory. Now, this was probably the most sketch uber I’ve ever experienced so far. And, I know, there can be worse situations and I pray that it won’t get there. This uber guy pulls up in a beat up old car, and I knew from that it was going to be fishy. I got inside the uber and it was dirty, and I just felt uncomfortable from his vibe. I responded with little words.

Bacardi Factory is out of the touristy area, so I saw another part of Puerto Rico that I probably wouldn’t have seen if I didn’t go here. The uber guy took me through a town called, Catano and he was taking a longer route to get to the factory. As we exit off the freeway, he made a right instead of a left, where the sign clearly stated, “Left <– Bacardi Factory.” I was like “Hey…it’s over there.” He said, “I know, but I want to take you here and show part of my town.” Finally, the longest 31 minute uber ride of my life was over.

I purchased my ticket to the factory and they gave us a complimentary drink. We also got to save the cup as a souvenir which was cool! The tour was only 5 of us. Two elderly couples and myself. One couple was from Michigan and the other was from Wisconsin. There was a bumpy trolley ride to the factory. They gave us a tour of the history and there were several rooms in the tour. There was a theatre room and a room filled with barrels where you were able to smell the different types of honey and Bacardi. Then, the last room was set up as a bar that led us out to the gift shop. There was an unlimited edition bottle so I took a photo of it. I bought a regular bottle of Bacardi for my family’s friend and the cashier gave me a shot and wooo it was strong. I couldn’t even finish it LOL. I needed chase.

After the tour, I was nervous for my travel back. I was afraid to take another uber and the taxi was $12 (it was easier to split with other people). Luckily, I found another couple from Michigan, explained that I was traveling alone, and the wife was so understanding. She said she has sons who travels alone so she understood. As we were about to reach our destination, I pulled out my wallet and realize I did not have change! The wife was so nice and she paid for me. So thankful for her. They dropped us off where we can take a short boat ride back to downtown. I believe it was 25-50cents for a 15min-20 minute ride – so worth it!

Then, I went back to downtown, stopped by that salon again to chat with the workers, then got tacos for lunch and called it an early day.

Day 4:

It was my last day and I slept in and relaxed. Then, I went back to Condado beach, got myself a small 6 pack of Coronas, journaled, and enjoyed.

That is my trip for San Juan, Puerto Rico. The only thing that I didn’t get to do was El Yunque National Forest, Biolumniescent Bay, and experience the night life.

This sums up my first solo trip. There’s definitely pros and cons. Let’s start off with the cons and end on the positive with the pros. The cons is that, it can be scary and lonely. I didn’t go hiking in El Yunque because it was about 1.5 hours away from my stay. I didn’t trust to take a uber that long, and the tours were a bit expensive, and I also didn’t want to go hiking alone. I didn’t get to go to Biolumniescent Bay, because that was an evening/night adventure which I didn’t want to do alone. And ofcourse, as a female, I didn’t want to go to the bars at night by myself either. I was definitely cautious, especially, since this was my first solo trip.

The pros, I got to do things on my own time and do whatever I wanted. There was no need to cater to anyone else. This trip made me stronger and smarter as a person. I am proud that I traveled all by myself. I ventured out on my own! Thank you, San Juan, Puerto Rico!
#viviansventures

As always, thank you for visiting Vivian’s Ventures. Have you been to San Juan? If so, tell me in the comments/reply section of your experience. What should I do there if I go back? If you haven’t been, tell me what you are planning to do there. Any questions or comments, let me know.