Rae La Soul

I promise my blog is not turning into a travel blog.. or maybe it is. I don’t know, but while I was preparing a list of what I need to pack and in the midst of preparing documents to receive my passport for my trip to Cabo next month, I thought back to the time that I went to Puerto Rico last year and realized that I never got around to share the experience here. I think it took me about two months to realize that I was back in Louisiana (the time it took for me to close on my first home), and furthermore, it took me about a year to unpack my suitcase and that was only because I needed it to travel to Colorado. Nevertheless, Puerto Rico is such an AMAZING place to visit and I enjoyed every single moment that I experienced there.

We stayed in San Juan at the Hilton Caribe, which was pretty nice if you don’t count the 5xs I had to walk to the desk to get a key that actually worked. The view from the room made up for that. And not to mention, there was a small, make-shift restaurant within walking distance that I think is called Cafeteria Tropical — very tasty breakfast and lunch for a very decent price.

Also not too far from San Juan is Coronado — a beautiful place to visit to enjoy some of the night light in San Juan. We stopped by a restaurant with a live street band and for the first time, I had pina coloda in a pineapple. Very expensive — like $40 a pineapple, but well worth it in my opinion.

For those of you that follow me on Instagram, you were able to see a lot of my experience visiting the El Yunique Rain Forest, Pig City, and the amazing and gorgeous Old San Juan. All of our treks were pretty close to our lodging. However, for the Rainforest and Pig City, we rented a jeep and for Old San Juan, we took a cab. And the cab drivers drive without a care in the world out here. But we made it safely to Old San Juan. Glory!

Old San Juan —

This amazing and historic town didn’t have to force me to fall in love with it. From all of the beautiful colors, the beautiful people, and the historic culture, I simply couldn’t resist. And needless to say, the food was absolutely amazing. We visited a restaurant known as Cafe Puerto Rico where the mufongo was to slap your mama for.. (sorry ma!) But listen, there were people waiting for the restaurant to open so to dine. If I’m going to stand in a line for anything besides meeting my maker, it’ll be for food. If you ever visit Puerto Rico, visiting Old San Juan is a must.

El Yunique Rainforest —

I think the most beautiful part of the trip was a visit to the El Yunique Rainforest. On the way there, we stopped in Pig City to feast on some amazing food — although I’ve limited my pork consumption as of late. :Womp: At least I have my memories of the food here.

The rain forest was beyond amazing and worth all of the motion sickness and the bloody, stubbed toe from the rocks in the Atlantic. Even if it was just for tasting the amazing coconut water straight from a coconut for the first time. It was even worth the tumble I took in a stream while there. Because if you don’t fall at least three times while on vacation you ain’t really living.

Would I ever visit Puerto Rico again? Most definitely. Puerto Rico is one of the most beautiful places that I’ve ever seen. And the food.. my God.. I’m pretty sure the food is exactly what the angels dine on in Heaven. I didn’t get a chance to do some of more adventurous stuff that I had planned, but that’s all the more reason that it’s a must I return. However, I’ll return AFTER my trip to Mexico which I am beyond excited about.

2016 is my year to travel, collect experiences with my family and in solo form, and to truly live my life. And in my opinion, I’m off to a great start. Stay tuned during the month of February as I share my family’s winter vacation to Atlanta with the hopes to snowtube and how my boyfriend and I will celebrate Valentine’s Day with skydiving.

Do so by following me on the following platforms:

Facebook | Carla R Buckner
Instagram | soulosophy
Snapchat | rae.lasoul
Periscope | soulosophy