Puerto Rico (Rum Capital of the World)

I took a quick break from work to fly south to visit the Puerto Rico Temple. I flew in yesterday afternoon, picked up my rental car, and drove 10-15 minutes to a tiny Airbnb apartment right next to the temple. As I left the airport I drove under an overpass with a large sign that said, "Welcome to the Rum Capital of the World!" Alas, I'll never know how good Puerto Rican rum is. 😀 🍺

Last night I enjoyed participating in initiatory ordinances and baptisms for the dead in the temple, in Spanish and English. I met one "gringo" senior missionary couple who are in Puerto Rico for a few months to help get this brand new temple up and running, at which time they will move on to another temple. That's my kind of mission! I met another "gringo" couple who moved to the island two years ago for the warmth. My body loves the warmth and humidity here. Also, I have much better cell phone reception in Puerto Rico than I ever do back home. Full bars.

My little Ford rental car.

I met the Thorley family at the temple. Brother Thorley served his mission in Puerto Rico 30 years ago and now he and his wife work in disaster management on the island. After our service in the temple last night we went to a nearby Pollo Tropical to get some local food.

I ate rice, chicken, beans, and tostadas (they are called "patacones" in Colombia). Yum!

Did you know Puerto Rico is one hour ahead of east coast time? I didn't know that until a week or two before my trip.

Last night we got some good, hard rain on and off throughout the night. I took this video in the morning when there was a break in the clouds. Beautiful morning sky.

This morning I drove around old San Juan a bit taking in the sights (and the traffic), and then I drove over to the beach to take a few pictures and get in the water - once. I'm not a big fan of the beach. I don't like the sand getting everywhere, I don't like swimming in salt water, and I don't like smothering sunblock all over my body. And of course there's the matter of my cancerous skin. That said, I spent a whopping 30 minutes at the beach today in order to avoid wearing sunblock.

Now, let's talk about my swimming suit. I have two swimming suits. One for when I'm in public (board shorts), and one for when I swim laps at a pool near my work in Washington, D.C. The problem is, I don't bring my public swimming suit to work with me because I never need it. I wasn't planning on visiting Puerto Rico before I left on this particular work trip. So, I had two options for my short visit to the beach this morning. 1) Wear my Speedo. 2) Wear my birthday suit. Option 2 is illegal, I'm sure, and traumatizing to anyone who might witness it. Option 1 was the (slightly) less traumatizing option for the beach-goers. 😁

Here's a video of my one-time dip in the ocean:

https://youtube.com/shorts/QIn5oqZnRT4?feature=share

I met a couple from Pennsylvania at the beach. They are visiting Puerto Rico for one week with their cute little girl. I asked if they would help me make a video for my wife. Here it is:

On my way back to the Airbnb apartment I stopped at a small shack where they sell Venezuelan arepas. They were delicious, and way too big. I only needed one.

I'll head back to the airport in a couple of hours to catch my flight back to D.C. I spent 26 lovely hours on the ground here.

Hasta luego, Puerto Rico! Until next time.