Trip to Puerto Rico
After not vacationing most of last year, I was going a bit stir-crazy and I wasn’t really sure what travel looked like, especially in this time of COVID. I decided to do some research and see about getting out of town for a bit. A few places were open to American travelers and I decided to set my sights on Puerto Rico. After getting my negative COVID results 2 days in advance of my trip, I was ready to go.
The airport lines moved fairly quickly, especially with less people traveling out of country. JFK was not the usual bustling place it has been, with a lot of the stores closed. According to a study by Harvard scientists, air travel “is as safe as or substantially safer than the routine activities people undertake during these times” because viruses and germs do not spread easily during air travel due to the way air is filtered and circulates on an airplane. I flew with Delta Airlines and during the plane ride I noticed that everyone kept their mask on with the exception of when eating and drinking. The middle seats were blocked off to assist with social distancing.
Arriving at the airport in San Juan after a 3 hour flight, there was security at baggage claim collecting negative COVID results before we left the airport. It was a pretty easy process where they scanned the barcode you should have received after uploading your results to the Puerto Rico travel portal. After that it was off to my first day in paradise!
Rio Grande is about a 45 minute ride away from the airport. The Wyndham Resort and Spa is a huge property and they confirm all of the guests at the front gate before you are allowed in. The next stop was to get our temperatures taken and to also present our negative results before being allowed into the hotel itself. At the Wyndham my luggage was sprayed down with sanitizer, then I happily and readily checked in. The view from the room was beautiful!
My first day in Rio Grande was spent exploring the resort and taking a much needed day in the spa. The resort itself took amazing precautions, requiring masks to be worn, having hand sanitizer readily available everywhere, and having wristband keys for your hotel rooms.
Tours were still operating in Rio Grande, mostly to outdoor areas like the rainforest and kayaking. Precautions were taken here as well with less people being allowed on the tours, hand sanitizer, and a mandatory mask requirement. I was able to visit a small portion of El Yunque National Rainforest. My tour guide was amazing, both humorous and knowledgeable. It was great being able to swim in a river (I even dived off a cliff for the first time!) and I was able to experience a natural rock slide.
The beach was a few steps off of the resort property so it was wonderful to be able to spend another day just laying in the sun and enjoying the waves. The water was warm and felt absolutely amazing. There wasn’t a single time that the beach was crowded and everyone maintained appropriate social distancing.
I was told that visiting Old San Juan was a must while I was here and it definitely was a historic experience. The most touristy attractions such as Castillo San Felipe del Moro were closed as a precaution. I was still able to walk around the outside of the forts walls and even ended up being caught in a mild rainstorm!
I loved being able to experience some of the history of Old San Juan. One of my favorite experiences was visiting the Spicy Caribbean Store which sells different spices, teas and Coquito! The shop owner was extremely kind and knowledgeable. It was also great getting to explore local food and to walk around this historic city exploring Puerto Rican culture!
I fell in love with the sights, culture, and general kindness of the people in Puerto Rico and hope to be back to visit when things become a bit more normal. Puerto Rico is a beautiful place, a true paradise and definitely worth the visit.