Puerto Rico : Bachelor Party and Solo Adventure

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Puerto Rico was my second-to-last stop during my post-graduate travel, with one more stop in Florida to visit a friend afterward. My friend who got married in October had a bachelor party planned in San Juan, Puerto Rico during the July 4th weekend. With no pressing need to rush back to the mainland, I thought I’d spend a week longer exploring more of San Juan and the western part of the island and to hopefully do some surfing. Overall, I spent from July 4th to July 13th in Puerto Rico. One half was spent with ten others at the bachelor party, and the other half was a solo adventure.

The Bachelor Party

I’ll admit, I was both nervous and excited for the bachelor party. I had never been on one. When some of my other friends got married, I wasn’t living in the U.S, so I missed out on them. I also had just finished six weeks of solo travel around Europe and Egypt, so spending a few days with ten guys, some of whom I didn’t know, in an Airbnb was the antithesis.

The bachelor party turned out to be fantastic. The group got along well and there was no drama. The Airbnb was perfect, close to the beach and the going out area. Being with others with a nice reprieve from traveling solo. I would gladly do another trip with that same group if the opportunity ever came up.

The Airbnb

I don’t know Airbnb’s popularity nowadays, but I feel like I’ve used it less than most people. Overall, I’ve stayed in very few Airbnb’s and rarely use it to book accommodation. Since most of my travels are solo, it never ends up being cheaper than a hostel and people who stay in Airbnb’s usually aren’t interested in meeting others. They usually lack the social atmosphere hostels offer, but are good for a break from people if you are traveling for an extended period.

That said, our Airbnb in Puerto Rico was amazing. It was architecturally unique, remnant of 80s design. Glass blocks for walls in places let the light in, and well-placed curved walls made the interior interesting. It was huge and labyrinth-like; it had an interior courtyard, a second-floor terrace, a hot tub we didn’t use, a pool table and enough beds and rooms for almost everyone to have their own space-I ended up sharing a room with a friend.

Location-wise, it was perfect. While it wasn’t right on the beach, it was just a two-minute walk away. It was also within walking distance of a grocery store, some great restaurants and the nightlife area.

The Highlights

1. Everything overall

The trip overall went smooth. As I mentioned above, the Airbnb was great. We had activities planned for each day, that weren’t just about drinking, there were no fights or arguments and we all had a great time together.

2. The Boat Trip

We rented the most beautiful and expensive catamaran I’ve ever been on. The guys in charge said it was about a $1.6 million dollar boat. They took us to a nearby island. We anchored offshore, but a storm that came in prevented us from going to another or onto the island itself. They had a Seabob, a little motorized jet ski-scooter thing, that propels you below or above the water.

3. Waterfall, cave hike:

On our second morning, we did a waterfall cave hike through the Arenales Caves. While I think calling it a hike is a bit of a stretch (it’s in its booking name), it was pretty cool to get out of the city and into the forests. One of the highlights was at the end, when we were led to this cavern/cave swimming hole.

4. The dinners

We had dinner at two great restaurants, one of which was not only the most expensive but also the most unforgettable dining experience of my life. Dinner that night came out to a staggering $3,400-half of what my 6.5 weeks of travel had cost me before this trip! Coming from cooking pasta in hostel dorms and $5 dinners in Egypt, it was shocking.

The dinner was a 10-course meal, with an optional wine pairing that I optioned not to do. While everyone shared their plates in pairs, as the only vegetarian of the group, I was served special made plates for each course. By the time the 10^th plate arrived, I was so full I could barely take a bite. Throughout the meal, I took pictures of each course, but I forgot to take a picture of the entrée and desserts. The dessert afterwards was delectable. The service was impeccable and while I hope to never spend that much on a dinner again; it was worth it for the one night.

5. Going Out

I think there is the assumption that bachelor parties lead to debauchery. Maybe they do, but ours didn’t. Since we had activities planned for each morning, we didn’t stay out very late. Going out in Puerto Rico was the place for me. Home to one of my favorite music genres, reggaeton and one of the most popular singers in the world, Bad Bunny, you couldn’t escape the pulsating beats best and snares of reggaeton everywhere you went.

Salsa and bachata music rang out from various bars and clubs, like a musical call to prayer. I wanted to go into every one of them. But we didn’t really need to. It was like one big street party. Most of the guys in our group didn’t know what reggaeton was, or who Bad Bunny was at the start, but by the end of the trip, they did.

The Solo Part

On Sunday, July 7th everyone left to go back to the mainland. They had work and lives to get back to, but I didn’t. I stayed in Puerto Rico for another week. I spent one night in Old San Juan, since we didn’t get to see it during the Bachelor Party and the rest of my time on the western side of the island, exploring the different beaches and areas.

My time alone didn’t start completely solo, though. I spent a day with my ex-girlfriend, who happened to be in San Juan for a couple of months doing an externship for vet school. Everybody is going to have different opinions about whether you can stay friends with your ex and while we aren’t in contact now, we also don’t harbor any ill will towards one another. The relationship ended because I had just graduated and she had another year left of vet school. Neither of us knew where we’d end up. Her future depended on her clinical placements and mine depended on where I could get a job.

I was the one who initiated the breakup. I felt like we were in different stages of life and a long-distance relationship didn’t seem like the right fit. People might say, if you really loved someone, you would make it work and maybe that’s true. But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to realize that timing plays a huge role in relationships.

I was worried that reconnecting might make things awkward or complicated, but it ended up being a really nice experience. Sometimes, it’s just nice to see a familiar face, especially in what I’d almost call a different country (Puerto Rico feels distinct enough that it could be). She didn’t live far from our Airbnb and had a car, so after the bachelor party ended, she picked me up. We spent the day at a beach she liked and then had dinner at a local food truck.

On My Own

After spending a night in Old San Juan, I headed to the western side of the island to explore, using Aguadilla as my home base.

Exploring Puerto Rico on my own was lonely after spending the previous few days with a large group. While I love going to the beach, I can’t just lie there for hours and when you’re by yourself, there’s not much more you can do other than sit on the beach, or go in the water. Luckily Puerto Rico has some of the most fantastic snorkeling I’ve ever experienced. All you have to do is step into the water and you’re surrounded by multitudes of fish species that swim around the reefs right off the shore. I bought a cheap snorkel set from a CVS and spent my last two days roving between Playa Escalera (Steps Beach) and Playa Maria, floating belly down on the water, with googles on, exploring the underwater world.

The beaches I visited were:

1. Jobos Beach: The only place at the time of year that I had some resemblance of waves. I spent two mornings surfing on mainly wind swell.
2. Punta Borinquen Beach: Had cool ruins of a Spanish lighthouse and some really well done graffiti on an abandoned building nearby
3. Peña Blanca Beach
4. Crash Boat Beach: It was so crowded I couldn’t find parking and decided to go elsewhere
5. Sandy Beach: Another scenic beach with a large expanse of sand. Apparently, in surf season, it’s too dangerous to swim.
6. Domes Beach: A local favorite with a nearby overlook. Called so because of a giant domed structure next to the beach. It’s a former nuclear facility.
7. Maria Beach: A beautiful scenic beach with good snorkeling along the length of it.
8. Steps Beach (Playa Escalera): The best spot I found for snorkeling. Named so because a set of concrete stairs that sit out of the water on the reef.

I rented a car for the week and jumped between the various beaches. From San Juan it was an easy drive west and with GPS, I had no problem finding my way around. There was a moment when I thought I lost my phone at the beach. I backtracked and couldn’t find it at either I had been to. While I remained somewhat calm, the longer I couldn’t find it, the closely I got to panicking. I wasn’t sure how I’d find my way back to the hotel and what I was going to do without it, that is, until I remembered I had put it in the car’s glove box to prevent it from getting wet in the rain. There was always an afternoon rain shower around two o’clock.

Between napping on the sand and going into the water, I completed a book series, reading around seven books over the week. It was a relaxing change of pace, especially since I hadn’t done any reading during the previous weeks of travel.

I spent ten days in Puerto Rico, starting with the bachelor party and ending with a solo exploration of the island’s western coast. If it wasn’t for the bachelor party, I don’t think I would have found myself in Puerto Rico. It was a fantastic trip, a mix of connection, adventure and reflection.