Yesterday, we went on our last day trip tour. We made our way along a narrow, winding road to an indigenous park. We saw some of what remains of the natives of this island, called Tainos. As near as I can figure, they were contemporaries of our Anasazi back home.
Because it had rained so much the day before, the park was on the muddy side, so we got in for free! The fee would have been less than $10 anyway for all of us, but we were glad to get in free, as it proved to be a little boring. There wasn't a whole lot to see. I guess there's not much left of this ancient culture. It was wiped out when the Spaniards took over the place. Plus, I don't think the humid climate is as good for preserving things as our arid climate back home.
Anyway, the park did have a tiny one-room museum, and we saw some rock-lined fields where the Tainos played games and held ceremonies. There was a huge yucca plant we just had to photograph, and a cute little frog in the grass.
Because of the mud, we decided to find someplace else to eat our lunch, so we drove on down the road and explored a couple of side roads until we found a little town park. We had fresh bread and doughnuts from a panaderia in the area, completing our tour of panaderias. This bread came in a close second to the loaves we got in Ponce. Yummy!
After lunch, we decided to try the funky ice cream shop in Lares again (the one that closed 5 minutes before we arrived, last time). The downtown streets were super crowded when we got there. In many places, the cars were parallel parked 2 deep! We drove a couple of blocks away from downtown and found a place to park, then hiked back to the shop. We were sure ready for ice cream after that walk!
They had a lot of odd flavors, just like the other place, although I thought the other place was more creative in their flavor combinations. Still, I was grossed out by rice and beans ice cream and aho, or garlic. Yuck! I didn't taste those. The first one I tasted, I found out a little too late, had rum in it. Oops. I ended up getting some kind of cheese ice cream that tasted like a really rich vanilla. Steve got dulce de leche, Katie and Rachel got parcha--or passion fruit--Megan got pistachio, and Jessie stuck with good-old vanilla.
Like the streets, the shop was super crowded, but we found a place to sit in the back and enjoy our treat. Then, we walked around downtown a little before we headed back to the car.
On the drive back to the condo, we stopped at a fruit stand to get some local fruit. We've had some pretty good eating from the roadside fruit stands! This time, I was able to talk to the guy behind the counter myself and communicate what I wanted. I was proud of my Spanish--that I was understood and could understand what he said in return! We got some luscious pineapple, mangos, guineos (bananas), and a huge avocado! I sure will miss the tropical fruit when we go home.
I have mixed feelings about coming to the end of this vacation. We sure have enjoyed it! I will miss the ocean, the frequent rain, the green plants, the flowering trees, and the food. But, it will be good to go home, too, and see family again and sleep in my own bed (at least, for 1 night, until we start reunioning!).
In spite of their love of the beach, the kids are ready to go home too. They've told us a few times lately that they're homesick. Monday, we will bid a fond farewell to paradise, then on Tuesday head to the airport for our return flights. We'll see you all soon!
No comments:
Post a Comment