December, a month I usually reserve for a moment of reflection following a year of tireless, relentless pursuit of big goals. 2019 however felt like a year of wandering, soul searching, perhaps even some identity crisis. Many events of the year and micro-decisions towards bigger outcomes led to a need to get away rather than reflect on accomplishments. This was not a holiday get away though. This was a work trip with a few days off peppered in between to take advantage of the company holiday calendar. But for those occasions, I needed to address the travel itch. I targeted a return to Puerto Rico and the American Deep South.

Old Town San Juan

Specifically in Puerto Rico, this time I spent a couple of nights in San Juan and then another three in the tiny island Vieques off the main island’s coast. San Juan was a little jarring after our trip to Rincon on the west side of the island a year ago in 2018. Pockets of the city reminded me of the American way of ruining all that is good, beautiful and pristine by turning the place into a block of garbage fast food and shopping. But being the eternal optimist, we drive off to find the diamonds in the rough. Last year’s quest for finding great lechon asado, led us to El Verde. A small highway BBQ joint lined up by the locals barely speaking English.

Here’s a screen grab from a Tripadvisor Contributor

Roast Chicken, Fried Plantains, rice and mofongo

A delicious meal of slow roasted chicken with crispy skin, flesh falling off the bone, laid on top of a bed of rice and beans with crunchy fried plantains sopping up the chicken juices takes me back to the good times in Goa. There might just be a God! I did not have the privilege of eating the lechon asado which brought about delirious rambling of the word “delicious” by bae but hopefully next time.

We spend an evening in Old Town San Juan with its narrow cobblestone streets and balcony lined buildings. It conjures up the image of what streets in Spain or the Middle East might look like. We hit up Vianda for dinner with a couple of our friends celebrating their wedding anniversary. Modern Puerto Rican cuisine, almost bordering on hipster was the highlight of this place. The chef Francis Guzmán has clearly spent time learning the art of using different spices to craft an interesting menu with influences from Indian, Thai and Mediterranean cuisine with local ingredients.

Now I’m not one for loud clubs but we end the night dancing to afro-caribbean/latin beats at La Factoria to cap off just our first day there. Puerto Rico just keeps getting better.

Onto Vieques

The next day we head out to Vieques a short 45 minute, $8 ferry ride to a rural island. Bae, always the bougie hippie has made reservations at a boutique hotel modeled after a jungle retreat center, very similar to what I am accustomed to in India called La Finca Victoria. Rooms the size of an NYC studio with daily yoga and very delicious vegan breakfast first thing in the morning…talk about an island getaway from an island getaway. The food on the island is “Life-giving”. We gorge on shrimp mofongo at Rincon del Sabor, a small food truck before we take time to relax on secluded beaches lining the coast, approachable only via very gravely roads.

The beautiful La Finca Victoria

Our last dinner in Vieques is at El Guyacan, a small restaurant along the coast that seems to be run by just one guy. It takes me back to the shacks that served endless alcohol and delicious seafood back home in Goa. We get the last red snapper in stock, cooked to perfection with crispy skin, a hearty sauce and more crunchy plantains to accompany it. A perfect end to the trip.

We leave Vieques and Puerto Rico the next day with mild post-vacation depression where you question everything about your life, why you spend so much time in rat infested cities working late hours to make money for faceless corporations just for the dream of retiring in a beach paradise.

Puerto Rico has had an endless number of problems to deal with. Here’s links to how you can help and also help them in their fight against American disaster capitalism.

• Reading: The Battle For Paradise: Puerto Rico Takes on the Disaster Capitalists
• Volunteer or Donate: World Central Kitchen