Bio-Bay Tour and the Old Forts in Puerto Rico!!!

For this post, we'd like to talk about Puerto Rico, where I joined my good friends, Adam and Courtney, for their beautiful destination wedding!  While there, we visited the Bioluminescent Bay in Fajardo and the Forts of Old San Juan.

There they are, the happy couple!

Bioluminescent Bay:

We left from Marina Puerto Del Rey aboard a catamaran to the island of Vieques   The ride was so bumpy that even sitting still was extremely difficult.

The Catamaran safely docked in V

After the harrowing boat ride, we boarded vans en route to a local restaurant for dinner.  On the menu: mofongo!

Drenched from the boat, but hungry for dinner.

A delicious plate of Mofongo, mashed fried-plantains mixed with vegetables and meat.

We were then whisked away via school bus to Mosquito Bay, where we transferred to silent electric motor pontoon boat.  Our tour guide gave a short introduction about the micro-organisms and other wildlife found in the bioluminescent bay.  Water was brought on board in buckets so we could run our hands through the water and watch the microorganisms light up!

The unique glow is caused by a physio-chemical reaction from the single-celled dinoflagellate organism.  These creatures glow a bright blue-green as a defense mechanism when they are disturbed or scared, and appear like fireflies in the water.  The unique climate and conditions of Mosquito Bay allow them to thrive.

The night sky was incredibly clear allowing us to see the cloud of the Milky Way and many smaller stars that are typically not visible in the presence of the light pollution.  With the bio bay glowing under the boat and the night sky glittered with stars, we just soaked it all in.  The flash of a camera is blinding in the darkness, so there are no pictures to share.  


Forts at Old San Juan:

We had some time to explore Old San Juan before the wedding.  We began our day at Café Cuatro Sombras, for breakfast.

The Cuatro Sombras Sandwich - black forrest ham, lettuce, tomato, mayo and a garlic and cheese spread.

Tostadas - Guava butter on "Pan de Agua" (Special Puerto Rican Water Bread)

Afterwards, we strolled to the Forts of Old San Juan, appreciating the unique architecture of the town.

The Swiss Ms. had previously stayed here and highly recommends it.

Blue streets of San Juan.

El Tótem Telúrico in Old San Juan, a controversial monument built in 1992 commemorating the 500th anniversary of Columbus' discovery of the New World.

Colorful buildings like these (and El Convento) line the streets of Old San Juan.

We walked to El Morro, a 16th century fortress strategically placed to defend the port of San Juan and control entry into the harbor.  During Spanish rule of the island between 1539 to 1898, El Morro survived multiple attacks from foreign powers. 

El Morro!  

 

The formidable entrance to El Morro.

The San Juan Cemetery resides along the outskirts of El Morro Fort.  The colorful dome is named for Saint Mary Magdalene of Pazzis, and is surrounded by ornate headstones, statues, and monuments.

On the lookout for invaders in one of the many sentry towers.

From left to right, the (1) Cross of Burgundy Flag, known as las Aspas de Borgoña widely used by Spanish armies around the world between 1506 to 1785.  (2)  Puerto Rican Flag.  (3)  USA.

El Morro is divided into six levels.  This is a view of the fort from one of the lower levels.

This is the view of the harbor.  Puerto Rico has no shortage of breathtaking views. 

From here, we were recommended by a one of the Park rangers to go to El Jibarito for lunch.  

We were very impressed, to say the least!

Fricase de cabrito - goat stew.  (Ms: Looks yuck, tastes yum.)

Bacalao a la vizcaina - Cod Fish Stew with fried plantains.

And finally, some pictures from the wedding! 

Keeping up with childhood friends.

Excited to be here!

Making new friends!

Working the dance floor.

Congratulations Adam and Courtney!

-Herr Cervelat

The Abbey at St. Gallen

This weekend, we found ourselves going to the city of Saint Gallen (say: Sankt Gahlen).  Saint Gallen is also the "capital" of its eponymous canton. In classic SAT analogy format= States: USA : : Cantons: Switzerland   Switzerland currently has 26 cantons, and although we live in Thalwil (just outside of Zurich City), we are still part of the Zurich Canton.

This is where we're headed for today's adventures!

As usual, we made our way on the ever-dependable Swiss public transportation.  We first left Thalwil on the IR (Inter-Regio), then hopped onto a connecting line at Zurich HB to St. Gallen.  We took the IC (Inter-City) there and took the ICN (InterCity Neigezug) back.  These trains had restaurants inside!  Since the trip to St. Gallen is only a 90 minute journey, we decided to save the restaurant experience for a longer trip (such as to Italy or Paris!)

The restaurant car! (on the ICN)

Look how immaculate that restaurant is (on the IC).

Admiring the lush Swiss countryside.

We have arrived in St. Gallen.

After arriving at St. Gallen, we walked to the Old Town around the Abbey at St. Gallen, just a five minutes east of the train station.  As we walked around, we were struck by some of the interesting architecture of the old houses.  St. Gallen is known for its exposed timber buildings and oriel windows.  The variety was simply stunning. 

This one appears to have three different coat of arms.

The intricate woodwork on this window is overshadowed by the painting on the wall.

That's it, I want all my windows to look this nice.

As many of you know, the two of us really like trying new foods, especially those local to the region.  When is comes to Switzerland, that means bratwurst and sausages.  In St. Gallen we visited Metzgerei Gemperli, a butcher cum bratwurst stand.  Of course, the bratwurst was one of the most affordable meals we've had in Switzerland (at only 6.50 CHF).  No wonder the Swiss love their wurst! 

St. Gallen's signature "Olma bratwurst mit Bürli."  (Veal sausage with roll).

While mustard is commonly available, the locals NEVER use it their signature Olma sausages.  Thank goodness we didn't embarrass ourselves!

Of course, no Swiss meal would not be complete without chocolate and coffee.  So we walked a few blocks to the Chocolaterie for some rich, decadent Swiss hot chocolate and chocolate/espressos.

More beautiful Swiss architecture right above the cafe.

A Swiss premium 70% Cacao hot chocolate mit Rahm (whipped cream!)

Chococino mit Espresso.  Of course, both our drinks came with (more) chocolate!

Filled with sausage and chocolate, we visited the Abbey (Fürstabtei St. Gallen), a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Inside the Abbey, we explored the Stiftsbibliothek (Abbey Library), which is the oldest library collection in all of Switzerland.  The library houses many priceless books and manuscripts that were meticulously copied and illustrated by the monks during the Middle Ages.  We had to wear slippers before entering the library, and we were not allowed to take any pictures, so we don't have any to show our readers.  However, a quick google search will yield many beautiful images, and you won't be disappointed.

The Abbey!  (Yup, that's snow...cough, cough 80 degrees in Philadelphia.)

We then made our way to the twin-towered cathedral in the Abbey, which was also in the over the top baroque style.  The cathedral is slightly less ornate than the library (hard to believe) and is certainly an opulent place of worship.

Beautifully painted frescos.

Trying to capture the grandness of the cathedral.

Very extravagant confessionals.

This was followed by the more modest St. Laurenzen-Kirche, a much more subdued cathedral in a neo-Gothic style.

A view from the back.

Detailed walls with star-studded ceiling.

A view from the front.

Our cathedral viewing was now followed by exploring a bit more of St. Gallen just before we left for Thalwil.  We stumbled upon the Stadtlounge (City Lounge) just outside of Old Town in Bleicheli, the financial district of St. Gallen.  

So.  Much.  Red.

Believe it or not, this goes on for several city blocks.

Thanks for reading!

-Sir Cervelat