Occasionally people are inclined to ask the inevitable. "Doesn't it get lonely living on an island?" Never mind that the island in question is the size of Connecticut and also holds 3.2 million people besides us, nor the fact that by the very nature of our business we have a steady stream of incoming and outgoing tenants and guests on a daily, weekly and monthly basis-- the question does seem to be a valid one--. So here is the answer.
It has been over a year since I've left Puerto Rico. Travis has gone stateside three times, but due to work and our diabetic cat, I have stayed put and have been quite content to remain put keeping the home fires burning. Besides the normal house guests and paying guests who pass through our humble abode daily and weekly, being in a place where 2 million cruise passengers stop on their way to somewhere else, means we often get what I like to call "cruise-in visitors."
Cruise-in visitors are friends who have a port call in San Juan for just a few hours, and since we are only about a half an hour from the ferry in Cataño (and can thus be at the cruise terminal in about 45 minutes) it gives us a great opportunity to spend quality time with friends and to show off our lovely city.
Every "cruise-in" visitor is different. Some who have been here before just want to visit with us. A quick jaunt to the house or a "bop" over to Santurce or perhaps Piñones. Years ago my parents' neighbors, the Clines, wanted to meet to drop off my grandmother's silver that my mother was reluctant to mail.
Others want a break from the endless onslaught of souvenir vendors and a desire to see the "real" San Juan. Our friends Nick and Nikos fell into that category on a recent trip. After taking them on my quick walking tour of Old San Juan (which wasn't so quick, since the park service had locked the castle gates and we had to walk all the way back around to the city gate with a dozen aggravated ((but friendly)) cruise passengers from Naples) we whisked them off to a local restaurant (Reuben's) for dinner and then to a local bar they wanted to visit.
We love cruise-in visitors. Some like our friend Robin (early February) have had us on their radar for a year. Others like Gary and Tina (coming this week) slipped across our radar only a few months ago. In every case though, its a wonderful break from our day-to-day routine and an excuse to be tourists ourselves if only for few hours.
Old friends or future friends, always keep in mind that you don't have to be just a "cruise-in" visitor. If you are sailing from San Juan, make a reservation with us before or after (or before and after) your cruise. You'll get the benefit of not having to jump from plane to car to ship (reverse and repeat when you return). Instead you can have an afternoon of tranquility before embarkation, or an evening of decompression before returning to that awful thing we call "post holiday reality."
Either way, for a few hours or a few days, we look forward to seeing you soon. And I promise if I take you to the city gate by way of the Paseo Princesa, we will not turn around and try to enter the city again through the Castillo El Moro.
Once burned-- twice shy.
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