Day 7: The Long Trip Home and Adios!

Hola for the Last Time!

Well, yesterday was a long and tiring day, filled with unwanted goodbyes!

To start out the day, Dr. Eppink and Ralph had an early flight, so they left the hotel to get to the airport with plenty of time to get through the long lines. While they were gone, the remaining CSR and SHS people took the morning to go shopping, relax and enjoy our last hours in San Juan...

Shopping in San Juan!

After our time that we spent in San Juan, we got our things together and left for the airport. Although we anticipated a really long wait in security lines, we actually moved through pretty quickly! So, we got to have some last minute food before the four hour flight and three hour bus ride home...

The line for security.....

After about seven hours of long and tiring travel, we all made it home safe! 

Our visit to Puerto Rico has surely changed all of our lives. It is a beautiful and vibrant culture that is truly unique. We were all able to learn about a lot of Puerto Rican culture and history. More importantly, we all grew in our own ways. Some learned to "go with the flow", some learned to enjoy the sun and heat, and some learned how to really operate as a cohesive group experiencing the world in new ways.

At the end of the day, Puerto Rico will always be around, so maybe someday we will get the chance to return. But until then, adios, Puerto Rico! 

Puerto Rico, Isla del Encanto!

Adios!

SHSWC/CSRWC

Day 6: Old San Juan, The Children's Hospital, and The Fort

Hola from San Juan!

The things that have happened here in Puerto Rico have been life-changing and they will not be forgotten. To begin  the day, we all woke up and took part in a continental breakfast provided by the hotel. It didn't take long and we made our way to the bus stop, where we waited for the bus to take us into Old San Juan for the morning...

The bus stop...

While in Old San Juan, we walked around the beautiful streets and saw various historical places. We saw another cathedral, a nearby hotel that used to be a convent, and a variety of other places Old San Juan had to offer. We split up so that we could see more spots and so that we could get some souvenir shopping in, as well. While separated, we each got some lunch before we regrouped to head back to the hotel...

El Convento

The cathedral

Lunch in Old San Juan

After lunch, we quickly returned to the hotel, only to load up to get to our next performance at the San Jorge Children's Hospital. The performance at the children's hospital was indeed VERY special. We traveled from floor to floor presenting 2-3 pieces for the patients. It was priceless to see the sincere appreciation of the patients, their families, and the staff at the hospital. Emotions ran high and many people were effected in memorable ways... 

Very appreciate patients at the Children's Hospital

The San Jorge Children's Hospital Family

 Immediately following the performance at the children's hospital, we made our way over to "El Morro", one of San Juan's most important forts on the island. At the fort, we were able to tour the area first and then we performed the last of our three performances. The performance was outstanding and it was apparent that the crowd really loved it. The most memorable part of the performance was the group's encore performance of "Let There Be Peace" for a family who had lost a loved one not too long ago. The song was sung at their loved one's funeral and it really touched them to have us sing it for them...

The front entrance to "El Morro", the fort

Singing "Let There Be Peace" to a family 

Leaving our friend with love

Outside the fort was a really amazing cemetery, where you could see the trucks of the crew that is shooting a movie with Justin Timberlake, Salma Hayek, and many other stars!  

The cemetery near the fort

Following the performances, we made our way back to the hotel, where the group split up into two parts. The first group decided to go swimming and then get dinner, while the second group was just so hungry that they went to eat right away! All in all, the evening was successful and a lot of fun was had by all! 

Dinner at a nearby restaurant

The ocean view from the window of the restaurant

Today was our last full day in Puerto Rico! Tomorrow will be a long day, as we will be traveling back to New York in the early afternoon. The last post of the blog will most likely be done on Sunday or during our trip home tomorrow. Please check back one last time to hear about what we decided to do on our last morning in San Juan, Puerto Rico. :-)

For now, Hasta luego!!

SHSWC/CSRWC

Day 5: Fajardo to San Juan and More!

Well, Hello Again from Puerto Rico!

Finally, we are at our last destination of the trip, San Juan, Puerto Rico. We will be performing here and staying for a total of 2 days and 2 nights. So far, things have been great! We started the day traveling from Fajardo to San Juan. Along the way, we stopped at a REALLY great family bakery. There, we were able to get great Puerto Rican coffee and fresh pastries...

After finishing our fine breakfast coffee and pastries, we hit the road to our final destination, El Canario by the Lagoon Hotel.

The front entrance to El Canario

Once we got our luggage and belongs all settled into our rooms, we hit the beach for the rest of the day! At the beach, we lounged around, soaked up the sun, snorkeled, swam, and had lots of fun. Check out some of the pictures! The water looks so amazing!

When we were all "beached out", we headed back to the hotel and got ourselves ready for dinner. Tonight we split into two groups: the Schenectady group and the St. Rose group. The Schenectady group decided to get some great local pizza, while the CSR group took the bus into Old San Juan to visit a great restaurant called "Raices". Once again, Puerto Rico proves to have some of the best cuisine in the entire world!

CSR group bussing to Old San Juan

Raices

The Schenectady group enjoying pizza!

Following dinner time, the Schenectady girls took some time to prepare gift bags for the patients at the children's hospital they will be singing at tomorrow. It was another great time for bonding and getting to know each other :-) When they were all done with the gift bags, they headed down to the beach for a night time walk on the shore. More great times!!!

Making gift bags

Night time beach walk!

Tomorrow will be a big performance day in Old San Juan. The girls will be performing at an old fort and a children's hospital. Both performances will definitely be unique, so check back tomorrow to read about our last full day in Puerto Rico :-)


Adios!

SHSWC/CSRWC

Day 4: El Yunque, Beach, Pool and Amazing Food

Hola de Fajardo!

Today was a dynamic day filled with new beautiful sites and fun learning. We rose early again this morning and enjoyed a simple breakfast provided by the hotel...

Following breakfast, we loaded up the vans and headed for El Yunque Rainforest. El Yunque was designated by President Theodore Roosevelt as one the first United States National Forest Reserves. El Yunque is filled with things that words can simply not describe (so see the pictures!). To tour the forest, we drove up the mountain road and stopped at various places. The places were: a waterfall and the Yokahu Tower. Both stops were quite the experience...

"The Portal" and entrance to El Yunque

The vast view of the rainforest from "the Portal"

One of the many beautiful flowers in the rainforest

A really cool waterfall!

The Yokahu Tower!

Looking out from the top of the Yokahu Tower to see the amazing scenery

A really great SHS group picture!

On our way back down from the top of the mountain, we made a pit stop at a local restaurant for some really great Puerto Rican lunch food. They served chicken skewers, tacos of many kinds, plantains with meat, fruit milkshakes, etc. It was a great lunch that everyone seemed to enjoy :-)

Our lunch stop

Cooking the BBQ chicken skewers!

After lunch, we drove down the mountain and out into Fajardo, where we found another great local beach. Between the beach and the resort's pools, we had a relaxing afternoon with sun, sand, and fun.

The Beach!

Look at that cool blue water!!

Can you say pool?!

When the group was good and tired of being out in the water and sun, we all cleaned up and made our way to, arguably, the best meal of the trip yet. We had dinner at a local family-owned restaurant called "Antojitos." The restaurant prepared an AMAZING selection of chicken, fish, plantain and meat, rice and beans, salad, etc. The food was absolutely "to die for" and no one left unsatisfied.

Our dinner stop :-)

Amazing food to choose from!

When we were all finished eating, some of us decided to indulge in some treats: Tasty ice cream and some authentic Puerto Rican coffee. Both of which were OUTSTANDING.

Getting ice cream

A FINE cup o' joe :-)

Following dinner, we were all so very grateful for the fine food and service, that the girls sang "Let There Be Peace" to the staff of the restaurant. They truly enjoyed it and some even recorded it!

Sadly, today was our last full day in Fajardo. Tomorrow morning, we will wake up early to eat our breakfast, we will load up the vans, and we will depart for our final performance destination, San Juan, Puerto Rico. Be sure to check out the blog tomorrow! It promises to be another great one :-)


Hasta Luego,

SHSWC/CSRWC

Day 3: From Ponce to Fajardo

Que Pasa, Amigos?!

Today was a GREAT day! It was a simple day, filled with sun, ocean, and relaxation :-) We began the day like yesterday, eating breakfast at the Ramada's Cafe. The food and drink was just as good as we remembered it, but their was one particular event that we did not expect...

Ben entertaining us with Anna's hat :-) A moment to appreciate, for sure

After breakfast, we loaded up the vans and departed for our current location, Fajardo, Puerto Rico! The trip took just over two hours, and it was filled with things like sleep, gorgeous views, intense driving, and good old car ride sing-alongs!

Our view leaving Ponce on the main highway

Once we entered the Fajardo area, we were able to stop at a really cool store called, "Ralph's Supermarket". This was a store where we were able to purchase large quantities of drinks and snacks. We were also treated to a really great lunch buffet. It's safe to say that we all enjoyed our lunch today :-)

The girls grabbing lunch at Ralph's

Dr. Eppink and Ralph (not the store owner :-)) ready to go!

SHS girls getting ready to load the van to drive to the hotel

After lunch and shopping time, we finished our journey to our next destination for nights, the Fajardo Inn. This place is outstanding! It is a resort that includes some really amazing things, like two pools (one with a water slide!), a fully outfitted fitness center, a basketball court, a mini golf course and much more! To add to it all is a great view!

The front entrance to the Fajardo Inn

The view from the front lobby of the resort

 When we all finished unloading the vans and settling into our welcoming rooms, we decided to go a check out a local beach. This is where we spent the remainder of our day relaxing, swimming and enjoying the beautiful weather. On the way to the beach, guess what??? More great views!

The view of the ocean on our way to the beach

The beautiful area surrounding the beach

SHS girls ready to hit the ocean!

 We spent a couple of hours at the beach and, sadly, had to return back to the resort to go to dinner. For dinner, we were able to attend a favorite of Dr. Eppinks, "Sizzler". This was a mid-west/Michigan favorite of his that he was happy to share with us in Puerto Rico. It was a buffet, so needless to say, we were all STUFFED when we left!

Enjoying dinner at Sizzler

CSR folks enjoying their food :-)

Once again, Puerto Rico has graced us with another amazing day of events. Although it was not packed with performances and a lot of attractions, it was a true joy to be able to just relax on the beach and settle into our new hotel. Tomorrow, we will have a LOT to show you and write about! We will be visiting a rainforest, snorkeling and spending the rest of the day enjoying the various things that the resort has to offer. Check back tomorrow to see the cool pictures!!!

Adios,

SHSWC/CSRWC