Hi, I'm Eric.

I’m an avid world traveler, photographer, software developer, and digital storyteller.

I help implement the Content Authenticity Initiative at Adobe.

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Part 1: ¡Feliz Navidad! and Chill

27 December 2021 • 6242 km / 3879 mi (map)

Added to Eric Scouten :: Travel on 3 January 2022
Puerto Rico 9

So excited to start my first major vacation in … yeah, that long … and to share it with fellow travel aficionado and sweetheart Lisa Rozmyn.

We started flying at midnight on Christmas eve / morning and landed a bit before Puerto Rico’s sunset. We enjoyed a brief walk on the beach …

A sandy beach at dusk with a pastel pink and blue sky over calm ocean waves, people walking along the shoreline and relaxing in beach chairs, and a line of palm trees along the far edge of the sand.

Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico

Us on the beach.

… before heading for dinner at Condal, a tapas bar and restaurant in the nearby Condado neighborhood.

The exterior of a Spanish cuisine restaurant at night, with a vertical gold sign reading “SPANISH CUISINE” and cascading string lights along the glass storefront. A large rust-colored winged dragon sculpture perches beside a curved metal handrail and greenery, while diners are visible seated inside the warmly lit interior.

Condal, San Juan, Puerto Rico

An ornate curly wrought-iron staircase railing draped with colorful string lights and hung with glittery Christmas ornament balls in red, green, gold, and blue, inside a restaurant with exposed concrete walls, framed pictures, and a table with a yellow banquette and pale chairs in the foreground.

Condal, San Juan, Puerto Rico

Paella, pictured below, was the highlight of our meal.

A close-up of a seafood paella served in a metal pan, with saffron-yellow rice studded with green peas, chunks of meat and chorizo, whole shrimp, and a black-shelled mussel in the foreground.

Condal, San Juan, Puerto Rico

We spent our first two nights at the Trópica Beach Hotel, which isn’t quite on the beach, but is an easy walk and was a good place for us to recover from the odd hours and time-zone shifts associated with long-distance travel.

Two teardrop-shaped hanging egg chairs woven in an ombré pattern of white, teal, and black, each fitted with tropical banana-leaf print cushions, suspended in front of a gray concrete wall on a light wood-plank floor, with green foliage and bright pink bougainvillea flowers in the foreground.

Trópica Beach Hotel, San Juan, Puerto Rico

A green-painted wooden pallet mounted on a sandy path serves as a hand-lettered bilingual conservation sign, reading in Spanish and English “Protect the dunes that prevent erosion,” “Conservation area,” “Do not step on plants,” and “Don’t play around the plants,” decorated with colorful painted flowers and a sun. Green sea-grape shrubs and a leaning tree trunk fill the background with a distant building visible through the foliage.

Caring for the Dunes · Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico

I have no idea what to call these vehicles, but we saw a lot of them. Usually (sadly) accompanied by very loud music.

Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico

Puerto Ricans enjoy their outdoor life. As we were walking home from dinner, we found this park where families were out enjoying (non-screen) time together at 9pm, well after sunset.

Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico

A short walk along the beach led us to Numero Uno Beach House, which became our go-to spot for mid-day laziness. We watched people enjoying the beach from bean-bag chairs planted on the sand, had tasty drinks and food, and did a whole lot of nothing. Most of these photos are from Day 3 while we waited out the difference between 11am checkout and 3pm checkin at our next venue.