kreuzberg sonata

I'm in San Juan! And I'm quite tired, although I suspect sleeping will be difficult since I will probably be jetlagged. However, I'm having an awesome time so far, even if the day just involved sitting around. My flights were all on schedule, which meant I landed in Charlotte at what felt like 3am for me and had to kill almost four hours there in a haze of exhaustion. But that airport is a v. nice place to be dazed; there was a cool atrium with rocking chairs, where I spent forty-five minutes people watching, and I took a nap somewhere else, and I had breakfast, so it all worked out. Then, my flight from Charlotte to San Juan was uneventful, getting a taxi was uneventful, and arriving at the house was uneventful.

The house, though, is totally awesome - Ritu found a vacation rental that is totally lovely, with a cool indoor/outdoor living room and a couple of cute bedrooms/bathrooms. It's in a great location in Old San Juan, with a door that looks straight out to the ocean, and is right next to a fort and near lots of cafes and bars. Ritu and Bill were off doing a rainforest tour thing, so I showered, changed into something more respectable, avoided the temptation of the bed, and went down the street to find something to eat and drink while I waited for them...

...and I ended up at Cafe Berlin, which proved to be almost the only thing I saw in San Juan today. I stayed there from 3:30 to 5:30, eating ceviche and caprese salad and drinking a mojito and a diet coke while waiting for my friends. I also did some journaling in a v. desultory way. When Ritu and Bill finally arrived, we ended up ordering another drink...and then another...and then some dinner...and we ultimately ended up staying there for another four hours on top of the two I'd already been there. Yes, that's totally ridiculous. But there was a cute outdoor patio overlooking a plaza, and the food was good, and the drinks were tasty although they were clearly weak given how sober I am in relation to how many drinks we had. Finally, we moved on and wandered around Old San Juan for a bit; there were clearly preparations for Good Friday going on in the streets, and the night was bustling, so that was cool. The city is super charming, with narrow cobblestone streets and cool houses built around inner courtyards, so I'm looking forward to exploring it more tomorrow.

But now, I really must try to sleep - yes, sleep is for the weak, but I don't want to get bronchitis again, and I have many more days of drinking and carousing to pace myself through. Goodnight!