My planes leaves in two hours. The hotel is very nearby the airport, but I still want to have a lot of time on the airport so I'll leave in about 30 minutes.

Really looking forward to see Sasha again; it's been a lot of fun here but being together is just better. Next week I'll probably go back to Puerto Rico again.

The local beer on Puerto Rico is Medallah, a pretty good beer with a nice refreshing taste.

"El Presidente Cerveza", from the Dominican Republic, is a popular import beer too, as well as Corona and some American brands.

However, the most popular non-local beer around here in my opinion -- and I am writing this with some pride -- is Heineken from Amsterdam. Even though it's not the best beer that Holland is offering the world, it is nice to be able to drink a familiar taste everywhere you go.

The popular local music here is called "Reggaeton".

It's a very danceable and happy music with a Carribbean rythm, I like it a lot. It's probably for the best that I don't understand the lyrics -- they tend to be rather explicit.

Listing to Reggaeton FM online.

Sunday we visited the El Morro fort in downtown San Juan. The weather was excellent and it's a beautiful location so we took a lot of pictures.

When we arrived there, a kite-contest was going one, hundreds of kites were in the air. The fort is located on a corner of the island and there was a lot of wind so the area around the fort is great for kites. The sun was shining strong.

See the pictures.

A week ago on Sunday morning we had a nice breakfast together in the hotel itself. The restaurant was overlooking the sea, and it was very sunny so the view was great. Coffee, great view, being together... an excellent start of the day.

The waiter made a unpleasant mistake, which wasn't very nice but certainly couldn't ruin our mood. And after the breakfast, she came back and apologized and said the breakfast was on the hotel. Nice gesture.

Saturday afternoon last week Sasha and I went to Old San Juan again. It's a beautiful city, and of course it was much better to walk around now than Friday night when it was raining. We walked around the harbor, and on the city walls that were erected by the Spanish rulers of the island, and spent a long time just walking around and relaxing.

We had dinner in a great tapas bar. Puerto Rico, of course, has been a colony of Spain for over 400 years, so the cuisine and the culture are an interesting mixture of native Puerto Rican and Spanish elements.

The place we went to is called "La Cocina del Fraile", and next to a great parma ham, we had some very nice local dishes. We were sitting in a very small garden behind the building, where there was room for only four or five tables, very cosy.

The tapas bar we went to, a picture taken the next day.

Pina Colada sold on the street.

Singing and playing music.

The shore and city walls at night.

The island at night.

Wednesday night we went out for dinner, and spent the evening in a Mexican restaurant with nice food and margarita's. Thursday night one of my colleagues who lives on this island, brought us to a local student bar near the university, where we had a few beers and danced on the local music. The bar, called Shannens, calls itself a Irish Pub but it's a big mystery why. They don't have Irish beers, nor any Irish background -- the place is actually sponsored by Heineken. Nevertheless, it was a great place to go out to, and I liked it. There was a life band playing a nice combination of Spanish rock and Caribean music. They sure know how to play good dance music here and dance to it!

Friday evening I was very tired. Three colleagues went back to the States, and there are only two of us left in the hotel now. I spent the evening alone, which was very nice for a change after two intense weeks -- I had a great time with my colleagues here, they are nice to go out with and fun, but I just needed a little break and physical rest.

I had dinner in a restaurant in the hotel across the street, their great pasta dish again, with two beers. I went to bed at 22.00 o'clock and didn't wake up until 9.30 o'clock this morning. Breakfast downstairs, now I'm back in the hotel room. In a little while I'll meet up with Kevin, my other remaining colleague.

Today is Ettie's birthday.

She is celebrating today in Leeuwarden, and my father is there as well. Last weekend she had a party in Middenmeer, and I regret it that we couldn't be there.

Anyway -- congratulations from both of us!

I am writing this from the office, with the arms and shoulders of my shirt totally wet.

Puerto Rico has a beautiful climate, but can have rather unexpected rainfall. I went for lunch with five colleagues in a shopping center about 10 minutes walking from the office. When we wanted to go back it started raining. We had only three umbrella's and six people, so we shared them but the Puerto Rican rain is very, very strong. It should try quick enough, with the airconditioning in the office.

When we woke up Saturday morning the sun was shining, the sky was clear blue and it was nice and warm: vacation!

We had breakfast in a coffee place outside near the hotel and for the first time this year I was wearing my sandals and shorts. After our sandwich and coffee we went for a walk in the area around the hotel. The ocean shore there is rocky (see these two pictures) and the waves were crashing against the shore.

After that I worked for a few hours while Sasha was enjoying the pool. The hotel has a wireless network, so I first sat in the lobby and later even from the poolside.

It was a great feeling when I was done with work. We had lunch together at the pool, with a beer in the sun. Excellent.

The view from the balcony in the morning.

Rocks in the sea.

Right next to the hotel there is a small beach, that is protected from the large waves in the sea by a rock formation.

At the pool, with towels and a laptop.

Enjoying the pool.