We started the day strong at Chocobar, a restaurant focused on integrating chocolate into all sorts of foods. This ranges from the obvious to the not-so-obvious-at-all, and I’d say still doesn’t touch on many culinary possibilities. First up was of course hot chocolate, and they had medium and extra dark variations. We got one of each and both were excellent in their own way (~sweeter vs richer).

Savitri got a chocolate chip latte, which had both chips around the edge and a pair of fresh soft chocolate chip cookies alongside. Again excellent, and the cookies were more than placeholders!

It was sort of brunch by the time we ate, so we got a combination of breakfast, brunch, and lunch dishes. They were all very tasty. Opinions were divided on the chocolate ketchup and hearts were broken by the yellow cheddar cheese that feel very short of Cabot’s much sharper Vermont cheddars. All-in-all though a unique and yummy treat that we should.. not repeat frequently!

To recover from our truly indulgent meal, we went shopping in the many clothing chops nearby. Savitri and Ashok had fun perfecting an outfit for Leanna, while Jesse actually found a padded chair and almost fell asleep! I was impressed by the ceiling in one place- old brick ~boards over wood.

Mid-day we Ubered out to Isla Verde Mall and picked up a rental car from U-Save, a local company. Overall success TBD but so far so good with our little Nissan Versa!

With a car comes new possibilities! We continued East along the coast, with the ocean immediately on our left and lush vegetation and occasional street vendors shops/shacks on the right. We drove as far as Loiza then turned back to one of the first places we’d seen, Iguana Restaurant. They cook right outside so you know it’s fresh and everything is what you think it is.

I love that this shows the team, and many of them were serving us just then.

We actually stopped to grab appetizers as we planned our dinner at a fancier place, but realized that this was a legit Puerto Rican food fest so we doubled down.

Meanwhile.. although we were between meals on a rainy day so there were very few people there, there was a lot of color and music!

We drove back to Old San Juan and managed to park the car in Doña Fela, a popular large garage by the marina. As we walked up the hill towards Calle Cristo we saw the latest cruise ship all lit up. I’m not a fan of how cruise ships randomly flood coastal cities, especially since the fleeting visit rarely seems to involve actual cultural engagement.