Our heavenly experience at Flamenco Beach in Culebra, near San Juan, in Puerto Rico

It was a summer afternoon and the heat was pleasantly intense. Walking the blue cobblestone streets of Old San Juan hand in hand, soaking up the history of the majestic old buildings that surround us, my fiancé and I felt like we had entered another era. On some streets, particularly the older ones, we felt like we were in conquistador-era Spain, while on others, the French colonial influences were unmistakable, reminding us of New Orleans. Colors were everywhere around us, in the clothing of well-tanned Puerto Ricans, in the fresh fruit juices, smoothies, iced teas and sundaes for sale on almost every street, in the bright kites flying They towered against the blue sky in the distance.

Yesterday, the day we arrived here, we had settled comfortably in the charming La Terraza de San Juan, a centrally located hotel that captures the spirit of the place very well. After cooling off in the rooftop pool, we had taken a quick tour of the historic forts and fortresses that are so abundant in San Juan. Following our road map of Puerto Rico, we discovered the wonderful places that the first Spanish settlers had built on this beautiful island, the San Juan National Historic Site, a fort with 20-foot-deep walls, and then we admired the sea from the castle heights. San Felipe del Morro. We found a pandemonium of colored kites floating over the grassy field of El Morro, and we joined in the fun, laughing and joking like little children, trying to see who could fly the kite the highest. Our hearts had jumped skyward with our kites and, ignoring the onlookers, we’d kissed like teenagers.

Does it still burn you? my financier asked, rubbing my back gently, interrupting my disclosure.

‘A little,’ I said.

All day today we had been on the beach, the best beach we have ever seen: Playa Flamenca in Culeba. When we came out of the palm trees and saw it, we couldn’t believe how white the sand was, and how crystalline the water that bathed it was. And it wasn’t half as crowded as we expected. The sand was clean and soft, like baby powder. It felt so good under our feet that we stripped out of our bathing suits and put them on like kids, forgetting about the sunscreen. Then we quench our thirst with those light and colorful rums that some Puerto Ricans like so much and that are so cheap here. Then my fiancé gently lifted me into his arms and carried me to the sparkling crystal clear water, into which he dropped me with a splash. We swam and splashed together like two happy dolphins, blissfully floating in that warm watery abyss, under the benevolent gaze of a merry sun. It was as close to paradise as we can get here on earth.

As darkness began to fall over San Juan, we ended our wanderings and stopped at El Jibarito, near our hotel, for a delicious traditional Puerto Rican meal. We started with a Morcilla, a doubtfully delicious sausage whose ingredients I better not tell you, and then my fiancé ordered a Cuchifrito, a crispy sandwich of pork trimmings cooked in a deep fryer, and an ice cold Medalla light beer, while I drank my favorite. A crazy stew of beef, chicken, pork, seafood, and plantains, smothered in a delicious garlic broth, Mofongo is a lighter dish than it sounds! We wash all this down with the best rum in the world.

Will we go back to the beach tomorrow? my fiancé asked.

‘You bet, I said.

I don’t know how many beaches you’ve been to so far, but Playa Flamenco in Culeba is unique. The moment you see it, you will fall in love with it, just like we did. So the next time you feel the vacation mood taking over, grab a good road map of Puerto Rico and head to San Juan.

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