The weekend with Courtney was great. Although I only took two days off (Friday and Monday nights), it felt like a more substantial vacation. The weather was uncooperative though, so I didn't get to show her many of the cool things available here.
Friday was uneventful; Andrés and I watched Futurama DVDs while we waited until time to pick up Courtney at the airport. Once we had her back home, we just watched some more Tivo and Futurama and then went to bed.
On Saturday, we slept in and then went to Baldwin in the evening for a sort of alumni reunion, although there were only about six people there and I knew none of them. Andrés socialized while I asked Courtney about equestrianism. I never knew that horses have four discrete "speeds", each involving a different coordination of leg motions. I could never be a horse. If I tried to walk I'd immediately collapse in a heap with legs askew.
By the time we got home, it was evening, and there wasn't much opportunity to do touristy things. Instead, we watched more things on TV. Courtney brought me some local barbecue sauce, so when Michelle came over we grilled fake meat, mostly just to provide a vehicle for the sauce. It was good, but the fake meat was... unfulfilling. However, Courtney also brought me Guinness, so I revelled in that and soon forgot my disappointment with the fake meat. This was the first time my WSBF pint glasses have been used for their designated purpose.
On Sunday we tried to go to El Yunque to go hiking. It was raining in Guaynabo, but we hoped that it might dry up as we neared the mountains. However, we drove most of the way there and the rain didn't let up, so we gave up and turned back. Instead, we watched the new episodes of Family Guy, American Dad, etc., then watched half of Life Aquatic (Courtney hadn't seen it), went to see Madagascar with Natalia, and then returned and finished watching Life Aquatic. What an excellence-filled evening.
On Monday we tried El Yunque again, now with Marc in tow. This time the rain did stop before we got to the mountains, and we were able to go hiking as planned. We went downward towards the waterfall. After only brief hesitation, Courtney jumped (that's always the big variable each time I take someone out there for the first time), and made it nearly unscathed :) No permanent damage though. Sadly, since we had set out late, it was nearly 6pm before we were making our way off the mountain, and both of the little shops we like to stop and get food at were closed. We were able to get food at one of the 60 identical kiosks down by the beach, but it was cold and unsatisfying.
To compensate, we stopped by a grocery store and picked up vegetables and tofu to grill, and broke out the barbecue again. I enjoyed more Guinness. Sadly, the four-pack Courtney had brought me did not last the weekend. I'm going to have to find some generous friend(s) in the US to agree to ship me a four-pack or two from time to time :)
While we were out at El Yunque the Casio SK-1 I had won on eBay arrived, which provided me with more entertainment that evening while we grilled.
Tuesday we had a leisurely morning while Courtney prepared to leave. We left early so we could stop by a panadería and get delicious food. We sent her on her way loaded with a pound of pan sobao and a box of quesitos. We had also bought some brazo gitano (I'm still freaked out by that name) for her to try, but we forgot to add it to her pile of food. Oh well, she probably had a hard enough time getting that stuff onto the plane as it was.
I felt kind of bad that we spent so much of the weekend sitting around watching TV, and only got to do one actual "thing" of the many we had planned. This kind of thing always happens. She said she enjoyed herself though, and I certainly did. And I figure this just leaves incentive for her to return sometime soon, so all's well in the end.