Fajardo, Puerto Rico

This stunning image was captured at the El Conquistador Resort in Fajardo, Puerto Rico.   Like many other regions of Puerto Rico, Fajardo was hit particularly hard by Category 5 Hurricane Maria, which made landfall over Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017.  This resort, like so many others, was forced to close for many months to perform repairs and renovations, resulting in a culture of uncertainty for so many of the lovely Puerto Ricans that worked there.  Even more than a year later, this beautiful resort continues to revitalize.   Puerto Rico is a very special destination for our family, as it represented the first time that we took our son on an airplane!  

Puerto Rico is quite the comeback story and every dollar spent on tourism there is a vote of confidence for the recovery of our special U.S. Commonwealth.   After Hurricane Maria provoked the largest power outage in American history, $4.5 billion was committed to power grid improvements, an effort spearheaded by five dozen investor-owned electric companies and public power utilities. 

We stayed at several places in Puerto Rico during our stay, but the El Conquistador had the most amenities by far.  It was like staying in a city! The on-site shops, restaurants and marinas made it a very convenient place to vacation as a family.  Our favorite special feature of El Conquistador was Palomino Island.  While some parts of the private island had a festive atmosphere, we were always able to find a quiet space to simply splash in the shallow surf and take in the views of the ocean.