Destination: Salinas, Puerto Rico

After several days of rain, the sun was back in full force today. It has been a while since our last road trip, so we decided it was time to go out for another adventure. This time, I chose Salinas

because I was in the mood for some seafood. For those of you who have never been to Salinas, it is in the southern part of Puerto Rico and it's a little less than an hour away from San Juan. It's a small, rugged little town known for its seafood restaurants.

This is my second time in Salinas. The last time I was there was on New Years' Day 2007. It was a ghost town, nothing was open but I always wanted to go back and try some of its seafood. All the restaurants and food vendors are a stone's throw away from the beach. We ate at a place that wasn't too bad. The paella we ordered wasn't the best, but the empanadillas we ordered were fantastic! Empanadillas are fried turnovers. We ordered two, one filled with lobster and the other with squid.

There are a lot of seafood restaurants throughout the island, but I would have to say that Puerto Rican cuisine is primarily focused on meat. It was a bit far traveling to Salinas just for seafood but I enjoyed every minute of it. I like discovering and exploring the little towns, with its pretty plazas and churches. It's as if you've stepped back into the past. What I liked about Salinas is how uncommercialized it is. You'll see a lot of small shacks selling empanadillas. It comes as no surprise why many boricuas come from all parts of the island to kick back and enjoy some good food.