On the 26th of December, my brother, I, and eleven of our friends flew to Puerto Rico to spend New Year’s there. What followed were six days of complete craziness, and I have to say, it was easily one of the best ways I’ve spent New Year’s so far.

We stayed at the Villas del Mar beach resort in Loiza, where we had an entire condo all to ourselves. For the next six days, there was everything from relaxing on the warm beaches and swimming in the ocean to visiting the spectacular El Morro fort, driving through the rainforest, shopping and dining in charming Old San Juan, beachside camping on the gorgeous island of Culebra, and of course, plenty of partying and drunken revelry. ;)

I recently migrated all my photo galleries over to Picasa Web Albums, and I’ve uploaded plenty of pics from the PR trip as well. Check ‘em out.

One of my favorite things about NYC is the fact that although it’s a fast-paced, crowded, concrete jungle, there’s a whole different world outside the city just waiting to be explored. Having been a big-city dweller for most of my early life, I really feel at home in the high-energy environment here, especially around Times Square, where I work; but when weekends come along, it’s nice to be able to go to a quieter, more relaxed place to enjoy some of nature’s beauty.

During the last couple of weeks, we went on two hiking trips up north. The first was at Sam’s Point Preserve atop the Shawangunk Ridge, where we hiked up through the “ice caves” to the Verkeerderkill Falls. The second one, with a big group of 22 people, was at the Delaware Water Gap near the NJ/Penn state border. Both trips were lots of fun, and I’ve posted two new picture albums.

While the weather’s still conducive to outdoor activities, we’re also planning to go on either a white-water rafting or overnight camping trip sometime in the coming weeks. Isn’t it nice not having to worry about homework, projects and exams on weekends anymore? =)

[tags]life, new york, traveling[/tags]