Our Airbnb host reassured us not to worry; he had spoken to the people on the street and told them not to mess with us!
He said,
“I grew up in this neighborhood, so I know all these guys. I cover for them with the police, so they’ll do this for me.” 😅
AirBnB Host
To our surprise and relief, addicts and ladies of the night definitely left us alone. Despite this comfort, we still locked the doors at night.
It’s a good thing we did because every night, a man would call out, “Jugo. Jugo!” One day, the kids said he tried the doorknob to their room, which was the main door to the house! Knowing a little Spanish, they surmise he was using the code word for drugs (jugo means juice in Spanish).
The funny thing is, this house was the cutest little thing. Fully self-contained, it had everything we needed: a washer, dryer, stove, nearby mall, groceries, and even walking access to the beach.
That is, when the police weren’t blocking the street. A couple of times during our two-week stay, we planned to go out, but the police were blocking the only exit.
One of the ladies of the night, one of the few who would make eye contact with us (possibly under punishment of death), told us we wouldn’t be able to get out at the moment and that it might be best to try again later.
Despite all this, we honestly felt quite safe. Our host was super attentive and told us of his plans to improve the neighborhood by buying out some of the dilapidated homes on the street.
Of course, never willing to pass up a teachable moment, we thoughtfully explained to the kids the life choices of some of the individuals we encountered. We discussed how seemingly small choices can lead to devastating losses of control and options in life.
Even so, the kids picked up a few life lessons, and we had good air conditioning and fairly good internet. This was all we needed to keep up with our typical travel rhythm, which included three days of schoolwork, three days of exploring, and Sunday church!
Turns out Puerto Rico has some beautiful sites to see!
