Blogs from Puerto Rico, Central America Caribbean - page 7

Like everyone else, I imagined PR to be just like the US (whatever that means). I’ve been told by folks who have been to PR that PR is very modern and at the same time underdeveloped.Well this is my opinion of San Juan, PR. To a certain extent, it can be compared to Miami. However, to me it is very comparable to any Caribbean country or the Caribbean coast of any Latin American country. Comparable in terms of the developed infrastructure in place for tourists, the vibe, the old town/colonial zone and so on. I stayed in the Old San Juan and I loved it. I am easily charmed by Old towns/Colonial zones. The architecture is amazing, people watching, shopping, good food, insightful museums and local attractions were all worthwhile. The architecture of the walls-castle-morro surrounding ... read more

Our final full day started off late and slow on account of having gone out the night before. We thought it a perfect late morning to spend poolside, so we put on our suits and headed on down. We grabbed a table and ordered a couple frozen drinks - a marg and a piña colada- along with tostones (fried plantains) and little mofongos stuffed with chicken a la criolla and guacamole. Nothing like fried food and alcohol to get the day going! Afterwards we lay out in the sun for a while before heading back up to change and shower. Next stop was back to Old San Juan for the last time to clean up shop there. We waited some half an hour for the stupid bus, but still, I'd much rather wait than drown in ... read more

I spent the last week in Puerto Rico. Traveled almost the entire island, saw beautiful sights, and experienced things I never thought I would. Arriving in San Juan very late Wednesday night, the GPS I had so ingeniously programmed the hotels and other destinations into failed to recognize where we were and got us seriously lost in a derelict and scary neighborhood in a San Juan suburb. Bars on every home’s doors and windows, no lights on, no people walking around, graffiti everywhere; almost deserted. Cars parked wherever they felt like it. Huge potholes in the roads and big dips out of every turn and parking lot, caused the car to bottom out almost each time. After driving around for nearly an hour, I finally check in to the hotel at close to 2am. The Coqui ... read more

Snorkeling is an opportunity to see the abundant colorful fish in the Turks and Caicos Islands, the capital of the Turks is Grand Turk, of which Cockburn Town is the sole settlement and administrative center. Grand Turk is a treeless brush covered, bean-shaped dot of an isle, just 6.5 miles long and 1.5 miles wide. Salt ponds were a major “industry” until 1962, to be replaced by tourism. We motor out in a small, tourism oriented vessel and members of the crew join us in the water to feed the fish and point out unique aspects of the area we’re visiting. The fish are plentiful but the coral is minimal, in this well used area, and we move on to an area closer inshore for another viewing opportunity. Reboarding our ship we proceed to San Juan, ... read more

Our plan for today is relatively easy and should help us avoid the need to search for dinner. We are supposed to drive eastwards mostly following the coast then to check in early afternoon in our motel to leave all luggage and then drive to the dock and take a boat tour to the nearby Vieques island to see the Bioluminescent Bay. The tour is supposed to also include, besides the passage from the main island to Vieques and the Bioluminescent tour, a dinner at a restaurant in Vieques. As a result we leave the hotel relatively early after a short breakfast from our provisions and carry our luggage back to the nearby parking lot. At first we are not sure how exactly to pay for the parking but in the end figure it out - ... read more