Skip to main content

The PR PRimer you PRobably PRefer not to PeRuse.

Friends,
The last hours of my first trip to PR (Puerto Rico) are as good a time as any to ponder some insights travel booklets may not give you. In all candor, I haven't read any, so, it's possible you may find some overlap. In any event, here are a few:
  • Folks here use kilometers to measure distance, but speed limits are denominated in miles per hour. How long it takes to get anywhere is anyone's guess and requires some serious math. Then again, drivers are so patient, it always takes longer than you think.
  • Old San Juan’s defensive walls still surround much of the city, serving their original purpose of preventing tourists from reaching the beach. Of course the iconic garitas (sentry boxes) along the wall make for great photo opportunities. Pirates, schmirates.
  • Once you finally make it to the ocean front, before getting into the crisp, clear water, make sure you find yourself a nice posita (shallow beach sheltered from the open sea by rock formations) and have plenty of 10 oz. Medalla beer. While locals say the smaller size prevents the beer from getting warm, I suspect they may drink too slowly.
  • You can get very cheap Air BnB lodging. Granted, it may come with plastic windows (glass is a luxury in the barrio) and you may be afraid to go explore the hood after dark, but the music blasting through will make you feel like you partied all night —and the cocks crowing will have you up bright and early. Quote the rooster at 5 AM: “up and at ‘em”.
  • Good food is plentiful. Try the alcapurrias, mofongo, dufongo and trifongo. And you can’t miss that other local Puerto Rico delicacy: Krispy Kreme — it don’t get more authentic than that!
This place is so pretty, I couldn’t resist sharing a few photos from the trip. Enjoy, and thank you for indulging me!

A cannon ready to ward off tourists. 

The "La Perla" barrio where the "Despacito" video was recorded (we later learned we were lucky to have an uneventful visit to the beachside bars).

A garita on the defensive wall at sunset. 

An abandoned pier at a posita near Luquillo. 

One of Puerto Rico's iconic culinary delights courtesy of my good friends Fatima and Billy. 

A street in Old San Juan.

​​​Happy Friday!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Donut Doodle Dandy

Dear Members and Constituents, In trying to figure-out Wednesday’s cool-looking Google Doodle ( Jorge Luis Borges’ 112 th birthday ), I stumbled across a list of Google Doodles you’ll never see. This, and a Rockies game later that day, were sufficient inspiration to get my head spinning around what other doodles Google might never noodle? I’m sure you’ll probably have a few ideas of your own, but I was able to come-up with a couple. How about a former Colorado Rockies player whose unfortunate encounter with a moth put him in the news this week? The Matt Holliday doodle might look something like this… Another item which, surprisingly enough, has not been made into a doodle are donuts. Although I was slightly taken aback to find this delicious pastry has not been featured, after the initial disappointment, I decided to take matters into my own hands and take a stab at one (perhaps Google can use it next year for national donut day )… or to celebrate Greek police having “ blown a ho...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Dozen Rules to Live By

Friends, When it comes to the big questions, there are far too many platitudes, truisms, cliches and BS. Bookshelves are lined with so much advice, you’d think we would have answered them all by now. So, why do people keep doing it? I couldn’t tell you. Whatever the reason, here’s one more exploration to add to the interminable list. I’ve left God out of this post, so these “rules” should come in handy whether you believe life has meaning, or you think purpose is just our prefrontal cortex’s way of sabotaging our limbic system. And, since donuts come in dozens, it felt fitting that my list just happens to have twelve rules.   Do it! (what are you waiting for?). Life sometimes feels like a dress rehearsal. So much time spent preparing for the future, there’s little time left to actually live life. Habit, routine and inertia have a way of filling the day. Try something new, who knows, you might enjoy it. Don’t overthink it. But, what to do? Give-in to a...
2 comments
Read more

Enchanted Donuts

Friends, Mix equal doses of isolation, adaptation, and time. Add a pinch of random stowaway life forms. Remove predators. The result? An eclectic collection of surprising plants and animals known as the Galápagos Islands. Here, iguanas swim and dive for food, the largest members of the sunflower family grow into 45 foot tall trees, and boulder-sized tortoises blow past the century mark with ease. Frigatebird throats of red, boobie feet of blue, moth-pollinated flowers of white. And, having been granted constitutional rights , sea lions own most park benches in town. Surrounded by an ocean teeming with fish of all shapes and sizes, the only downside of spending time in this remote Ecuadorian province appears to be the complete absence of donut shops. I suppose I too can adapt.  Happy Friday!
Post a Comment
Read more