Adventure Guide to Puerto Rico

428 Pages·2001·6.171 MB·English

by  Kurt Pitzer, Tara Stevens

4th Edition
Kurt Pitzer & Tara Stevens
HUNTERPUBLISHING,INC.
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©2001HunterPublishing,Inc.
ThisandotherHuntertravelguidesarealsoavailablease-books
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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrievalsystem,ortransmittedinanyform,orbyanymeans,electronic,mechani-
cal,photocopying,recording,orotherwise,withoutthewrittenpermissionofthe
publisher.
This guide focuses on recreational activities. As all such activities contain ele-
mentsofrisk,thepublisher,author,affiliatedindividualsandcompaniesdisclaim
any responsibility for any injury, harm, or illness that may occur to anyone
through,orbyuseof,theinformationinthisbook.Everyeffortwasmadetoinsure
the accuracy of information in this book, but the publisher and author do not
assume, and hereby disclaim, any liability for loss or damage caused by errors,
omissions, misleading information or potential travel problems caused by this
guide, even if such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident or any
othercause.
Cover: BeachinPuertoRico,©WendellMetzen/IndexStock
Interiorphotographsprovidedbythe
PuertoRicoTourismCompany(PRTC),unlessotherwiseindicated
MapsbyLissaK.DaileyandKimAndré,
©2001HunterPublishing,Inc.
IndexedbyNancyWolff
4 3 2 1
CONTENTS
Introduction 1
TheLand 1
History 3
Government 11
TheEconomy 13
Climate 14
Flora&Fauna 15
ThePeople 22
Language 24
Religion 25
Music&Dance 28
Art&Culture 31
Food:ATasteofPuertoRico 34
Festivals&Events 37
GettingHere 40
GettingAround 42
WhereToStay 44
WhereToEat 49
Adventures 50
Eco-Travel 59
Shopping 59
TravelInformation 62
TravelDirectory 70
San Juan & Environs 73
History 74
GettingHere 77
GettingAround 78
Mail&Communications 81
Touring&Sightseeing 82
Adventures 97
Eco-Travel 104
WhereToStay 105
WhereToEat 111
Entertainment&Nightlife 121
Leisure&Shopping 127
North Coast 131
GettingHere&GettingAround 131
Touring&Sightseeing 133
Adventures 143
Eco-Travel 153
WhereToStay 156
WhereToEat 160
iv (cid:1) AdventureGuidetoPuertoRico
West Coast 165
GettingHere&GettingAround 165
Mail&Communications 168
Touring&Sightseeing 168
Adventures 182
Eco-Travel 197
IslaMona 198
WhereToStay 204
WhereToEat 210
Nightlife 214
South Coast 215
GettingHere&GettingAround 215
Communications&InformationSources 216
Touring&Sightseeing 218
Adventures 237
Eco-Travel 250
WhereToStay 255
WhereToEat 261
Nightlife 266
Central Mountains 269
GettingHere&GettingAround 269
Communications 270
Touring&Sightseeing 270
Adventures 280
WhereToStay 288
WhereToEat 294
East Coast 299
GettingHere&GettingAround 299
Communications 302
Touring&Sightseeing 302
Adventures 312
Eco-Travel 324
WhereToStay 335
WhereToEat 339
Vieques Island & Culebra Island 345
Overview 345
Vieques 346
History 347
GettingHere 349
GettingAround 351
Communications&Information 352
Touring&Sightseeing 354
Adventures 358
WhereToStay 365
WhereToEat 368
Nightlife 371
Contents (cid:1) v
Culebra 371
History 373
Flora&Fauna 375
GettingHere 376
GettingAround 378
Communications&Information 379
Touring&Sightseeing 380
Adventures 385
Eco-Travel 392
WhereToStay 393
WhereToEat 396
Spanish Phrases 399
Bibliography 409
Index 413
MAPS
The Caribbean viii
PuertoRico 2
SanJuanMetroArea 72
OldSanJuan 83
Condado 92
TheNorthCoast 132
TheWestCoast 164
Rincón 172
RincónSurfBeaches 193
IslaMona 199
TheSouthCoast 217
Ponce 227
GuanicaTrails 239
TheCentralMountains 268
ToroNegroHikingTrails 283
TheEastCoast 298
ElYunque 328
ElYunqueHikingTrails 332
Vieques 350
IsabelSegunda 355
Esperanza 357
Culebra 372
Dewey 381
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The level of detail in this book would have been nearly impossible to
achieve without the help of countless residents of Puerto Rico who took
interest in our work, shared their knowledge and help and became our
friendsasweexploredtheisland.Wewouldespeciallyliketosingleouta
few people for thanks: Shane Dennis, for his unceasing hospitality;
Yvonne Torres and Annette Blasini, who shared, among other things,
their unique views on island life; Alexandra Encarnación; Tom Darby;
Hilda Quiñones; Mark and Lenora Turney; Bill and T. Conner; Omar
Torres; Steve-o and Lenny, who provided many insights and good times
betweentherigorsofresearch;RobertoBonilla,forhisknowledgeofTaino
lore;AmandaRobles,forherexpertiseonislandcuisineandrestaurants;
Oscar and Sylvia Blasini, for their helpful tips; Rebecca Toser for her
pricelessinsightintoPuertoRicanslang;andRichardDruitt,avaluable
resourceforallsortsofadventure.Abigshoutoutandmanythankstothe
boysatTainoDivers–Carson,Jari,BundyandMatt–forteachingusthe
underwatermagicofscubaandotheradventuresinfloatingandsubmer-
sion.WewouldalsoliketothankAdaSantosandAnaMarieFournierat
the Puerto Rico Tourism Company and Carlos Weber Lopez and Debbie
Molina Ramos at the San Juan Dept. of Tourism for their professional
adviceandhelp.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
TaraStevens’nearlyinsatiableappetitefortravelbeganatage17when
shetookupresidenceinatentonthePembrokeshirecoastalpathofher
nativeWales.Amongotheradventures,shehashitchhikedthroughTur-
key, ridden buses from India to Nepal, navigated the Río Magdalena in
northernColombiaandplayedpokerwiththeelderlywomenwholivein
thePeruviansanddunesofHuacachina.InEcuador,sheworkedastravel
editorontheQuito-basedpublicationQ.Shehasservedassub-editorfor
the Copenhagen-based design magazine CPH Living, contributes regu-
larly to PR Week in London, and consults for several global brands in
Denmark.
KurtPitzerhasworkedasacorrespondentfornewspapersandmagazines
such as The Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, and People for the past
decade.HehascoveredstoriesrangingintopicfromBalkanconflicttocity
politics.Histravelsandreportinghavetakenhimonextensivejourneys
throughoutWestern,EasternandCentralEuropeandtheAmericas.His
adventuresincludebuildingabamboohutandlivingwiththeKarenpeo-
pleinthenorthernThaimountains,teachingjournalisminElsinore,Den-
mark, and commercial long-line fishing in the Caribbean, Atlantic and
Pacificwaters.HelivesinSpain.

Introduction
I
n
t
r
o
d
u
The Land ct
i
o
n
The main island of Puerto Rico is
IN THIS CHAPTER
about100mileslongand35miles
wide,roughlythesizeofYellowstone (cid:1) TheLand
ParkorthestateofDelaware.It’sthefarthest (cid:1) History
east of the four major islands that form the (cid:1) Government
Greater Antilles, which includes Cuba, Ja- (cid:1) TheEconomy
maica and Hispaniola (Haiti and Dominican (cid:1) Climate
Republic).Intermsofgeologictime,theCarib- (cid:1) Flora&Fauna
beanislandsarerelativelyyoung.Amere200 (cid:1) ThePeople
million years ago, as dinosaurs roamed the (cid:1) Language
super-continents,thetectonicplatesofNorth (cid:1) Religion&Spirituality
andSouthAmericaseparated,andarectangu- (cid:1) Music&Dance
(cid:1) Arts&Culture
larchunkoftheeastPacificplate–nowknown
(cid:1) Food
as the Caribbean plate – knotted itself be-
(cid:1) Festivals&Events
tween them. Over the epochs, the Caribbean
(cid:1) GettingHere
plate began to shift north, creating pressure
(cid:1) GettingAround
zonesinthePuertoRicanTrench,which,at
(cid:1) WhereToStay
28,000feet,isthedeepestspotintheAtlantic
(cid:1) WhereToEat
Ocean.Theresultwasaseriesofviolentvolca-
(cid:1) Adventures
niceruptionsdepositingheapsofmagmaand
(cid:1) Eco-Travel
ashovertheoceanfloor.PuertoRicoemerged
(cid:1) Shopping
fromtheseaabout135millionyearsago.En-
(cid:1) TravelInformation
suingtectonicmotionfoldedpilesofdebrisinto
(cid:1) TravelDirectory
the mountains of the Cordillera Central,
whichformsabout60%ofPuertoRico’slandmassandrunslikeaspine
fromtherainforestofElYunquetothehillsofRincón.Duetoheavyrain-
fall, most of the mountain range is thick with vegetation, including El
Yunque,theonlyrainforestinUSterritory.Atitsmostdramatic,theCor-
dilleraCentralrisessharplyintojaggedpeaksthatwouldexceedMt.Ev-
erestinheight,ifmeasuredfromtheoceanfloor.Fromsealevel,Puerto
Rico’shighestpeak–CerrodePunta–measures4,389feet.
Northeastern Puerto Rico is known as karst country, characterized by
weirdlimestoneformationsandthethick,electric-greencarpetofvegeta-
tion that covers them. Over the millions of years since Puerto Rico rose
fromthesea,rainwaterhaserodedthelimestonerockintobeehive-shaped
mogotes, twisting caves, sinkholes, canyons and valleys. Occupying 617
square miles of karst country, the Río Camuy Cave Park is one of the
largestnetworksofsubterraneancaverns,tunnelsandriversintheWest-