It was not the best of times; in fact, it was the worst of times. The weather was getting bad enough where I actually had to loan out the daylight lamp from the library’s reserve desk., and midterms were coming in a few weeks. I found myself daydreaming about migrating south, to a warmer country. And that was when President Trump’s travel ban came into place, making me worried about whether I could even re-enter the country if I left for spring break.
I was trying to find somewhere I could go within certain constraints – it had to be warm, it had to be cheap, and most importantly, it had to be inside the US. The west coast and Florida, though both warm and within the US, were not inexpensive travel destinations, and I ended up deciding to go to Puerto Rico, which turned out to be a wonderful choice. I bought tickets to San Juan, and got busy looking up things to do in and around the city. It was quite easy to find great travel advice and suggestions about what to see, such as the bioluminescent bay in Fajardo and the El Yunque rainforest in Rio Grande, but as with travelling to any new destination, some things came as a bit of a surprise. For those who would like to hop on the plane to Puerto Rico next spring break, here are some travel trips from the initiated.
Consider renting a car. No, really.
I happen to be one of those people who love to travel by public transportation. One of my favorite things to do as soon as I get to a new city is to figure out the subway system. Before going to Puerto Rico, I knew that San Juan had a public transportation of buses. So when I reached and realized that the public buses are almost non-existent, I had to rely on Uber to get around. I also found out that Uber does not pick up from the airport in Puerto Rico. I ended up spending at least 25 dollars each day on Uber, while car rentals start from 30 dollars a day and give you a lot of freedom. Another thing I quickly realized is that San Juan is small enough where you can explore most of it in a day or two. Old San Juan, the oldest settlement of the Spanish empire in Puerto Rico, with its colorful colonial Spanish houses, cobblestones and forts overlooking cliffs, can be seen by foot in a day. After that, a car becomes essential in exploring the rest of the island, especially to find pristine beaches and nature sites. But if you simply cannot rent a car, one of the best beaches in Puerto Rico, Balneario El Escambron, lies inside San Juan.
Old San Juan
(Photo by Bareesh Chowdhury)
Old San Juan
(Photo by Bareesh Chowdhury)
Plan around the moon for the bioluminescent bays
Some of the main attractions of Puerto Rico are the bioluminescent bays in Vieques and Fajardo, where millions of tiny phytoplankton light up the sea at night. It is a rare phenomenon, and if it’s on your top things to do list, then you might want to plan around the moon’s cycle to find a day when the moon is not too bright, as it can make the glow considerably less bright. I found a website online which has a calendar with the best and worst days to visit the bays, and unfortunately, the days I spent in Puerto Rico were the worst of the month. Also, going to the islands of Culebra and Vieques requires taking a ferry, so look at the ferry schedules.
(Photo by Bareesh Chowdhury)
Where’s the party at?
Though Condado and Miramar might come up as suggestions for the best nightlife in San Juan, the old city is really where the party is at. It has some great bars along a strip in Calle San Sebastian, that come to life after midnight all days of the week, with one that is ranked among one of the world’s 50 best bars. La Factoria, a prohibition era themed bar lies hidden inside a regular bar in Old San Juan. After dark, a red light turns on near the counter, meaning that if you pass through an unassuming closet door, you are transported into a hidden world of jazzy records, cocktail bars and dimly lit dance floors, with windows plastered with fake signs that make it look like a restaurant from outside. On busy nights, the minimum age to enter is 23, though there are other bars with a scene to match, such as La Cubanita, or La Taberna Lupulo, with at least a hundred different beers on tap, including local brews.
Bring a raincoat.
This might seem obvious, but a lot of people, including me, get carried away by thoughts of sunny beaches and forget that Puerto Rico is situated just 100 miles North of the equator. It’s going to rain quite a bit, especially if you decide to visit the El Yunque National Rainforest. It rains incessantly inside the forest, with rainfall increasing as you make your way up to the peak. This also makes driving conditions harder for those who are not used to driving in bad weather conditions, though that might be rare in New England.
El Yunque Rainforest
(Photo by Bareesh Chowdhury)
There’s a lot more that can be said about Puerto Rico. As I was travelling with someone constantly playing Pokemon Go, I found out that Puerto Rico has lots of rare Pokemons from different biomes. It also has the best empanada and paella. But some things are best left to be discovered.
