Puerto Rico

Enough of the snow, it's time for some sea and sun. Caribbean here we come! The reason we picked Puerto Rico is basically because it is still part of the US and thus no need for a visa, although I always think P.R. is a country and not a State. We flew via US Virgin Islands which is to the east of P.R., also another recommended getaway destination that you can probably explore in a few days. I heard it's really nice over there, with some top diving and snorkeling sites.The capital of P.R. is San Juan which is located north a bit towards the east side of the island. Old San Juan is on the tip west of San Juan, perhaps one of the must-go place for tourists. Some interesting attractions include the El Morro and Fort San Christobal which was built to protect the island from sea attack way back 3-400 years ago . I could tell they were really really old, with quite a number of tunnels and secret passages. From the top we got a great view of the ocean and the city. Old San Juan itself is not big, and what i like most is probably the colorful buildings and all the cool work they do with their doors, windows, balconies, etc. There are many restaurants, shops, and a couple of museums (we didn't get to :P) in addition to small parks and squares where both locals and tourists can just relax and chill. What i thought was really cute was where they had a local band performing in the park (sort of), and in front were a group of elders just enjoying themselves either just by relaxing and clapping along or dancing away. It was definitely something that strengthens the sense of community and how they live a joyful life in this country (or State, hehe).

The remaining parts of the island, we got to cover only a tiny bit. One was the Arecibo Observatory, the largest radiotelescope or i just call it 'dish' where they filmed James Bond's Goldeneye. If you could recall, it was when he was fighting the bad guy on the hanging tower and then slid down the dish itself. Not far away was the Camuy Caves and sinkholes. Inside the caves were those หินงอกหินย้อย basically, very difficult to capture some pictures given limited light. We also visited El Yunque national forest and checked out some trails and waterfalls. Quite a walk that day.

East of the main island, there are two smaller islands called Culebra and Vieques. We went to Vieques first by ferry (only $4 return fare!) which took about an hour each way, and so we decided to save time (and me avoid getting seasick) and take a 15-min flight to Culebra. No doubt Culebra is much nicer among the two - white sand and clear water. We were at Flamenco beach and it was just wonderful.

Unfortunately didn't get to do any diving this time around, but all-in-all it was really fun. One of the highlights however was the kayak tour to the bioluminescent bay and lagoon "Laguna Grande" near Fajardo. Basically it is like fireflies living in water - those micro organisms would produce light when something moves. As we paddled, water lit up. We dipped our hands in, they lit up. In the end we jumped into the water, and as we swam the whole body just lit up!! It was just awesome!

We didn't explore the west and south sides of the island. Apparently the island is much bigger than i thought :) Ponce is another recommended town to visit, and to the south there is another bio bay as well. Our kayak tour guide however claimed that it is not as nice compared to Laguna Grande. Then i guess the one on Culebra island is probably another option for this type of experience, again i don't know enough to compare.

More on Puerto Rico: Besides LP, you could check out the travel website or recommendations by Frommer's. Definitely good references, but while on the road i would say LP book saved the day. Not so much for the map, which we had to pick up the recent copies at the car rental, but pretty much all the 'getting around' info you need is in there. And btw, the food there was really good too. Very eclectic and has a variety of tastes. Got to try a lot of new things, and of course i choose to remember the yummy ones!