4th Edition Kurt Pitzer & Tara Stevens HUNTERPUBLISHING,INC. 130CampusDrive Edison,NJ08818-7816 (cid:1)732-225-1900/800-255-0343/fax732-417-1744 www.hunterpublishing.com [email protected] INCANADA: UlyssesTravelPublications 4176Saint-Denis,Montréal,Québec CanadaH2W2M5 (cid:1)514-843-9882ext.2232/fax514-843-9448 INTHEUNITEDKINGDOM: WindsorBooksInternational TheBoundary,WheatleyRoad,Garsington Oxford,OX449EJEngland (cid:1)01865-361122/fax01865-361133 ISBN1-58843-116-9 ©2001HunterPublishing,Inc. ThisandotherHuntertravelguidesarealsoavailablease-books inavarietyofdigitalformatsthroughouronlinepartners,including Amazon.com,BarnesandNoble.com,andeBooks.com. 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-