Puerto Rico offers many different faces. The lush rain forest, the sandy beaches, beautifully designed golf courses, and glittering casinos offer the visitor many avenues for adventure and relaxation. With English widely spoken, the island is both familiar and delightfully foreign.
Capital: San Juan
Population: 3,387,000
Area: 3,435 square miles
Language: Spanish ( English is widely spoken)
Time: +1 hour from New York
Electricity: Same as US
Geography: The island lies in the northern Caribbean to the west of St. Thomas.
International Airport
San Juan - (SJU): The airport is about 9 miles from Old San Juan. Busses operate from the airport. Taxis are available and cost about $12 - $15.
Tipping: 15% is recommended
Shopping: Old San Juan is one of the best areas of the island to shop. over 400 good quality stores are packed in to an area of about 16 blocks. Almost anything can be found here. Among them and also to be looked for in other areas of the island are jewelry, hammocks, furniture, art, clothes, and baskets.
Food and Drink: The food here has a strong influence of old Spain and Cuba - which is not too far away. The basics are rice and beans and also chicken with rice called Arroz con Pollo. Cuban black bean soup is popular. Restaurants of every inclination can be found in San Juan. Puerto Rico is the home of Bacardi which brings no surprise that Puerto Rico is the rum capital of the world.
Social: Society is very divided between rich and poor. The gap is slowly closing with a small middle class as a buffer. The poor you may not encounter. If you do you will find them spontaneous and warm.
Business: Business attire is strongly recommended. During lunch, business people usually disappear and is best not to look for a business lunch. Appointments are important. Business cards are exchanged. English is not normally spoken within a company but business people know it and will readily speak it.
San Juan - Old San Juan is a great placed to start a visit to Puerto Rice because you get to really feel the history of the island. The area is over 450 years old and covers about a 62 acre piece of land. The two forts are open daily are El Morro (1785) and San Cristobal (1772). There are numerous shops and restaurants in Old San Juan . There are also a number churches with perhaps the most notable being the San Jose Church which is claimed to be the oldest place of worship in the western hemisphere. Besides the claim on history, the church is absolutely beautiful and well worth a special visit. The old executive mansion is called La Forteleza which was completed in 1540 and is open to public view. Other museums worth visiting are the Graphic Arts Museum, the Museum of the Puerto Rican Family, the Military Museum and the wonderful Pablo Casals Museum. A relaxing stroll through the Botanical Gardens is very pleasant.
Outside San Juan - Be sure to get outside to see the countryside of Puerto Rico. One of the best Activities & Interests is to make a visit to El Yunque which is the beautiful rainforest and bird sanctuary which is only 25 miles from San Juan. In Ponce be sure to see Our Lady of Guadalupe Cathedral and the excellent Ponce Museum of Art. At La Parguera, which is a fishing village you can enjoy walking through a small seaport which is relatively unspoiled. At nearby Phosphorescent Bay, the slightest movement sets the night waters glowing.
Banking: Banks are open from 9:00 am to 2:30 pm Monday through Friday. Many US banks are found in Puerto Rico.
Currency: US dollar (USD)
Credit Cards: Visa, Master Card, American Express and Diners Club
Climate
The island of Puerto Rico is in a subtropical area. The winter is almost always warm and is a haven for tourists fleeing the rust belt of the north. The Caribbean winds blow favorably cooling the island during the hot summer.
From the rumble of reggaeton to the beat of bomba, life on Puerto Rico pulsates to a constant cacophony of sound and movement. Hordes of cars weave across the island, commerce bustles at a pace comparable to any developed metropolis, and seemingly incessant fiestas ensure that nobody ever lacks a reason to celebrate. Not only sounds but sights fill the island; Puerto Rico is remarkable for the sheer amount of stuff that has managed to squeeze onto a space the size of Connecticut. In addition to four million people, this tiny plot of land holds some of the world’s most beautiful beaches, the only tropical rain forest in the US, acres of coral reef, the world’s third largest underground cave system, nine protected reserves, the world’s largest radio telescope, and countless diverse ecosystems. Oh, and giant San Juan is the commercial capital of the Caribbean. Puerto Rico offers a diverse package of culture, commerce, and nature. San Juan is an integral part of the island, but don’t think that the capital city represents all of Puerto Rico—islanders from nearly every other town will quickly contradict you. Puerto Ricans hold deep pride, not only in their island but in each individual region: San Juan, Ponce, and Mayagüez battle for the title of Puerto Rico’s supreme city, and viequenses and culebrenses both insist that there is really no reason to visit the other island. However, the prevalence of Puerto Rican flags and “Querida Boricua” stickers reveal that underneath these regional differences islanders are united by an intense pride in being Puerto Rican, or more accurately, Boricuan. The island’s original Taíno name continues to serve as a password for the spirit of the island. Outsiders look at the question of Puerto Rico’s status as the ultimate divisor, and in many ways it is. But underneath it all Puerto Ricans will continue to be Boricuan, regardless of whether the island is part of the United States or an independent country. Separated from the rest of the world by miles of water, Puerto Ricans unify their diverse heritage—Taíno, African, and European—to create a vibrant culture all their own.
Puerto Rico is simultaneously the poorest territory in the US and the richest part of Latin America, and these conflicting identities ooze through every aspect of island life. Visitors looking for the 51st US state will be disappointed; the language is Spanish, parts of the island look more like developing South America than the Caribbean, and the culture is decidedly Latin. However, others who believe that they’re traveling to Latin America will be discouraged by the overwhelming presence of Wal-Mart and US flags. Only those who embrace Puerto Rico for what it is—a beautiful Caribbean island with some financial security and a spirited culture—will not fail to be impressed.
