Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico was our starting point on our very first cruise experiment. We has always suspected that cruises were essentially `holiday camps` on water but decided to risk one on the event of our Golden Wedding . And we were blown away - the rest is history. The Caribbean islands and Celebrity Cruises was an excellent test because now we tend to have a cruise pretty regularly. We visited Puerto Rico well before the destruction that was Hurricane Maria so not everything you read here is guarranteed to still exist! Travelling from the UK always means an overnight stay somewhere and in Puerto Rico we have stayed in the traditional Sheraton and the ultra modern Caribe Hilton. The latter is supurb and when fully recovered from the hurricane damage will repay you handsomely if you choose to stay there. Whilst the frontage is in San Juan main town centre if you go out the back of the hotel you are on the beach with the remains of an historic old fort. The Sheraton is an old style almost colonial hotel by contrast but with advantages. It`s very close to the old town and everything is walkable. From the ancient pigeon lofts built into an old wall to the birthplace of the Pina Colada cocktail. The buildings in this quarter are very traditional and colourful. Plenty of photo opportunities.
Following the fall of the old regime and replacement by Castro in Cuba the Bacardi Rum operation moved from Cuba to nearby Puerto Rico and one of the standard tourist excursions is to the factory. Caribbean rum is all good - trust me!! On the wildlife front we saw a range of birds and both lizards and even small iguanas. Inevitably there are masses of tropical flowers including a profusion of Bourganvillea, Yellow Elder and of course the ubiquitous Hibiscus in a large range of colours. Puerto Rico has a slightly strange `arrangement` in that it is not incorporated into the USA but is classified as a Commonwealth of it. So citizens are technically also citizens of the United States but the country is not the 52nd state even though they have voted to be so. They do not vote in the US Presidential elections for example.
Historically the island (and a few peripheral ones which also belong to the island) were Spanish territories from1493 to 1898 so the vast majority of residents are Spanish speakers but many are bilingual and are also fluent English (well American English!) speakers. The currency is the US dollar and banknotes reflect this however, like many other US influenced overseas territories (like for example Panama) some local coins also circulate although they are physically identical to the USA coins except the display different pictures on the faces. There is much to do. Beaches are very high quality and with plenty of outlets for those inclined ranging from snorkeling and scuba diving to sailing and ocean fishing, plus, of course, a considerable range of architectural features reflecting it`s 500+ years of colonial history. There are areas of tropical rainforest with masses of flora and fauna to observe. The El Yunque National Rainforest reserve and the Guanica Dry Forest are two good places to visit - as is Cayo Santiago which is a small offshore island where free range rhesus monkeys have made their homes after escaping from the research facilities that originally took them there!
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Browse through the picture galleries below relating to this page and you will get a much better idea than just reading my words! Each page has it`s own set of relevant images - where possible taken by us.