This morning it was 50 degrees in Bradenton, Florida so needless to say, it’s winter. Luckily for me, these 6 days of winter we will receive will fade quickly. For those of you just entering a real winter season, have no fear: Puerto Rico is here.
This year I am escaping the 60-degree weather of Christmas in Florida for the year-round paradise of Puerto Rico and there are many reasons why I think everyone should be doing the same. Puerto Rico is predicted to be 85 degrees on Christmas day, making it a perfect candidate for summer emulation. It is also a good option for those who haven’t gotten around to getting a passport.
*Puerto Rico is a territory of the U.S. that allows you to travel without a passport.
Being half Puerto Rican I am a little bias, but Puerto Rico has so much to offer. The food, the beaches, and the culture are unbeatable.
Food
Let’s get down to business and talk about the most important thing: food. Some of my favorite meals happen to be Puerto Rican, and if you have no knowledge of Puerto Rican cuisine or Spanish in general, choosing something off of a menu might seem daunting. Although you probably won’t go wrong, here are a few of my favorite things.
(this looks like Cuban rice and beans, which happens to be my other half, but that’s neither here nor there.) If you are new to Puerto Rican cuisine the easiest gateway is rice and beans. You can’t go wrong, and you’ll find it at almost every restaurant on the island. It is usually red kidney beans and in my mind, the rice looks like this: a perfectly shaped dome.
There are too many good fried foods which are also staples. Every time I am at my Abuela’s house for dinner, the meal starts with fried foods straight from the fryer and onto a paper towel.
My number one favorite fried PR app is Alcapurrias which are Green Plantain fritters filled with ground beef.
They may look lackluster, but they are crunchy, salty, and oily making them the perfect appetizer in my opinion.
Next on the list is Papas Rellenas which are stuffed potatoes.
Next up is another weird-shaped blandly colored item that I will try to convince you is amazing. This consists of mashed potatoes filled with ground seasoned beef rolled in breading and fried. Usually, you cut them in half and drizzle a hot sauce in.
One of my fondest memories of visiting Puerto Rico was the time we were traveling across the island to the rainforest and stopped off at a random food truck on the side of the road. It had a stunning view of the ocean, and we ordered a full fish that had been freshly caught just hours before. It’s eyes still intact and it’s mouth agape, we dug into the crunchy lime sprinkled skin. I was only 7 years old and a fairly picky eater, but I contended that this was most definitely the best thing I had ever tasted.
It looked a lot like this fish, but I have never been able to find a fish that quite matched since leaving the island. I hope that on this return trip I will find my lost Pescado.
This being said, I think that when in Puerto Rico you should try the hole in the wall places because you never know what you might find. These are just a few of the things that stick out in my mind as being my favorite, but there is so much to be had.
Experiences
When I go on a tropical vacation I will spend 97% of my time doing as little as possible on a beach. Puerto Rico has plenty of jaw-dropping beaches with fluffy powder sand and blue waters filled with a multitude of exotic fish, so even if you do decide to vegetate on the sand, you are in for an experience.
The other times I have visited the island, and for my upcoming trip, I will be bringing cheap snorkeling gear to hopefully do some see fish.
The best thing about snorkeling in Puerto Rico is the fact that you can be in very shallow water and still see some cool things. You can see from the picture above how close this woman is to the surface. I am not that strong of a swimmer, and I was able to enjoy this at 7 years old.
Don’t go chasing waterfalls? Or DO! El Yunque national park is home to one of Puerto Rico’s most beautiful waterfalls, La Coca Falls. This fall is easily accessible from the road and has a designated viewing area making it perfect for sightseers who aren’t ready to make a treacherous hike. This being said, if you are up for the challenge there is a trail that is quoted being “not for the faint of heart”, but sometimes more difficult things are worth it.
There are also bat caves. They look like something out of 2001 a Space Odyssey- with bats!
Not only are the bats very interesting, and slightly terrifying, but the cave itself is beautiful and interesting. The photo above is not an accurate representation because you are typically in a large group of people slowly following a tour guide through the cave in an elementary style single file line.
Talking about bats, you should take a tour of the Bacardi factory in Old San Juan. I took the tour when I was in second grade, following behind my parents tasting all of the various flavors of rum, including exclusive flavors. I would love to take this tour now as a 23-year-old who is an avid fan of Bacardi lol.
This is just a snippet of all of the things Puerto Rico has to offer. I could put together a whole other article outlining food, experiences, and places to see throughout the small jammed pack island. If you are experiencing a real winter, I would suggest running away!
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