evan

So, my friend Biella is from Puerto Rico, and I asked her for some recommendations for our trip. She was extremely thorough, and gave us this great list of suggestions (and permission to post it here). ---- Hey Evan Good to hear from you and sorry about my silence about PR. I have been meaning to write stuff to help you all orient yourself and now I will! SO places to eat in Old San Juan that may have a separate room: I am not sure if El Jibarito does but they have pretty classic and standard PR food, so give them a call to see if they do. (http://www.frommers.com/destinations/sanjuan/0323010028.html) If I remember correctly La Bombonera (http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-2770306-la_bombonera_san_juan-i) does have an upstairs room that would be able to seat that many folks.... So that may be a good place. It is like an Old Skool Latino Diner, if you can imagine such a place. Now, in terms of nightlife, make sure to check out the nuyorkican cafe http://www.nuyoricancafepr.com/calendario.html The best music is on Thur, Friday and Sat... Also, most places on Calle Sebastian are pretty cool and Cafe Seda is especially hip (featuring local artists) so check them out : http://www.elcafeseda.com/ Now, an amazing place is a cooperative for musicians near the University of Puerto Rico, called TallerCe. I have been to a number of amazing shows there, and the crowd ranges from local hipsters, to older university professors who bring their little kids and will also include surfers and queers. It is really attacts one of the more elcectic crowds I have seen there... The problem is their website is down but if you do a search for http://www.tallerce.org/ (Tallerce PR) then hit the cached site, you can see their old site. Here is some more information: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g147319-i71-k690060-Salsa_lessons_a... http://www.downislandmagazine.com/TallerCe.html Ok so around San Juan: The local beach where everyone goes to is in "Ocean Park' next to Condado. Lots of people on the weekends but not so much during the week. If there is a lot of wind, all the kite surfers will be out. And if you are lucky, perhaps you will see my sis walking the cutest dog in the world: http://flickr.com/photos/biella/85414153/ They are known as SATOS' in local jargon :-) Near there, you can get good local breakfast and lunch in a place called Kasalta. If you do go during lunch hour, it will be REALLY busy. So make sure you have time or just get there a little early or late or make sure you won't mind the line. http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-2770241-kasalta_san_juan-i Right near there is a largely vegan restaurant that opened recently called Kundalini. It is a bit upscale but everything is homemade and *good*. they even make their own coconut milk! A very popular joint for food in the area is a Dominican restaurtant= Bebos. It used to be a shack when I was in highschool but now it is like its own empire and takes up 1/2 a block and seems to only expand. The price range from cheap to pricey and I personally love the Churassco. Expect a wait not so much for tables but food that is if you go between 7-9. Enjoy the irony too that one of the most popular restaurants in San Juan is Dominican, despite the fact that there is still a fair bit of racism and prejudice among Puerto Ricans against Dominicans. http://www.fodors.com/miniguides/mgresults.cfm?destination=puerto_rico@1... On the weekends, another popular hangout spot = "La Plazita" in Santurce. I can't describe how to get there but if you ask folks, they can direct you. I like a bar called Rubi's that is there. It is pretty dead there except for Thu, Fri, Sat, when it is pretty much raging. Another neat place to hang out at night is in Piñones, which is this beach area, largely undeveloped in terms of corporate tourism, right east of Isla Verde (which is where the airport is and where the bulk of the gynormous hotels are). You can go there late in the afternoon and eat some deep fried finger food (El Pulpo Loco is a good place) or go at night to eat some food and listen to music right on the beach. The only place I can remember by name = www.soleilbeachclub.com. but there are others where you can sit down and eat. In San Juan there is a fine arts museum, modern art museum, place for zen meditation, and conservatory called Bellas Artes. Let me know if you need any info finding them. If you need a good health food store with a vegetarian cafe check out Freshmart Natural Market and Cafe Calle Calaf 201 (esq/cross streetFederico Costa) Montemar Plaza Hato Rey 787-282-9106 Buses sort of suck but the one that runs a lot and frequently is the NUMBER 1, which runs along Ponce de Leon in Miramar and goes near the University as well as Old San Juan in the other direction. It is sometimes worth walking to Ponce de Leon from Condado just to catch the bus as other ones are slow. Along Ponce De Leon = Fine arts cinema if you want to catch a documentary. Taxis fare are based on zones and well regulated so drivers should not be scamming you for money. Look for the white "tourist" approved cab. My sister's ex, "Chini" aka Raymond Soto drives a cab and if you are even in Old San Juan near the Starbucks where there is a taxi station, try to ask for him and tell him you know me. He is a good guy and hilarious... Really hilarious. For example, he has this disco ball in his taxi and will create a disco atomphsere in the cab if you ask him to. Ok, so outside of San Juan. If you go to the Arecibo observatory (which is pretty geeky-cool) maybe hit a beached called Jobos in Isabela after (but you need to get to the observatory early because they are not that close and here is some info http://www.downislandmagazine.com/jobos.html). There are often sufters there and many are cute, though you may not be interested in that; others may be though. You can also hit one of the beaches in Manati on the way back to San Juan. This is what they look like. http://flickr.com/photos/biella/85414152 Puerto Rico is known to have killer caves (and I have heard it has the 3rd largest cave river system in the world, behind China and Yugoslavia, which I can't really believe but...) and the area where they are is called Camuy, near Arecibo. You can do a sort of basic tour, walking in the cave (which I have never done) or you can do a full on hike but you will need a guide and these are the folks to do it with: http://www.aventuraspr.com/adventures/caving/index.htm It is sort of pricey but then again I paid 50$ over 14 years ago, so.... Now, I will be very disappointed if you and your wikitravel entourage dont go TO MY FAVORITE ISLAND: CULEBRA. The place is really quaint, dry, and tropical. The great thing about it is that you can enjoy one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, yet it is not all gross and upscale, like St Barts or something. You can fly from San Juan or take a 2 dollar ferry from Fajardo that may leave you barfing if the weather is bad, but it is part of the fun. I have only camped at the beach, Flameco beach and have also stayed at http://www.mamacitaspr.com/. It was decent and there is a decent restaurant attached to it on the canal too, which is nice. I have heard good things about http://www.culebrahotel.com/suitesvillas.html although some of the yahoo reviews give it an HUGE thumbs down. Another good place to eat = http://www.frommers.com/destinations/culebra/D50460.html Here is some more info on Culebra. http://culebrai.vox.com/library/posts/ You may want to make it your last spot to visit because if it is your first, you may not want to leave. If you hook up with Fish and Wildlife you can maybe help monitor turtles as they lay their egg. There is good snorkeling and apparently a nude beach... Gosh, I have more to say but will leave it at this for now....