Like everyone else, I imagined PR to be just like the US (whatever that means). I’ve been told by folks who have been to PR that PR is very modern and at the same time underdeveloped.Well this is my opinion of San Juan, PR. To a certain extent, it can be compared to Miami. However, to me it is very comparable to any Caribbean country or the Caribbean coast of any Latin American country. Comparable in terms of the developed infrastructure in place for tourists, the vibe, the old town/colonial zone and so on.

I stayed in the Old San Juan and I loved it. I am easily charmed by Old towns/Colonial zones. The architecture is amazing, people watching, shopping, good food, insightful museums and local attractions were all worthwhile.

The architecture of the walls-castle-morro surrounding old San Juan is the most impressive I’ve seen so far. The ones in Cartegena, Havana, Santiago de Cuba, Santo Domingo, Nassau is nothing compared to that of Old San Juan. It is breathtaking – I walked along the walls, the castle and morro 3 times. That’s a lot given that I was in PR for only 4 days.

 

The food was delicious as well – Mofongo is the typical food here. Mofongo is made from ripe plantain and your choice of chicken, meat or pork. I had another delicious food made from ripe plantain (I don’t remember the name now) in Piñones. Piñones is outside San Juan and the place is famous for the best street food.

I couchsurfed and met up with another couchsurfer. My host was cool and the girl I met up with was pretty cool as well. I think I’m in love with couchsurf – I’ve met really awesome people through this. Another thing that made my trip remarkable was meeting up with a group of amazing folks. Three of them are originally from Liberia and one originally from Jamaica but they all live in the US now. I hung out with them and I had a blast. Plus the Jamaican and one of the Liberian can cook :), I know this because both cooked and the food was GOOD!.