IHP Mayaguez Plaza

... cobblestone streets with the jovial festive crowd we finally reached the fort in late afternoon. The fort was majestic with its armored entry doors to the impressive sculpted lion-face over the entryway. They have a small entry fee ($5.00, I suppose). El Morro has six levels that rise from sea level to about 50 m in high. All along the walls are seen the dome-covered sentry boxes known as garitas, which have ...

... from being arrested. He said the guy was going on about a security breach on a United States port facility and given that Pete had just wandered on with no problems, didn't see how it was so secure?? But this was no time to argue the point, so off we went back across the bay just as a hi-tech Customs speed boat came flying along, stopped at the wharf, chatted to the men for a few minutes while checking us out pottering off in the dinghy (real terrorist threat we ...

... started to appear with the typical white sandy beaches and coconut palms but still a very rocky shore line. As we rounded the corner, the beach continued but with a reef about 40 metres from the shore line. Where the heck were we supposed to anchor? Following the loose directions from our cruising guide we found a couple of leads and slowly sailed thru a very, very shallow cut in the reef into a lagoon. After releasing our breath at not ending up on the reef our ...

... amp; serene beach I have ever been to. This beach had an artificial reef built some distance away from the shoreline which made the beach unusually calm. It was the best place to catch some sun & just laze around in the sun. For dinner we tried this place called "Ajili Mojili" which served authentic Puerto Rican cuisine. The food tasted like heaven! The love & passion with which the food was cooked really came thru. It ...

... one of the most gorgeous beaches..the town is passed in 5 minutes, chickens walking their babies around, inbetweeen and on the cars..publicos are enjoying the blooming business and carrying the hundreds of gringos anywhere they desire to go.. in the campsite i get greeted by a life-long traveler John willing to share all he has collected with dumpster diving and of course to brighten up his days his tent is located just next to the only soap allowed showers...

The promised land. World-class board-breaking waves of Tres Palmas and Domes skirted by the crystal clear waters of Desecheo Island. House right on the beach with a swimming pool. Dive Shop, Taino Divers, in Black Eagle Marina. Banana Dang and the Rum Shack up in Puntas. Life is SWEET!

All flights arrive to BQN at extremely inconvenient times 4am! During my time in Rincon I made the trip thrice. Call Carlos in Rincon. He is dependable, friendly, speaks fluent English, is a Rincon local, has a huge van for your surf boards and is an all around good guy.

Yes, this is what I discovered during my very short stay in Puerto Rico (on the tiny island of Vieques to be more specific). I joined a small group of people one evening where we kayaked out into the middle of Bio Luminescence Bay. This bay apparently has the highest concentration of tiny little organisms called Dinoflagellates anywhere in the world. As a consequence when you agitate them in the water they ...

Day 3: Today was our travel day (mostly for me. Tammy is quite happy to sit by the pool and soak in the sun but I get antsy). I wanted to take in El Yunque (the rain forest of Puerto Rico) and Old San Juan. We rented a car (which was very reasonable) from Avis in the hotel for under $100.00. After a brief breakfast at the coffee shop we took off. El Yungue is less than 10 minutes from ...

... fried beyond belief. This leads me to the next cultural lesson... 4. Puerto Ricans do not believe in air conditioning and temperatures in the 80s seem "chilly" and are reason enough to wear a light jacket. Geeeeeeez 5. I've arrived to the island just in time for hurricane season which means a violent storm lashes out every day at about 3 in the afternoon. Sadly, this realization came about 5 embarrassing and entirely ...