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Vacationing in S??thole countries


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2018 Aug 26, 9:05am   9,372 views  52 comments

by bob2356   ➕follow (1)   💰tip   ignore  

Took the tykes out for a summer vacation of windsurfing,kietsurfng, surfing, wakeboarding (sense a water theme?), horseback, etc, etc. etc.

Did a house swap with a buddy for the first 2 weeks. Off to sunny Puerto Rico for the first time. Not very impressed. I've been around a good deal of the Caribbean and PR has more money than most caribbean places for sure. Good roads, mostly late model cars, tons of rt 46 in NJ type shopping ala walmart/homedepot/bestbuy. Tons of US fast food too. No beggars and very little sweet vendors. It's not all that attractive an Island. Beaches on the north shore are narrow and usually up against a rocky hill. The south shore is mostly mangrove with no beaches. Drove pretty much all the way around the island and didn't see that much hurricane damage left.

Stayed at his nice apartment in La Parguera in the south west corner. Sleepy to the point of comatose 4 days a week; Insane out of control party spot 3 days a week. If you want to do kitesurfing you have hire someone take you out on a boat to the mangrove islands which is a hassle, but since you are already out on a boat wake boarding is already baked in. PR local food is pretty much Caribbean standard something fried wrapped in fried dough of some type. Mashed fried plantains for a starch unlike Cuba, Jamaica, or DR with rice and beens. Went to see a movie (huge cineplex) and had to sit through 35 minutes of previews and advertising. Really loud advertising. Only once. PR drivers are actually timid. Very strange for a latino country. San Juan is a very pedestrian city. A couple nice hoods, but not many. Not going back to PR.

Back to the states for a week then 3 weeks in Cartagena Columbia. Why Cartagena? Cheap airfare like 320 round trip from Baltimore via Lauderdale on spirit (FWIW customs in Lauderdale sucks, really sucks, much worse than many 3rd would countries. Customs in Columbia was quick and efficient, one of the best I've seen) , cheap lodging like $90 a night for a very nice hi rise 2 bedroom apartment overlooking the water), and most important good sailing at a school recommended by a friend. I finally decided it was time to take a full kitesurfing course and break out of being terminal beginner. Went windsurfing in Lago de Calima in western Columbia 2 years ago, but it was really rural. It was backpackers hostels mostly and the night life consisted of counting stars and listening to crickets unless you wanted to drive an hour to Cali. Wanted just a little more urban environment.

No real expectations beyond typical caribbean experience. Wow, Cartagena was awesome. Loved it. Cosmopolitan, vibrant, clean, young. Beautiful city. Skyline like dubai or miami with a bunch of hi rises. The city is locked in by water in kind of a T shape. The top of the T is the caribbean, to the left is Cartagena bay, and to the right is a huge lake and mangrove swamp. Which means the entire city is pretty much water front. The beaches are packed most days. The T intersection is the old walled city and Getsamani an up and coming yuppie/backpackers area. Left of the T on the peninsula is all the tourism. Right and base of the T are residential. The downside is almost all the beaches are on the other side of a road so there aren't really many beachfront restaurants Took the usual 2-3 days of how the fuck does everything work in this country period to get going.

The old city is amazing. Dating to the 1500's and surrounded by 10 miles of wall that is 10-30 ft high and 10-30ft thick. You can walk on top of the wall almost all the way around. A lot of the wall is overlooking the Caribbean. Think of the old city as a really really big mostly pedestrian shopping mall with 500 year old architecture. Super clean and almost all in excellent shape. Huge number of kids flying kites in the big grounds in front to the wall. Lots and lots of great looking restaurants and interesting shopping. Actually that was true all over the city. Crime is low and no one seemed concerned that I talked to. No beggars, but a good number of street vendors. They are polite and respectful. A simple no is sufficient.

Hot every day high 80's and humid. Since its only 3 degrees north of the equator, 200 miles roughly it's high 80's 365 days a year. It was actually cooler and with the sea breezes it was more comfortable than my area of northern new england was this summer. Weird considering I'm an hour from the canadian border. Pretty dry area of Columbia with somewhat scrubby vegetation. No malaria though. Beaches were ok but not great. The city beaches are mostly pretty firm sand that you could easily drive on with the 100 ft right at the water being softer. Breakwaters every couple hundred yards . In the eastern area's of the city the bus and taxi service runs on the beach. Pretty cool. Sailing was pretty good. The sailing school is about 5 miles east of the city where there are no breakwaters. Good thing for beginner kietsurfers. Just a cement block shack on the beach but excellent equipment and instructors. Yes I got up and going finally. Cartagena actually faces somewhat west as the coast curves south at that point. The wind doesn't always track the coast so 3 days out of 4 is good. A couple hundred miles further east sticks out a lot more and gets stronger and much more consistent trade winds. Serous desert at that point though. Cabo de la Vela is a 2 hour ride through the desert in a jeep, has no electricity or running water (buckets of water are provided to shower), the only accommodations are hammocks yet there are 3 kitesurfing/windsurfing resort/schools there. That's serious wind.

You need rudimentary spanish or a good dictionary and lots of gestures. English is spoken but not extensively. Or take a Spanish speaking spouse like I did since my spanish is limited to bathroom, beer, and used tires. Money is really really confusing. They issued new bills without all the zeros but didn't take the old ones out of circulation. So 50,000 20,000 10,000 5,000 2000 is the same as 50,20,10,5,2 and are all used interchangeably. Not very intuitive standing in line with 10 people behind you. Exchange is 3000 to 1 official 2700 to 1 street. Pretty solid currency. A little disconcerting to get a bill for 300,000 for dinner though. Didn't rent a car. Taxis are everywhere and dirt cheap. 2-4 bucks anywhere in the city. Rented a taxi for 5 hours to go to the Aviario Nacional de Colombia for $75. A good amount of traffic but it moves fine. Never sat n a traffic jam are than a couple minutes at a really major intersection.Typical aggressive latino drivers.

Lots to do. Funny thing is once you get there a lot more shows up on internet searches. I guess google/goduckgo/etc. limit by your location so you don[t see as much in the states. I've found that before with other countries. Food, shopping, casinos, beach, night life (this is a latino city), surfing, windsurfing (right next to our apartment in the middle of the city), boat rides, tour buses, fishing, etc., etc., etc. They love their chiva party buses. It's an open sided bus with a band and a bar that you can jam in with lots of other people and do hop on hop off bar hopping. The spousal unit went for a hot mud bath in the world's smallest active volcano. It's like 30 ft high with a rickety scaffold to get up and inside where there is another ticket scaffold to get into the mud. The Aviario was great. Columbia is ground zero for birds.

Snorkling/diving wasn't happening. The city beaches don't have reefs and the water is a little cloudy with all the wind and wave action. The Islands in the bay have reefs and diving but it seems to be a real hassle to do and there is some bad press about scams. The island tours also lock you in for the whole day and I didn't want to go snorkeling for a couple hours than sit on a beach the rest of the day waiting for my ride home I don't sit on beaches. Beaches are a path to go play in the water.

Lots of variety of food. More interesting restaurants than could be explored in a decade. Obviously fish and seafood was a biggie. Sides usually include a salad which is really nice. Plus fried plantin frequently which is so so as far as i'm concerned. Best fruit I've ever eaten. Almost no fast food. Almost no chain store shopping either. Went to the best supermarket I've ever seen called carulla's. Meats, cheeses, fruits, veggies, fresh baked bread like I've never seen They had a 10x10 rack of hanging cured hams that looked awesome. Amazing. I really wanted one to bring home, but customs would have had a fit.

No pictures, camera died on trip home and I need to get the card read onto a stick.

Well worth a look for anyone looking for a warm vacation with lots of water and a happening city. Direct from Lauderdale and Miami 2.5 hours.

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1   Strategist   2018 Aug 26, 10:33am  

Glad you had fun. I have been to Jamaica and Bahamas, and absolutely loved it. Cuba is on my radar screen.

bob2356 says
No pictures, camera died on trip home and I need to get the card read onto a stick.

In case you missed the news, the iPhone has already been invented.
2   bob2356   2018 Aug 26, 10:55am  

Strategist says

In case you missed the news, the iPhone has already been invented.


Yes it has. So have good quality digital cameras with much better picture quality than an Iphone.

I just buy a really cheap burner phone anyway. Hassling with sim chips and networks is getting much easier, but can still be a pain in the ass.
3   Ceffer   2018 Aug 26, 11:32am  

Kitesurfing is off my list. Anything that picks you up off the ground/water and can drop you is prelude to a smersh, unless you are really small, thin and bouncy.

I had a friend who tried it at an older age and dropped hard during a lesson=shoulder surgery a week later and down for the count. He didn't go back.

Cartegna sounds like a beautiful place, and fun, too, without the third world paranoias so much.
4   Shaman   2018 Aug 26, 12:27pm  

Cool travelogue. Thanks for the report!
5   WookieMan   2018 Aug 26, 1:56pm  

Cool post. Don't discount the iPhone or Samsung phone cameras. Sometimes it's much easier to take a photo and vacation without larger gear. Even a top notch point and shoot.

I've found it's too much hassle to bring the good gear when vacationing with kids at least. iPhone X photos over the summer in Tetons, Yellowstone (no photos included of Ystone) and Big Sky below. Resized for web, so not original quality, but it gets the job done in a pinch with the thing I'll be carrying in my pocket anyway.

I've only done PR for 3 days prior to a cruise. We had a blast. It does have a different vibe though. Columbia is a bucket list destination. We're going to check Costa Rica off the list in late January 2019. We'll be in Potraro area if anyone has tips, ideas or things to do.

Thanks for sharing.






6   Evan F.   2018 Aug 26, 2:17pm  

Last time I was in PR was a good 13 years ago. I had a nice enough time. I thought it was pretty, and at least somewhere different, but I'd have to agree that it's probably worth visiting once and then trying somewhere new. Perhaps I'll go back in 10+ years when I've crossed more must-see places of my list.

Also: the best camera is the one you have on you. iPhone, Galaxy, my pixel 2xl all take remarkably excellent pictures. Are they on par with a 5D MKIV? No. But they also fit in your pocket and they're waterproof.
7   WookieMan   2018 Aug 26, 2:22pm  

Evan F. says
Last time I was in PR was a good 13 years ago. I had a nice enough time. I thought it was pretty, and at least somewhere different, but I'd have to agree that it's probably worth visiting once and then trying somewhere new. Perhaps I'll go back in 10+ years when I've crossed more must-see places of my list.


It was 10 years ago for me. Bob's description of the beaches is kind of what my turn off was. They just weren't very good. Not awful, but I've been to many better. The one place I want to get to in PR is Vieques though. Assuming a break in hurricanes, we'll likely try to get back there in the next 2 years and check it out.
8   Strategist   2018 Aug 26, 2:49pm  

WookieMan says
iPhone X photos over the summer in Tetons, Yellowstone


Hey, I was there 2 weeks ago.
Even video recording is good on the iPhone. All I do with it is aim and shoot a bunch pictures. One of them turns out to be good, making me great photographer.
9   clambo   2018 Aug 26, 4:26pm  

I intend to visit Cartagena someday. I have a good friend who is from there.

I should go down there from Florida but I will be back in California in 2019 so I guess I will be doing some plane changes.
10   bob2356   2018 Aug 26, 7:57pm  

WookieMan says
We're going to check Costa Rica off the list in late January 2019. We'll be in Potraro area if anyone has tips, ideas or things to do.


Hopefully you are flying into Liberia. It's a big hike to drive from San Jose.

I really like the Guanacaste region. You may want to check out Las Pumas Rescue Center which has a lot of big cats that have been rescued. A bit of a hike but may be worth a day. There is also a white water rafting operation in that area. Not exactly class V, but a pleasant day. I have surfed Playa Grande which is close to Potraro. There was a rental shop and school there. It's a mellow break suitable for people like me who prove you are never too old to surf badly. There are some huge gnarly breaks around the area if you want to see how it is really done.

May be worth the drive to go up Lake Arenal. You have to go all the way around through Liberia so maybe not. Much cooler than the coast. Pretty much 70's daytime, 60's nighttime all year round. Windy as hell. There is a windsurfing operation I sailed at on the south west corner, tico windsurf. Good guys. Not sure if the Hotel Mystica adventure yoga (seriously) is still there on the western tip of the lake, but it was a really nice place to eat. There used to be a big zipline center about 10 miles east of Tejone, on the south east of the lake. The road was really primitive when I was there. I managed it with a car, but it was dicey. They took my 3 year old ziplining so that was cool. There is also a riding stable in the same area. Bonus points for Arenal, the tap water is drinkable. Not always true in the lowlands. CDC says malariia isn't a problem any more so that's nice. It was when I was there and I always hate taking anti malaria drugs.
11   MrMagic   2018 Aug 26, 8:03pm  

bob2356 says
Vacationing in S??thole countries


bob2356 says
Off to sunny Puerto Rico for the first time.


bob2356 says
It's not all that attractive an Island.


bob2356 says
Not going back to PR.


You should have asked, I would have told you it was a shithole country, and I would have saved you a ton of time and money.

Live and learn.
12   bob2356   2018 Aug 26, 8:04pm  

WookieMan says
The one place I want to get to in PR is Vieques though. Assuming a break in hurricanes, we'll likely try to get back there in the next 2 years and check it out.


My wife used to go vieques a lot in the 90's (staying at the lesbian commune don't ask) when the place was the wild west. Navy guys all over, bars, beaches, few tourists, primitive, really fast and loose. She went back last year pre hurricane and says it's turned into a mega resort center now the navy has pulled out. She misses the old days.
13   WookieMan   2018 Aug 26, 8:04pm  

bob2356 says
Hopefully you are flying into Liberia


Flight is not booked, but that's the plan. Should be by Friday. Have heard some nasty stories about San Jose.

Thanks for the tips. And then there's diarrhea:

MrMagic says
You should have asked, I would have told you it was a shithole country, and I would have saved you a ton of time and money.

Live and learn.
14   WookieMan   2018 Aug 26, 8:08pm  

I sense some jealously on the board lately. Some people like to sit at their computer 24/7. No direction in life. Oh well. Us with the means will travel and have some fun in our lives, not on the computer or with our left/right hand.
15   bob2356   2018 Aug 26, 8:08pm  

MrMagic says

You should have asked, I would have told you it was a shithole country, and I would have saved you a ton of time and money.

Live and learn.


Not good with sarcasm are we? I didn't spent much money and I certainly don't need help saving of time and money.. I had a fine time. Like I said, PR was ok but nothing special.
16   MrMagic   2018 Aug 26, 8:12pm  

WookieMan says
Thanks for the tips. And then there's diarrhea:


WookieMan says
Us with the means will travel and have some fun in our lives, not on the computer or with our left/right hand.


Nice, more quality comments from a forum moderator.
17   MrMagic   2018 Aug 26, 8:13pm  

bob2356 says
Not good with sarcasm are we?


You're short novel was all sarcasm?
18   bob2356   2018 Aug 26, 8:14pm  

WookieMan says

Flight is not booked, but that's the plan. Should be by Friday. Have heard some nasty stories about San Jose.

Thanks for the tips. And then there's diarrhea:


San Jose is like any city. If you see grandma's pushing babies you are ok. If you see hookers and drug dealers then not so good. I never got the Tijuana two step either time in costa rica. and was a month each time. Had it for 5 weeks straight in DR. I saw a bumper sticker in Tanzania that said "Happiness in Africa is a dry fart".
19   bob2356   2018 Aug 26, 8:14pm  

MrMagic says
bob2356 says
Not good with sarcasm are we?


You're short novel was all sarcasm?


No the title was. Everyone else got it.
20   WookieMan   2018 Aug 26, 8:23pm  

MrMagic says
bob2356 says
Not good with sarcasm are we?


You're short novel was all sarcasm?


This is why you're human trash. Bob could have spent ZERO time and never posted this. Some of us here found value in a well thought out post. This is why many of us like patnet. Except for the threads you interject your vomit.
21   MrMagic   2018 Aug 26, 8:25pm  

bob2356 says
No the title was.


Actually the title was accurate for P.R. It is a shithole. I've been there either 3 or 4 times, totally not impressed.
22   MrMagic   2018 Aug 26, 8:27pm  

WookieMan says
This is why you're human trash.


Nice, more quality comments from a forum moderator.
23   WookieMan   2018 Aug 26, 8:30pm  

MrMagic says
bob2356 says
No the title was.


Actually the title was accurate for P.R. It is a shithole. I've been there either 3 or 4 times, totally not impressed.


So is it 3 or 4? Either way, I'm not impressed.
24   bob2356   2018 Aug 26, 8:37pm  

WookieMan says


So is it 3 or 4? Either way, I'm not impressed.


Why are you getting into a pissing contest with CIC/sniper/lefthanded/mrmagic anyway? If he enjoys his dark existence then good for him. Bon Appétit
25   WookieMan   2018 Aug 26, 8:37pm  

@Patrick - I think the idea has been floated before. Bob took some time and made a massively thoughtful vacation thread. I'm not helping the situation, but this thread is getting shit on by the usual character. Any chance thread creators can knock commenters out? Maybe make it a credit system where you can only do it three times a month, etc? This had the potential to get a lot of people clicking in and, well, you know.
26   WookieMan   2018 Aug 26, 8:46pm  

bob2356 says
Why are you getting into a pissing contest with CIC/sniper/lefthanded/mrmagic anyway? If he enjoys his dark existence then good for him. Bon Appét.


I hear you. I'm sick of it though. He's trashing the forum. You might, but in 6 months, would you make the same post about your adventures here? Not sure you can answer that with a solid yes. Anyone that posts here almost immediately gets crapped on for unintelligible reasons. It's like someone gave a retard acid or something.

Am I fighting a losing battle? Probably. He was banned and gone for a while though and I think that's when the forum flourished the most. The moderation situation pissed off some users, but I think that was a matter of time anyway. Although it'd be nice to have some fresh thoughts. I sincerely liked your post and wish there was more of that shit.

This board can be vibrant, but we're being held back by the trash. This is not a mic drop moment, as I'll be around as long as this is a going thing. But I'm not digging the vibe lately. It was a better place without you know who.
27   bob2356   2018 Aug 26, 9:02pm  

Strategist says
Glad you had fun. I have been to Jamaica and Bahamas, and absolutely loved it. Cuba is on my radar screen.


I looked for my trip to cuba thread for you but it seems to have disappeared from patnet. Too bad that one had pictures. Trump has killed americans going to cuba once again. Not that I care, I just won't use my US passport if I go back.
28   bob2356   2018 Aug 26, 9:08pm  

WookieMan says

I hear you. I'm sick of it though. He's trashing the forum. You might, but in 6 months, would you make the same post about your adventures here? Not sure you can answer that with a solid yes. Anyone that posts here almost immediately gets crapped on for unintelligible reasons. It's like someone gave a retard acid or something.


I would. There are plenty of reasonable people here. I'm certainly not letting his problems become my problems. Usually I just find it laughable anyway or if I'm bored I'll play his silly games to amuse myself.
29   WookieMan   2018 Aug 26, 9:20pm  

bob2356 says
WookieMan says

I hear you. I'm sick of it though. He's trashing the forum. You might, but in 6 months, would you make the same post about your adventures here? Not sure you can answer that with a solid yes. Anyone that posts here almost immediately gets crapped on for unintelligible reasons. It's like someone gave a retard acid or something.


I would. There are plenty of reasonable people here. I'm certainly not letting his problems become my problems. Usually I just find it laughable anyway or if I'm bored I'll play his silly games to amuse myself.


Again. I hear you. There would likely be more reasonable people here though. And his problems are his problems. I sleep well at night and don't worry about it. When my fingers are dancing on the keyboard, I will fight the bs though. It's like 10 lifelong buddies hanging out and one of them got into meth. Meth head needs to go.

I can literally go on a rampage and delete every one of his comments at say 4am my time. I haven't and won't. He's made edits hours after making a post and won't even admit it. As I said, I'm fighting a losing battle, but oh well. I'll try to make it fun.
30   clambo   2018 Aug 27, 6:05am  

Re: Learning to Kite surf. I would check out Jupiter FL in the springtime. There is wind but 80F water, no waves, no crowds, no crime, no language barrier, excellent Palm Beach airport about 20 minutes away. I saw there is an instructor, maybe there are several.

The title referred to Puerto Rico and Colombia as "shithole countries." I don't believe Colombia is a shithole county, and I would go there before Puerto Rico for sure.

The author didn't mention what my friend from Colombia mentioned about Cartagena; single men may notice the abundant eye candy strolling around.

I remember reading the US State Dept. had an abbreviation for countries like El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala etc. "TFC"=Totally Fucked Country
31   CBOEtrader   2018 Aug 27, 7:18am  

Really great summary thanks for sharing.

Do you know anything about living in PR for 153 days/yr to pay no income taxes? I'm sure I'm misrepresenting the rule, but I've heard there is a way. A few of my Chicago buddies are now wintering in PR for this reason.
32   bob2356   2018 Aug 27, 7:35am  

clambo says
The title referred to Puerto Rico and Colombia as "shithole countries." I don't believe Colombia is a shithole county, and I would go there before Puerto Rico for sure.


Wow doesn't anyone have a sense of humor any more? or notice the title was totally at odds with the content? Lighten up guys, it was a little tweak at trump and the trumptards that apparently was too sophisticated for the target audience. Mea Culpa.

clambo says
Re: Learning to Kite surf. I would check out Jupiter FL in the springtime. There is wind but 80F water, no waves, no crowds, no crime, no language barrier, excellent Palm Beach airport about 20 minutes away


and at the jersey shore where one of my asshole buddies from our windsurfing racing days runs a kite school. Who was the one that recommended pure kiteboarding in Cartagena to me. Serous windsurfer/kitesurfers is a small community and a surprising number of the people know each other.

If I have to explain why I prefer to check out destinations beyond jupiter fl or the jersey shore then I don't think I can. Hanging out having a great time in exotic (or some not so exotic) locations with the usual crowd of lived around the world worked around the world adventure sport expats (oh shit I am one of those people) who are just fascinating comparing places and adventures doesn't happen in jupiter fl. or any of the amazing experiences available if you want them.
33   zzyzzx   2018 Aug 27, 7:36am  

If I am used to shitty Chesapeake Bay beaches, will I find PR beaches acceptable?
34   bob2356   2018 Aug 27, 8:01am  

CBOEtrader says
Really great summary thanks for sharing.

Do you know anything about living in PR for 153 days/yr to pay no income taxes? I'm sure I'm misrepresenting the rule, but I've heard there is a way. A few of my Chicago buddies are now wintering in PR for this reason.


I looked at this very carefully a few years ago when I was looking for a place for my umbrella LLC. It's 183 days but you also have to pass the “bona fide resident” test. That's a lot tougher. Here are some of the things the IRS looks at.
The location of your permanent home;
The location of your family;
The location of personal belongings, such as automobiles, furniture, clothing, and jewelry;
The location of social, political, cultural, professional, or religious organizations with which you have a current relationship;
The location where you conduct your routine personal banking activities;
The place where you conduct business activities (other than those that go into determining your tax home);
The location of the jurisdiction in which you hold a driver’s license;
The location of the jurisdiction in which you vote;
The location of charitable organizations to which you contribute; and
The country of residence you designate on forms and documents.

If you are using act 20 or act 22 to have a business, which can only be for "eligible services" only, in PR the rules are pretty complicated and restrictive to get the tax rate, You also have to have a bona fide residence to claim for the business. The really big if is how long the tax breaks will last with PR going bankrupt quickly.

If you really have buddies wintering in PR and claiming residence they are going to get a very rude and expensive shock at some point. or maybe not, the IRS has been so gutted that it seems tax evasion is becoming worth the gamble to a lot of people. Just don't work for trump. Even if I could bring myself to be dishonest I sure don't have the guts to try it.
35   joshuatrio   2018 Aug 27, 8:11am  

Nice Bob, looks like fun. Columbia's always been on my bucket list and your post might just tempt me to do it next year.

Wife and I did Puerto Rico a year or two ago (before the hurricane smacked it) and we really enjoyed it. We've been to just about every island and the Caribbean, and felt that it was the nicest of them. Maybe because it was the most Americanized... that and we spent most of our time in old san juan.
36   Goran_K   2018 Aug 27, 8:37am  

Awesome vacation report. I have to visit South America more often.
37   Goran_K   2018 Aug 27, 8:44am  

WookieMan says
This board can be vibrant, but we're being held back by the trash. This is not a mic drop moment, as I'll be around as long as this is a going thing. But I'm not digging the vibe lately. It was a better place without you know who.


The ignore function works decently well on this forum, perhaps that could be an option.
38   RWSGFY   2018 Aug 27, 11:35am  

WookieMan says
Have heard some nasty stories about San Jose.


I used SJ as CR entry-exit point and it was completely uneventful. Even spent a night in a small hotel near the airport before an early flight back home.
39   bob2356   2018 Aug 27, 11:41am  

joshuatrio says

Wife and I did Puerto Rico a year or two ago (before the hurricane smacked it) and we really enjoyed it. We've been to just about every island and the Caribbean, and felt that it was the nicest of them. Maybe because it was the most Americanized... that and we spent most of our time in old san juan.


PR is far and away the most Americanized place in the Caribbean and despite what some people somehow read in I did have fun. I just didn't find it to be all that interesting. Too many walmarts/maceverything too little native culture or interesting things to do. Every place has pluses and minuses. DR has amazing things to do, but the trash, beggars and very aggressive street vendors are a real pain in the ass. Cuba is fascinating, safe, and clean but lacks any real tourist infrastructure other than some all inclusive resorts. If you aren't comfortable eating in true native restaurants (which are sometimes in someones house) then you are out of luck. We ended up having lunch of roasted chicken cooked over an open fire in the back yard of our horseback guides very primitive house. Fascinating man, proud veteran of the Angola war. My 9 year old kept eyeing the live chickens and the cooking chickens but didn't ask the question she was obviously thinking. Not the usual tourism experience for most people. Jamaica has some of the best beaches in the Caribbean but has truly dangerous crime outside of walled resorts. So forth and so on. It's all a compromise everywhere you go.

If you liked old san iuan and I did like it also, cartagena old city will be amazing.
40   bob2356   2018 Aug 27, 11:45am  

DASKAA says
WookieMan says
Have heard some nasty stories about San Jose.


I used SJ as CR entry-exit point and it was completely uneventful. Even spent a night in a small hotel near the airport before an early flight back home.


I've heard some truly nasty stories about Chicago. Stay out of bad area's, if you don't know ask. Grannies with babies good, hookers and drug dealers bad. It's not rocket science.

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