I just spent a few days in Puer­to Rico; I might make it a habit to go some­where warm around Valen­tine’s Day. Last year I was in the Domini­can Repub­lic, and both times it was great to get some­where warm and sun­ny (even if I got a heat rash both times). Vis­it­ing Viejo San Juan was real­ly inter­est­ing, and I wan­dered all over the old forts. I had no idea they were still in use dur­ing World War II as look­outs for U‑boats.

I also vis­it­ed El Yunque, and the bio­lu­mi­nes­cent bay in Fajar­do. Both were fun, vig­or­ous expe­ri­ences unique to the island. What I liked best, of course, was the bits of cul­ture that I expe­ri­enced. Traf­fic is anar­chic, every­one dri­ves by vibes, and it was way less stress­ful to me that way. I did­n’t see any­one with road rage, or any aggres­sive dri­ving at all. The cof­fee is excep­tion­al, and I learned about cafe colao — which, in the incar­na­tion I expe­ri­enced it — is a stan­dard French press cof­fee, but then you run the cof­fee through the French press one more time. It was like cow­boy cof­fee but stronger and tasti­er. Recipes online dif­fer in prepa­ra­tion, and none of them are what I received. Every cup of cof­fee I had was amaz­ing.

The food was out­stand­ing as well. Mofon­go con pol­lo, tamarind bbq pulled pork with roast­ed yuca, fresh san­co­cho, I would get very fat if I lived there.

I would vis­it again to expe­ri­ence more of the island. There’s a lot to see, and it was­n’t a rel­a­tive­ly expen­sive trip, as trips go.