I'm currently relaxing at my hostel in San Juan on the eve of my flight back to the mainland. Oh, how time flies!
My last week in Puerto Rico has been a bit more of the same = beach, coffee, work, chill. I have worked diligently on my tan, and it is now even! Then I looked at the weather in Seattle. 50s. My tan is going to be wasted underneath my giant coat!! Dreadful 馃槶!
But anyways, 10/10 would recommend Puerto Rico to someone who needs a different change of pace and some new scenery. Please enjoy my final slew of representative photographs:
My final AirBnB breakfast.
A somewhat dreadful attempt to show how tiny my plane was. P.S. Don't arrive too early to the tiny airport. I arrived 1.50 hours early and the airport doors were locked and no one was there. Lesson learned.
One of the things that has impressed me about Puerto Rico is their COVID-19 conscientiousness. And I thought Seattle was all over COVID. Here in PR, they are very careful to wear masks in public, and take your temperature/sanitize your hands at every establishment. And I mean it when I say every establishment, even the entrance to the public beach. Some places even have these groovy 2-1 machines: sanitize and temp check in one!
Caf茅
Another aspect of Puerto Rican life that I would be remiss in not mentioning is coffee. This last weekend, I took a day to drive up into the interior mountains where coffee is grown for a little site-seeing and coffee drinking. The views and the coffee did not disappoint.
I also picked up a "few" bags of coffee as gifts to take home...and also to drink myself. This the current level of my stash. I'm not sure my suitcase can accommodate more bags.
On the sad side, I have been pretty unsuccessful in making a decent cup of coffee at my AirBnB. Moka Pots are the most popular way to brew coffee here; that brewing method + dark coffee + fine grind = very bitter coffee. It appears that people like to drink it with a bit of milk and sugar, so this dark brew makes sense. Since I worked for years to wean myself off of milk and sugar in my coffee, returning to this level is a bit of a letdown. Hence, the 400 cappuccinos I've been drinking at coffee shops. It's the consolation for the less-than-stellar coffee I'm drinking at home.
Reggaet贸n
After even just a few days here, I have become more familiar with reggaet贸n and other popular Puerto Rican music. You really don't have a choice - it's everywhere. People bring large speakers to the beach and play their music right next to someone else's speaker with different music. As someone who enjoys music and thinks it tells you a lot about a place, I'm into for the most part. So, here's what I've learned in my 3-week stay:
First, Reggaet贸n is a style of music that developed in Puerto Rico. At first listen, ALL reggaet贸n music sounds the same. But if you give it some time, you'll actually be able to tell the difference between songs and you'll have some favorites. Here's a list of 25 popular reggaet贸n singers. If you follow popular music, you'll probably recognize at least a couple. After 3 weeks of music listening, I will share with you a couple samples.
First up - Calma by Pedro Cap贸. This is really just a soothing anthem about the beach. The chorus lyrics really say it all: "Let's go to the beach. It'll cure your soul. Close the computer screen, open a Medalla (local beer)."
Second up - Locura by Alec Mora. It's all over the radio. It's also a nice example of a trend in reggaet贸n to sing out the name of the artist/producer/company within the song itself. Do not understand this...
Third up - Ropa Cara by Camilo - Also all over the radio. Not my favorite song. But the lyrics are somewhat interesting. It's about the pressure to dress in name brands like Balenciaga, Gucci, and Prada.
Now you too can speak knowledgably about Reggaet贸n!
