Puerto Rican Paradise

by vicky norbert
(Largo, FL USA)

We went to Puerto Rico, but did not take the typical tourist trips to sightsee. Instead we rented a car and packed a tent.
We circumnavigated the entire island, took a ferry to an island getaway,and stayed at lodging where the local people vacation. We camped at a campground where we were the only campers; I think the park staff thought we were a bit loco. But we woke to the sounds of the sea every day as it was located in a seaside park. No one spoke english there and we really experienced a different culture.

We stopped at many unique travel spots along the drive, small cities, larger towns, and rural hamlets. Once we got lost on the winding mountain roads and while sitting by the road with my map which did not have the streets we were on, a man stopped to ask if we needed help. I told him where we were trying to get back to and he said: "follow me". After about a half an hour we saw our turn off and waved goodbye to our rescuer. We found hidden beaches and parks every where we went. We located a lighthouse over 100 years old that was still in use and walked on deserted beaches with a lone dog as our guide, he worked for a drink of water.

He saw us coming and said woof follow me. It was as if it was his beach. The food we ate was amazing. A kiosk we stopped at was about 10 block long stretch of mostly shack looking buildings with many roll up garage doors. No tourists were here, local workers were eating and shopping. We found a hidden secret in one of them, it was a lovely restaurant that totally exceeded any expectations of fine dining that youwould expect in such a setting. A busy highway on one side, but on the rear was a beach with trees where diners rode their horses, then tethered them to the trees and went to dinner. We never would have found any of these places had we stayed at a resort or hotel.