travel – Page 6 – Messy Suitcase Travel Blog

March 17, 2022March 17, 2022

The Messy Suitcase Guide to Eating in Puerto Rico, Part 2:

What is Puerto Rican Food, Anyway?

A lot of people expect Puerto Rican food to be like Mexican, with nachos and guacamole and burritos. But it’s a completely unique cuisine that evolved over centuries from the blending of Spanish, Taino, West Indian, and American influences with the vegetables, fruits, and meats available for consumption on the island.

Traditional Puerto Rican food includes a large selection of fried dishes, called frituras, often sold from roadside kiosks, and stuffed breads. Many are deep-fried. Here are a few stalwarts:

Alcapurrias–Yucca or plantain-based fritters filled with ground beef, lobster, crab, or shrimp.
Bacalaitos–Deep-fried, crunchy codfish fritters.
Piononos–Deep-fried sweet plantain appetizers stuffed with seasoned meat or seafood.
Rellenos de Papa – Potatoes stuffed with ground beef and deep fried to create a crispy outer layer.
Arepas–fried bread stuffed with anything from cheese to chicken or seafood.
Plaintain–a green banana that is used in cooking many, many dishes in Puerto Rico.
Mofongo–fried, then mashed and spiced, plantain, stuffed with meat or seafood and then covered in sauce.
Empanadillas and Pastelillos–pastry pockets filled with seafood, meat or cheese. Empanadillas are bigger.
Fried Cheese–Lightly fried cheese squares served with guava sauce. Lisa’s favorite.
Cheese Balls–Breaded, deep-fried cheese fritters.
Pinchos–outstanding chicken or pork kebabs with BBQ sauce.
Quesito—Breakfast pastry filled with cream cheese and sometimes fruit.

There are many other dishes, but this is a start! These two articles share even more information about Puerto Rican cuisine.

Top 10 Puerto Rico
Speaking Latino

Coastal Food

Along the coast, traditional food means freshly caught fish–dorado, red snapper, salmon, cod, or octopus or lobster, served with rice and perhaps beans. Diners have a choice of traditional sauces that seem to be found at all seafood restaurants on PR’s west coast: criollo (tomato, onion and peppers), butter, and creamy garlic. Oysters and mussels are also big, and can be consumed fresh from the sea at roadside stands in beach towns.

City Food

Cities in Puerto Rico are as cosmopolitan as any, so dinner in San Juan or Ponce or Mayagüez could just as easily mean Spanish (remember, Christopher Columbus and the first white settlers came from Spain), Mexican, Argentinean, Brazilian, Japanese, Italian, Thai, or any other cuisine. “Traditional” Puerto Rican food in a more upscale restaurant will be less greasy and add new flavors. Be adventurous!

Up Next … Pt. 3: Our Restaurant Recommendations

Photo Sources:

Mofongo – commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mofongo.jpg
Quesitos – flickr.com/photos/waffleboy/50519333408/
Empanadillas – flickr.com/photos/stuart_spivack/4977425331
Fried plantain – flickr.com/photos/mr_t_in_dc/1348344748

All Creative Commons licensed.

March 15, 2022March 17, 2022

The Messy Suitcase Guide to Eating in Puerto Rico, Part 1

*Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardo_mangual/10313662306/*

“Where are the best places to eat in Puerto Rico?”

Many prospective travelers to this wonderful island seek gustatory advice in advance, as part of their trip planning. And this is understandable! So Messy Suitcase is here to help you eat authentically and well, in a new series, The Messy Suitcase Guide to Eating in Puerto Rico.

We are of several minds about PR meal planning. First of all, most Puerto Ricans would probably say the best place to eat is in Abuela’s (Grandma’s) kitchen.

Secondly, while you’re searching for that recommended restaurant, you may be passing ten others that are just as good or better.

Everybody’s taste is different, be it flavor, style, formality, familiarity, level of spice, authenticity, or whatever makes your tongue sing. So one person’s Michelin 5-Star restaurant may be another person’s disappointment.

Be Adventurous!

Half the fun of Puerto Rican food–or really, any country’s food–is making discoveries. You’re sunning on Playa Combate, the day is ending, you see lights of a restaurant twinkling at the north end of the beach. You wander over and stumble upon a restaurant overlooking the ocean at sunset, with excellent cocktails and unparalleled views. No recommendation necessary! Just explore.

Trying something new doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll like it, but it’s still important to be adventurous.

Example #1: Piñones

We have visited the Piñones food stands area just east of San Juan, driving along the ocean and picking out unassuming food stands from which to order traditional Puerto Rican food, prepared the way Abuela makes it.

*Source: flickr.com/photos/beruff/2132545678*

Visiting Piñones is a local tradition, especially on weekend afternoons. These ramshackle food stands have been operating for years. No matter which you pick, the atmosphere is rustic, to be kind. The service is slow, to be kind. The food is really greasy, to be kind. But the piña coladas are perfection. Carrying your oily lunch to the beach to picnic in the sand while watching the waves crash is an unforgettable experience, not to be missed.

You know what IS forgettable, though? The food. For example, alcapurrias (al-kuh-por-EE-yuhs) are grease-laden lumps of dough with a dash of some sort of meat or seafood. They soak into your tongue before you can swallow, then sit in your stomach and take up residence like guests who refuse to leave.

*Source: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alcapurrias-many.jpg*

Am I sorry I had this experience? Absolutely not. It’s true Puerto Rico. (And now I know to avoid alcapurrias.)

Would I recommend it? Absolutely. (But maybe just once.)

Avoid Chinese Food

A word to the wise, though: Don’t eat Chinese food in Puerto Rico. We have had excellent Chinese food in many places, including Guadalajara, Mexico. But on the Island of Enchantment? Not once. Just don’t go there. It is universally terrible. The meat has a weird texture. The sauces are limited, and taste odd. The vegetables are sparse, and none of them are Chinese. Every dish, inexplicably, comes with a side of soggy French fries. (Gotta get that deep-fried in!) Please. Anything but this.

Food Truck Parks

The latest trend in Puerto Rico is our favorite–food truck parks.

These are brilliant for a number of reasons:

They are outdoors–no COVID fears.
They provide a wide variety of options. If you have different tastes or picky eaters in your group, you can split up and find something for everyone, then come back together to eat.
The food is cheap.
The food is freshly made to order.
They always set up pleasant covered areas to sit and enjoy your meal.

Up next … Part 2: A Guide to Puerto Rican Food

March 11, 2022March 11, 2022

Whale Watching in Rincón

We are living in western Puerto Rico at the same time (January through March) that humpback whales are migrating, mating and birthing in the ocean at this end of the island, in the channel between us and the Dominican Republic. So we decided to book a whale watching trip. We chose Taino Divers out of Rincon, who operate a two-hour sunset cruise from Black Eagle Beach. They don’t promise you’ll see whales–they are wild animals, after all–but we saw plenty, while also enjoying a choice of cold beverages, from water and soda to rum punch!

We could have swam in the 1,000-foot-deep ocean if we had thought to wear our suits. Next time! Maybe we’ll even be able to hear whales singing underwater.

Humpback whales are mammals the size of a school bus who live in the ocean. They’re called humpbacks because of the shape they take when they dive deep into the water after popping up to the surface.

These whales hunt and feed up north in the summer, then head south to warmer waters and fast during the winter, living off their blubber while they focus on migration and mating. They travel in packs called pods, so we saw several groups swimming together.

Our guide said when we see the flippers, that means the whale is diving deep, so it’s time to look for them to emerge elsewhere.

Not sure what the point of the blowhole is. We saw those spraying into the air.

The cost was $64 pp plus tax and tip. Definitely worth it for an awesome experience! We’ll definitely be going back with our son Gavin when he visits next week.

Watch for the video!

We’ll have a whole video on the humpbacks coming out on our YouTube channel soon. You might want to take some Dramamine before watching it, because the boat was rocking in the water.

Learn About Humpbacks

Here are a few acts about humpbacks from livescience.com:

Humpback whales are not the biggest whales—that’s the blue whale. Still, humpbacks can grow to 60 feet (18 meters) long, and they can weigh a whopping 40 tons (about half the size of a blue whale), according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Their flippers can grow up to 16 feet long, which is the largest appendage in the world. Their tails are also massive and grow up to 18 feet (5.5 m) wide. Like most whales, females are larger than males.

Visit the website to learn more!

Links

Taino Divers

Humpback Whale Info

March 9, 2022March 9, 2022

Snorkeling Safety Tips — for You AND the Reefs!

Snorkeling is one of the most inspiring activities you can do. It’s a privilege to be able to float in the water alongside sea life, looking down on spectacular coral and finding yourself magically surrounded by colorful fish.

But with that freedom comes great responsibility, as Peter Parker’s gentle Uncle Ben would say. Coral is very fragile. It’s battered daily by currents, and sometimes severely damaged by hurricanes. But its greatest enemy is humanity. Whether it’s monstrous oil spills, boat engines, or the fins on your feet, coral is easily damaged and takes years to grow back. So don’t be part of the problem, and don’t damage the coral!

How to Take Care of the Reefs

10 Snorkeling Safety Tips Infographic, Snorkeling Guide

Wear reef-safe sunscreen: Use reef-safe sunscreen so that you don’t put chemicals in the water that can hurt the coral. Learn more.

Maintain safe distance: Do not swim too close or touch the underwater flora and fauna.

Watch your feet: Don’t step on or kick the coral because it can destroy their growth.

Follow directions: Always follow your snorkeling guide’s instructions whenever you are in the water.

Avoid contact with marine life: Never feed, touch or remove seawater animals or plants

Swim well: By swimming well, you will be able to control your movement underwater and not step on the coral reef. If you’re not a strong swimmer or haven’t snorkeled before, wear a life vest.

Other tips: Always make sure that your snorkeling gear is adequate and comfortable.

Support Reefs: Support the conservation project in the area you are snorkeling. We joined the Rincon chapter of Surfrider.com.

Info for this posting came from Snorkeling tips without damaging coral reef, an article in the Jakarta Post.

Photo from https://snorkelaroundtheworld.com/2018/07/safe-snorkeling-10-tips-for-your/

March 8, 2022March 8, 2022

Messy Suitcase has a new logo!

In support of Ukraine, we have canceled the Russian (Blue), Ellie, from our logo.

Just kidding. We may not be drinking Russian vodka, but we could never cancel Ellie!

But Ellie is living at college with Gavin now, and isn’t traveling with us anymore. Kaylee is. And it was time for her to ascend to her rightful place on the throne … er, messy suitcase.

All hail Kaylee!

March 8, 2022March 10, 2022

Finding the Elusive Guaniquilla Tunnel

(Watch Bob’s YouTube video to take the hike with us.)

One of the items on Bob’s Cabo Rojo bucket list was finding the Túnel de Guaniquilla (Guaniquilla Tunnel). We had both seen tourist accounts on TripAdvisor and other websites about how horrendously difficult it is to find, and mixed reviews on whether the search was worth it. But Bob was determined. (Guanaquila is pronounced Gwah-nuh-KEE-luh.)

“After years of looking for it during our stays outside Boquerón ( only a few miles from the tunnel), we finally found the tunnel. Not worth the mosquitoes, mud and prickers to find it.”

“Finally found it. Don’t bother.”

“I had to climb a post fence that seemed to be on private property. Very narrow, overgrown path that eventually opens up a little.”

It turns out that these people were making the mistake of seeking the tunnel as a drive-by tourist attraction on their way to somewhere else. This is how it the entrance looks from the winding road they were searching from:

So imagine our delight when we decided to hike in Punta Guaniquilla Nature Reserve, and when Lisa pulled out her AllTrails app to examine the trails from the southernmost trailhead, she discovered an offshoot on the map that looked like it might lead to the tunnel.

We found adequate parking at the trailhead after following Google Maps on Lisa’s phone to get to it. The sign at the entrance was not promising, as it didn’t show hide or hair of a tunnel. But we forged ahead, following Alltrails and our instincts.

The actual tunnel is .6 miles from the trailhead, but we extended the hike by taking the trails toward the water, then came back around and trekked toward the tunnel.

We saw some really interesting plants on the way.

Then we saw the first homemade sign that said we were on the right path:

The Guaniquilla Tunnel is carved out of a rocky hillside, with dramatic cliffs on both sides of the trail leading to it. It was used for trains to transport sugar cane.

According to Expedia, this was one of the first tunnels built for Puerto Rico’s old rail network that previously crossed the island. For the first 50 years of the 20th century, trains were a popular method of travel here, but they fell into disuse and left behind landmarks such as this hidden hillside tunnel.

Anyone who thinks it’s not worth the hike has no appreciation of nature’s splendor or what man has wrought to tame it. Go!

Enjoy our Video

Links

Punta Guaniquilla Nature Reserve

AllTrails

Guaniquilla Tunnel info on Expedia

March 8, 2022March 8, 2022

Climbing Gozalandia Waterfalls

Wear good, non-slippery water shoes and a bathing suit if you decide to visit Gozalandia Falls, because you will not be able to keep from jumping into the enticing pool at the foot of this huge waterfall! The main waterfall is truly amazing, at least 50 feet tall, and there are several places where you can climb up and jump in (at your own risk). Or just swim in the pool at the bottom, watching fish swim around your feet.

There is a cement sidewalk and stairs to lead you to the main falls and several above, plus you can just walk in the creekbed.

The drive to get to Gozalandia on narrow, winding mountain roads is not for the faint of heart, which is the only reason you might consider paying a guide to take you. Otherwise, just set out on your own and navigate carefully! It’s about 1 1/2 from San Juan in San Sebastien.

The gate is open from 10 AM-6 PM, and there is a $10 charge for parking. Go early to avoid the crowds, though the community feel of lots of people watching each other swim and jump has its own appeal. Make sure you take time to enjoy a drink and snack at the end of the day in the little restaurant by the parking lot, which overlooks a green pond populated by turtles.

Be aware that the falls can be dangerous if there’s a lot of rain, so use caution and common sense.

Images of the Falls

Links

Info on the falls: Puerto Rico Day Trips.

How to get there: Google Map

March 7, 2022March 7, 2022

Hiking the Guajataca Tunnel: Butterfly Meadows, Crashed Boats and Ocean Cliffs

Amazingly, the actual Guajataca Tunnel (pronounced gwa-hah-TAH-kah) was the least interesting part of this hike. And the tunnel was fantastic! But, as always happens when you’re as open to new discoveries, we found so much more.

We hiked through the tunnel and westward along rocky cliffs, with dazzling turquoise sea to our right.

We forked left and crossed a butterfly meadow, filled with plants that attract and feed those lovely insects, such as calotropis procera, and oplonia spinosa, almendro (terminalia catappa), jayajbico (erithalis fruticose). Here are the ones we saw, plus a caterpillar of unknown type.

We later learned it was in fact a frangipani worm and not a caterpillar at all. They can grow up to 6 inches long, travel in hordes, do an incredible amount of damage, and eventually turn into big brown moths.

Puerto Rico does have its own species of monarch butterfly called the macho monarca, which doesn’t migrate. Unfortunately, it doesn’t pose for pictures, either! But here’s one from USDA.

The macho monarca can also be found in the Virgin Islands, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, St. Lucia and Jamaica.

We found a posterboard about this butterfly and its diet when we exited the tunnel back into the park.

Hiking back along the ocean, powerful waves exploded against jagged boulders rising up from the shallow sea. We passed several remnants of wooden boats that we speculated might have carried aspiring migrants across the ocean from Haiti.

We also found wooden steps, yawning caves, a few creatures, and even a lone dead crab, perfectly preserved on the sand.

The tunnel itself, which connects the towns of Quebradillas and Isabela, is a remnant of the sugar cane era, when trains were used to transport sugar cane from the farms in the area.

Local artists have given walls some color with murals, and we found local artisans and food vendors.

The white-sand P l a y a G u a j a t a c a beside it, protected by a glorious grove of palm trees, stretched east to a campground and river. Settle into your beach chairs and you will enjoy a lot of shade and gorgeous cliff views.

Take this hike!

Links

Guajataca Tunnel

G o o g le Map

March 3, 2022

Coral-Covered Piers and Undersea Wrecks: Snorkeling Crashboat Beach

Crashboat Beach has something for everyone — a gentle surf that beckons children in donut floats as much as adults drinking piña coladas, shady areas for relaxing, warm sand for sunbathing, a fascinating old pier jutting out into the water that teens love to jump off, food trucks with pinchos (kebabs) and smoothies, and amazing sunset views. But what Lisa found most interesting was UNDER the water!

March 1, 2022March 3, 2022

We Went Too Far! Lost in the Cueva del Viento

Our exciting hike into the Cueva del Viento (Cave of the Wind) took a potentially disastrous turn when we ventured too far into the pitch-black cave and couldn’t find our way out.

We found ourselves grappling with very dark thoughts as we walked in endless circles, listening to bats screech overhead and willing our flashlights not to stop working, while we looked for anything familiar to help us escape the cave.

The Cueva del Viento is found at the end of a popular trail in Guajataca State Forest on the northeastern town of Isabela, Puerto Rico. If you go, make sure you take a good flashlight, tell someone where you are going, and don’t go in too deep.

We thought the rickety stairs down into the cave were the dangerous part.

We were wrong. Watch the video to learn more!