Travel to Puerto Rico

Explore Puerto Rico Fifth Edition

Format: Paperback
Author: Harry S. Pariser
ReleaseDate: June, 2002
Publisher: Manatee Press
Rating:

Fantastico!
S.
Puerto Rico means "rich port" and this guide will introduce the reader to all of the riches that the island has to offer including the only tropical National Forest in the U. Detailed visitor information is provided for the major cities, small towns and the outer regions of the main island but this guide also dedicates several pages to each of the two other islands just off of Puerto Rico: Vieques and Culebra. There is even information about the least known of the offshore islands, Mona Island. Readers will find descriptive accounts of music, festivals, foods, sports & sporting events, hiking tours, accommodations and entertainment. Learn how to spot migrating humpback whales between December and May, search the skies for the Puerto Rican parrot that is nearly extinct and explore the diminishing Mangroves that dampen waves and winds. Other interesting information is provided about native arts and crafts, locally produced beer and rum, sugar and coffee plantations, vanilla production and exportation. I visited Puerto Rico twice before reading Explore Puerto Rico and it helped me see that I discovered only a small fraction of what the island has to offer. I'll definitely use this guide on my next visit. Review by JoAnna Carey, Rat Race Relaxer: Your Potential & The Maze of Life.

A good read
Pariser likes to explore not only the terrain of Puerto Rico with its natural forests, beaches and snorkeling spots, but he also likes the local color and likes to meet the local people.
This book takes you off the beaten path and into small towns and villages, through the rainforest (there are pages on El Yunque) and down to explore caves. Every festival day is covered and every little town seems to have one. Of course there are listings of hotels and guesthouses, restaurants and lunch spots, not only in San Juan, but in the surfing mecca of Rincon, in Ponce, and plenty of other places. Bus routes and driving directions are given. A visit to the small island of Culebra is another adventure.
Old San Juan gets strong coverage, plus there is a good section where typical Puerto Rican menu items are translated (you'll need that outside of the big hotel area since many residents do not speak English). A quick Spanish Vocabulary in the back gives you the most common phrases at a glance.
The history and culture sections are sprinkled throughout the book with lots of opinions on everything from colonialism to greenhouse emissions to the ritual of sea turtles laying their eggs. Pariser packs a lot into a single guide and his historical sidebars are fascinating.
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Very socially responsible, refreshingly honest
Rarely does a guide book both respect a place and give you the 'warts and all' assessment of what goes down there and how. It was a refreshingly honest look at the island and its culture. Very glad to have bought and read it!.

Related products:
click image or link for details on these Puerto Rico travel books.

	Insight Guide Puerto Rico (Insight Guides)
	Puerto Rico Off the Beaten Path, 5th (Off the Beaten Path Series)
	Rand McNally Puerto Rico Easyfinder (Rand McNally Easyfinder)
	Adventure Guide to Puerto Rico, Fourth Edition