Sept./Oct. 2004
 |
ENGLISH SPOKEN HERE |
|||||||||||
| The Faces of Puerto Rico | ||||||||||||
I spent about five days in Puerto Rico a few months ago. I stayed in San Juan, in the Condado area, and my only regret is that I didn’t have more time to explore some of the lesser-touristed areas. It was a trip full of pleasant surprises: Red-eye flights are actually kind of cool and the airport is not half as crazy as it is during the day; I can pretty much understand Spanish through my exposure to French; and San Juan is a great restaurant town. The place is fully English/Spanish bilingual, and I noticed that when locals talked to each other they usually started in Spanish, then would seamlessly switch into English a few times, apparently using whatever language best expressed their thoughts. Another great surprise were the masks. I tend to not be an arts and crafts kind of guy but there was something charming about these masks. I went to a reception my first night in San Juan, at the Modern Art Museum, our little area was decorated with the “caretas,” or masks of Spanish and/or tribal African origin. These are worn at island carnivals, and each region of Puerto Rico has their signature style. The one thing they all have in common are the sharp horns and fearful attitudes—useful in driving sinners back to church. I took maybe a hundred or so pictures that night of the masks, and then of the dancers who came out and surpised us all. |
||||||||||||
| Briefs |
| Just the Facts |
| Budget Travel How-to |
| Destinations |
| Cow Rules in Jaisalmer |
| Urumqi Karaoke, part 1 |
| Urumqi Karaoke, part 2 |
| Bolivian Llama Mama |
| Lingua Franca |
| I Pee Postcards |
| A Traveler's Life |
| Audrey's Song |
| Health |
| Traveler's First-Aid Kit |
| English Spoken Here |
| Faces of Puerto Rico |
| When in Home |
| Guidebook Writing |
| Links |
| InsideOut Free Newsletter: |
