Caribbean Travel
By The Associated Press
Puerto Rico's west coast: Beaches, byways, coquis
So many beautiful beaches around the world are ringed by high-rise condos, trinket shops and traffic, with the same fast-food and hotel chains as all the other beaches. But Puerto Rico's west coast is different. It has sand, sun and sea, but so far, it's avoided the overdevelopment that can turn beach towns into generic megaresorts. Instead, on a recent family trip, we found friendly cafes, funky surf shops, small towns and tranquil beaches on the byways. Rincon, on Puerto Rico's northwest coast, has the laidback vibe of a surfer town. But the chirping of the coquis — tiny tree frogs that sing dusk to dawn — leaves no doubt that you are in Puerto Rico.
Peter Aviles, who grew up in Rincon and is the editor of the Rincon-PR.com Web site, says surfers put Rincon on the map, when teams from around the world showed up to compete in the 1968 World Surfing Championship. Rincon is located on a peninsula, with waves from the Atlantic on the north side of the point, and calmer Caribbean seas on the southern side. Aviles said there was only one hotel in town when the surfers arrived, Villa Cofresi, and when that filled up, locals started renting out rooms. "That was the beginning of the lodging industry here," he said. Today Rincon has about 1,000 rooms among various hotels, B&Bs and rentals, but it retains a small-town feel, with a year-round population of about 15,000 and zoning that prohibits buildings over four stories on the beach, Aviles said. Between November and February, surfers come for the big waves at beaches like Tres Palmas and Domes Beach, and North Americans come to escape the cold. In March and April, migrating humpbacks make whale-watching a major attraction. From May through August, it's a summer beach town....
Disappearing Caribbean: The unique Cuban way of life
The visual grammar of Havana has barely changed since the 1950s. The skyline is the same. So are the fabulous cars – Dodges, Buicks, Cadillacs and Chevrolets, held together with rope and soap – that still patrol the Malecon. The revolutionary slogans on the walls are a stuck record; "Hasta la victoria siempre" recycled decade after static decade. The national newspaper Granma (so named after the cabin cruiser that brought the young Fidel and Raul back to Cuba in 1956) remains a shameless Castro fanzine. Old cars, old buildings, old news – for anyone who does not have to live here it's a heady mix. Some day soon Fidel will be gone; the US embargo will be dropped and McDonald's will park its golden arches on La Rampa. And this beguiling crazy country will join the 21st century....