Sneak Preview

The first "free and associated state" of the United States, is decidedly Spanish, even though the people are American citizens. High-rise buildings and cruising cars reflect its relationship with the Americas but its music, language and hybrid culture tell a different tale. Sandy beaches, glitzy hotels, ritzy casinos, structures lost in their colonial past – Puerto Rico has something for everyone, so come and enjoy your holiday!

Rum, rum and more rum! There is plenty of rum in Puerto Rico. White, amber or gold- shades of rum- also differ in their taste. White rum is the lightest while gold or amber can be effective substitutes for whiskey. For the same reason Puerto Rico is also known as the Rum capital of the World.

Historically Speaking

Columbus docked on the shores of Puerto Rico in 1493 at which time the Tainos an Amerindian tribe lived on the island. The laid back attitude of the tribe assisted the Spaniards, lead by Juan Ponce de Leon, to easily gain control over the island and the Tainos. Enslavement and diseases lead to the extinction of the original inhabitants though traces of their culture are still evident.

Interestingly enough, the settlers named the island ‘San Juan’ and the capital ‘Puerto Rico’ till in 1521 Juan Ponce de Leon as the first Governor switched the names around to as we know them today. Present day San Juan was the main settlement area and due to its strategic position in the Caribbean Sea, it was treated as the major outpost of the Spanish. This military history is reflected in the number of fortification ruins that pepper the area.

The Spanish tradition of importing slaves to work on sugar plantation was implemented here also though the locals seemed more interested in smuggling and black marketing.

Revolutions in the surrounding Caribbean Islands affected Puerto Rico as well where demand for autonomy gained strength. Unwilling to relinquish control, Puerto Rico was granted partial independence in 1897, which ended with the capture of Puerto Rico by USA during the Spanish-American War. For the next couple of decades, Puerto Rico was administrated like a colony, a situation that changed with the advent of the WW1 when Puerto Ricans were given US citizenship.

In 1951, Puerto Ricans voted to join the US Commonwealth rather than remain a colony. Puerto Rico’s future can take three directions – complete independence, an option that does not have much support among the locals; to remain a part of the Commonwealth of the US, the current status or to join the US as the 51st state. The last option has resulted in an ongoing debate both in the US legislature as well as on the island. Unfortunately the inability of Puerto Ricans to vote in the US election has complicated matters and ensured that the debate remains just that, a debate.

Habitat

Almost rectangular in shape, the Puerto Rican mainland is 153 km in length and 58 km in width. Vieques, Culebra and Mona are tiny islands that are also part of the Puerto Rican territory. Sandy beaches run almost all around the island encircling the craggy mountains that occupy most of the interior. These mountains are mostly of volcanic origin though they haven’t witnessed any activity of late.

The northeastern region is covered by tropical rainforests, the El Yunque Tropical Rainforest, that is home to a number of birds, reptiles as well as tress. An astonishing 240 varieties of trees grow in this area. The Puerto Rican parrot can be spotted flying about.

As you move westwards, the terrain becomes steeper and is pockmarked with caves. But further west, the mountains slope down to greet the Caribbean waters and form a nice long, sandy coastline.

Southwards, the region turns drier and there are pockets of mangrove forests. However, since the region is much drier, these mangrove swamps are fairly small and trees on the outer fringes rarely survive. Interestingly these skeleton trunks later become home to a number of birds. The 1,620 Guanica Forest in the southwest is pocket of lush green forest that is home to the largest number of bird species that can be found on the island. This forest also supports about 700 varieties of plant life out of which 48 are endangered.

The incessant chanting in the background is of the coquis, the native tree frog of Puerto Rico. The inch-long frog is hard to spot but undoubtedly, you’ll hear it!