Editor’s note: If you get Four Bites via email, click on the “see more” button to get the full picture, as this post carries so many images.
In what feels like the first real winter in ages, as the thrill of shoveling starts to wear thin, remember that round trip tickets from Buffalo to Puerto Rico start around $250 these days.
As I write, it’s 85 and sunny in San Juan.
Here’s a second installment of Puerto Rico images and ideas to give you a vicarious warm breeze, if not actual travel plans. The first installment covers general Puerto Rico travel tips and details on six top-notch places to eat.
One of the benefits of a Puerto Rico defrosting session is getting better acquainted with the flora and fauna a tropical island has to offer.
Rainforest species have been joined by other animals who adapted to the Puerto Rican climate.
At a cat rescue in Old San Juan, one may spot the rare tree tabby.
Nearby, some sheltermates do cat things.
There is something nutritious about finding beauty in the world.
Luquillo is another beach area popular for its stretches of peaceful sandy beaches, supported by a row of restaurants. The Luquillo Kiosks site lists 35 in business.
Kiosk-goers stroll along the line of restaurants looking for the right snack or drink. Stopping at two or three to assemble the perfect combination of treats is part of the cuture.
Hefty meat dishes, rice in varying shades, and fried everything are standards. So are seafood cocktails and
Route 187 follows the northern shore of Puerto Rico in the Piñones region east of San Juan.
Every few miles, snack shacks called kioskos offer food and drink only a Frisbee’s throw from the wave-lapped beaches.
Kiosko El Guariquiten (or Guarikiten)
Carretera PR-187 lado opuesto Terraplan, Piñones, 00772, Puerto Rico
At Kiosko El Guariquiten, a cook stokes a wood fire to fry snacks in a cauldron of lard. Piononos de carne are pancake-sized discs of mashed plantain sandwiched around seasoned ground beef, dipped in batter, and fried.
Here’s the 2024 menu.
As we ate, grackles kept an eye on us. When Jen put a morsel on the picnic table, a grackle decided to be brave.
At my age I’m not a nightlife animal, but my all-too-short time in the Island of Enchantment left me craving close encounters with another sort of wildlife.
I mean, really.
#30#
