11 Days in Puerto Rico
Walking along the beach just outside my rental in Humacao, Puerto Rico during the evening of my first day on the island, I was struck by an overwhelming feeling that I’ve been here before. “I know this town” I thought as I passed ramshackle houses gutted by Maria years ago and the interspersed new construction on stilts. They looked just like the small towns on Florida’s gulf coast that never really bounced back from various hurricanes over the years. The same bungalow beach bars dot the main drag just a few blocks over with locals only during the week and an influx of visitors drinking and dancing on a Friday night. The same dirty sand on the beaches, often overgrown with various vines and grasses, frequently entirely void of humans. The same surprisingly expensive seafood restaurants implying they have only the freshest seafood, but there must be more to that story because there’s salmon on the menu. There are no salmon in this part of the ocean. I know this town. I’ve been here