PUERTO RICO:
Party Pirates of the Caribbean!
By: Mike Marino
If Captain Jack Sparrow were alive today, he'd set sail for San Juan, Puerto Rico in less time than it takes to say Yo Ho Ho! and a bottle of Bacardi Rum. Puerto Rico, once a haven for plundering pirates, is today a party hearty heaven heavy with nightlife, shopping, muy caliente cuisine and of course, a bottle of rum or two . If you're an American, good news. It's only a 3 and a half hour flight from NYC, no passports are required and the US dollar is the currency of choice.
Puerto Rico is known for it's delicious choice of bikini clad beaches. You can play beach bum at the sparkling White Dunes at Isabella Beach to the black, volcanic sands of Punta Santiago. Surf and kayak shops will rent out gear to get you stoked on an adrenalin rush of paradise proportions, and fishing, para sailing and scuba diving are among other activities available to appeal to beach bunnies and muscle machismo.
Eco-tourism is as abundant as Granola bars at a Yoga retreat as you hike the trails of El Yunque Rainforest or spelunk and tour at the Rio Camuy Cave Park. Horseback riding, golf, tennis and fishing charters round out the activities list of the outdoor enthusiast. Spas specialize in pampering the visitor with soothing massages and enough mudpacks to fill the heavens of the Hedonist to the rafters. Wining and dining is a also a pleasurable experience with selections from fusion cuisine, steaks, veggie delights, International fare and of course, snack shacks for authentic island dishes. Sail the harbor of San Juan under the stars on one of the romantic dinner cruises with some beach side bubbly and you'll discover your own Club Paradise.
In Puerto Rico, it doesn't take a full moon to bring out the party animal, but there are enough cabarets, disco's and nightclubs to keep the best of the bar hoppers shaking their party pirate booty. Lets face it, in Puerto Rico, life is a cabaret, Old Chum. Tour operators offer a galaxy of itineraries or you can rent a car, grab a road map and answer the call of adventure and explore on your own. The Panoramic Highway runs along the mountainous east - west length of the island past idyllic villages and coffee plantations, and the numerous coastal towns are not to be missed. One roadside oddity you'll encounter are the mobile gambling operations. It's legal and it's not unusual, as Tom Jones would say, to find motorized miniature horse races along the way called "picas".
A tribute to distilled spirits is a visit to Bacardi Rum's Casa Bacardi..."The Cathedral of Rum" It's the home of the original rum and Coke, or Cuba Libre, as it's known in the islands, and you'll enjoy the tour of the distillery and rummaging through the gift shop for rum souvenirs and savory Bacardi products. The tour is free and ends up in a bat cave like bar where Bruce Wayne could leap out any moment and enjoy a free sample of the islands best with you. Holy Bacardi, Batman! Rum to Rumba....Puerto Rico has it all. So hoist a glass and set a course for San Juan and become a true party pirate of the Caribbean. Savvy?
Classic Cars, Rock n' Roll, Elvis, Drivein Movies & Route 66! Kerouac, The Beats, Haight Ashbury, Easy Rider & Vietnam!
The Roadhead Chronicles goes from the Cold War Fifties Pop Culture of classic cars and rock n' roll to the spaced out Spare Change Sixties of Vietnam and Hells Angels. Not the usual look at the era, instead It's written by someone who lived it and spent a life of being on the road from his beach bum days in Honolulu to the glitz and dangers of the Sunset Strip in LA, and his purple hazed and double dazed days in North Beach and the Haight Ashbury in San Francisco. The Roadhead Chronicles also looks at the history of Route 66, Roadside Neon Culture and old diners and dives!
Mike Marino writes in an offbeat and irreverant style with a beat and a cadence that is all his own. His writing style has been compared to John Dos Passos, John Steinbeck and Terry Southern and one reviewer likened him to Frederick Lewis Allen on acid! Readers and critics call the book "wickedly wonderful", "delightfully weird" and "automotively sexy."!!
