Growing up as an only child, I was lucky enough to be able to experience some great trips to places with my parents, and usually a friend of my choosing (good call mom and dad!!) Since we spent lots of time in the car traveling, I became somewhat of an adventurous spirit. When it was time to choose what high school I wanted to go to, I chose the school on the opposite side of town from all of my friends, heading out completely solo. When it was time for college, I thought, “Hey! Why not move across the country, thousands of miles from my family and friends?” And so began my life as a traveler. I love getting to see new places, especially when I can visit someone I already know and stay with them for free – and get the inside scoop to the REAL place I’m visiting.
Fast forward a few years into my college life…
My first visit to Puerto Rico was fantastic. I was swept up from the airport by my friend, Jenny, who was studying abroad for a year on the island. She piled me into a car with some of her friends and we went straight away to a beach. Mind you, I was in college at the time… so I took a redeye out after a full day of classes to spend as much of my Thanksgiving break with her. Please don’t mind my unwashed appearance!
The whole trip was fabulous. We went to beaches full of locals! I spoke Spanish! We ate at tiny booths on the beach with kabobs of fresh meat, and with owners who chopped coconuts open in front of you! We traveled to nearby islands and explored a bioluminescent bay! I ate with a group of international students and we all made some of our home country’s favorite foods for an eclectic, yet delicious, Thanksgiving dinner. I truly got to experience some of the local culture by visiting places that many tourists aren’t normally going to see. And I loved every minute of it! (Can’t you tell by my face above??)
So, when my parents surprised my boyfriend and me a few years ago by taking us on a Christmas cruise, I was extremely excited to see that we would be stopping in San Juan. I couldn’t wait to get myself back into the country, if only for a short while, and experience that culture again. However, as many others who have taken cruises before may understand, this experience was a bit different. When you get off the boat, there are hundreds of locals just begging for your money. They speak English. They thrust cheaply made pieces in your face and beg for your dollars.
This was nothing like my previous experience of the fantastic four days.
Not that we weren’t able to escape the chaos for a bit. We wandered for what seemed like forever (hot and humid… not quite conducive to wandering) and found some quaint, somewhat local spots. We were able to eat in a tiny alleyway restaurant where “mama” still cooked everything with her authentic recipes, and her own hands.
But we had to return to the ship. And we had to pass through the throngs of people trying everything to get your money. We had to push past the vendors selling the things they thought Americans wanted to buy – maracas, sombreros, churros. Even things that weren’t part of the Puerto Rican culture were being sold as though they were traditional, authentic wares. At each port of call on every cruise I’ve been on, it seems like there’s this line of vendors waiting to prey on the rich Americans getting off the ship. Perhaps it’s a CD by the local steel drum band. (My parents bought for one for $10 in Haiti. When we got back to their house after the trip, we all thought how fun it would be to remind ourselves of the sounds of the islands. Unfortunately, it sounded like someone was standing in the back of a crowded room, holding a microphone above their head, with a distant sound of the steel drums…) But always outside of this sphere of where most Americans go lies a culture very different than what is portrayed to many tourists.
In my Rhetorics of Travel Writing class, we’ve been reading many interesting articles and blogs from numerous authors. We read a blog entry about a woman, Lavinia Spalding, who traveled to a small, Mexican city to mourn her father’s death. We read about different Native American cultures who historically call the Grand Canyon home. We read a chapter of a story about Quoyawayma, a Hopi who left home in search of a better life. All of these stories talked about people who traveled and immersed themselves within a different culture. Some, like the Native American tribes from the Canyon, were forced to integrate with the “better” population; to assimilate them to the white population and culture that was taking over their land. Some, like Quoyawayma, left voluntarily to see if there was a better life outside her culture – to see if the grass was actually greener on the other side.
All of these stories made me wonder what the future held for these ports of call. Will their native cultures prevail? Or will the travelers spread their influence throughout the islands and countries, changing the inhabitants to what the travelers wish to see?
All I know… is now I really want to sip some coconut milk, on a deserted beach, listening to local musicians playing happy music and the waves rolling up on the beach… and let’s just throw in a sunset while we’re at it! Who’s with me??
Alyssa Hearts Traveling 
My husband and I are cruisers. We quickly learned to run the gauntlet without too much hassle. You just have to smile and wave and keep on walking…maybe saying something like I will catch you on the way back to the ship. They tend to move on to the next customer if you do not stop.
We try to connect with locals whenever possible.
Yes, very true! Although some cities it seems a lot easier to make it through the gauntlet, as you call it 🙂
I bet you’re able to get on lots of great cruises from the Tampa Bay area!
You make a really interesting point about how different travel experiences, even to the same place at different times in our lives, can affect our opinions of the place. It sounds like you had much more interesting experiences in your first trip to Puerto Rico (which is not to say that your second trip wasn’t also fun, although perhaps for different reasons). The first time that you went to PR, do you remember if you noticed many other tourists? I’d like to hear more about some of those places you visited that other tourists aren’t as likely to see.
I’m wondering, generally speaking, whether who we travel with affects our interpretation of a good or bad experience abroad (or authentic or not, however you wish to define “authentic”).
Alyssa,
It sounds like your first trip to Puerto Rico was a blast! I wish every time I visit a new place it could be in the capable hands of a local or at least someone familiar with the area (like your friend). Although, maybe it’s good that you had that second experience to give you a more broad perspective on the vastness of Puerto Rico. Surely it’s not all beaches and sunsets. Seeing poverty (or in this case desperate salesmen peddling inauthentic wares) is always an eye opening experience, even if it just shows us another face of a place.
Alyssa, I thoroughly enjoyed reading about your very different traveling experiences to the same place. It sounds as if the unscripted manner of traveling is much more to your liking when you described meeting up with international students and preparing food together! You mentioned in your first trip that you were able to experience some of the local culture! Would you mind sharing one of your favorite memories of that time? I would love to hear more! Kelly
Alyssa,
Thanks for sharing your two very different experiences in Puerto Rico. Sounds like they were both adventures, in different ways. Your reaction to the the local salesmen was interesting – I’ve never gone on a cruise, so it might be different, but I’m always a sucker for those big sales markets in other countries; especially if they’ve got kids selling things, I’ll buy anything from a cute kid. In Las Vegas once I bought a really bad poetry chapbook from a guy who claimed to be a foreign student supporting himself, probably not unlike your parents purchase of the local steel drum music CD.
To echo Jamie’s comment, I think – though they can be frustrating – that those markets are part of the culture created by poverty and tourism and illustrate some of our readings about how culture is influenced by visitors.
Thanks for your post!
Hi, Alyssa! You look so incredibly happy in your picture – who cares if you haven’t taken a shower?!?
My husband visited Puerto Rico and stayed with his then-girlfriend’s family. He still raves about the food he ate there (this was 15 years ago, mind you) and loved his entire trip. He was a tourist, but he was living in someone’s home, experiencing the daily lives of people who lived/worked there – a far cry from your second trip, which was carefully crafted to appeal to tourists ignorant of the history/culture.
What I do wonder is whether it’s possible for us to make places like Puerto Rico “tourist destinations” without having the inevitable result be what you described: the gauntlet of locals trying to sell cheap trinkets to “rich Americans.” I’m not sure we can have it both ways…
Alyssa,
I enjoyed the way you showed the difference between your two trips to Puerto Rico and gave two very different pictures of the same place. I would much prefer to see the beaches where you visited first; your description reminded me of an international ex-patriot community. I would love to hear a favorite story or two about that place, especially the bio-luminescent bay. Did you go in the evening? How far away were the other islands that you visited?
I can easily imagine the little food booths on the beach, the kabobs, the chopped coconuts. Was it anywhere near a resort or was it a “local” beach?
Tell more!
Teresa
Being Welsh and having never there in person I rely on the travels of others to “show me” Wales. Your words paint such a lovely picture of that wonderful place. Thanks
I love cruising and I love staying at hostels or hotels too. Cruising gives you a glimpse of a place, but I do agree that it is hard to get the full, in-depth experience. I think if you want to really experience a culture you have to stay there for a while, but if you are looking for a fun time, usually cruises are a great way to go!