I’ve been in San Juan this week, visiting the University of Puerto Rico. I’ve been here several times before, but here are a few things I noticed about Puerto Rico on this trip.
Coffee: Coffee means espresso here; I haven’t seen it brewed any other way. And it’s cheap. At UPR, a 4 oz pocillo is only $0.70, and at a bakery near my hotel a 6 oz espresso con leche is $1.25.
Gasoline: You can’t pay at the pump with a credit card. You have to go inside to pay for gas. Some gas stations used to let you pay at the pump, but these have gone back to having you pay inside.
Electronics: I’ve been told that you can’t buy electronics from Apple’s website for delivery in Puerto Rico. You can buy Apple products in stores like Best Buy on the island, but you can’t have them shipped directly here from their website.
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Related post: Beer with a confidence interval (Medalla)
Before I went there I was expecting it to be like Florida, but it definitely had more in common with Latin America than with the U.S.
What struck me is that unlike other Latin American countries I’ve visited, in Puerto Rico once you get outside the capital the rest of the island seems uninhabited. We drove from San Juan to Ponce and saw very few people or houses, and passed only a handful of cars on the road.
Here, in Spain, we can pay gasoline at the pump using cash only. If you want to use the credit card, then you have to pay inside.