El GPS Boricua

A friend (you know who you are!) posted this video and I thought it was just too funny to not post. If you've ever been driving in Puerto Rico you'll know exactly what this is talking about. It is in Spanish though.

Safety in Puerto Rico, Part 2: Driving!

So last time I talked about general safety in Puerto Rico. Now I'm going to talk about something that actually does scare me: driving.

Now, don't get me wrong, it's not as bad as driving in, say, Tehran. But driving is still more dangerous than the United States. It's not the roads themselves that are bad, because they're actually quite nice, identical to American highways (although towards the center of the island there are some in the mountains that are only one lane... a bit scary). But these roads are so overcrowded that many are subject to constant traffic jams (tapones), encouraged by the multitude of SUVs (I think Puerto Ricans like them even more than Americans). On top of that, many drivers are quite aggressive and will run red lights (although I've heard with a few new cameras it's become less common) and switch lanes without much warning.


This doesn't mean there are a lot of accidents, however; Puerto Rican drivers have incredibly quick reflexes and so a lot of accidents are barely avoided.


Some of my most terrifying memories throughout my life involve my friend's father driving us around the island. Not only did we have to worry about other people's driving, but he also was a hazard on the road. Every time he started telling a story he would look over to whomever he was talking to and would take his hands off the wheel. I can't even say how many accidents we almost caused.

The buses (públicos) are equally unreliable. They keep rising the prices, they're inconvenient as they rarely come on time or at all, and the driving is just as bad. It's an option for tourists who want to save some money, I suppose, but even for all the money you save it might not be worth it.

Walking and bike-riding are also not good options. While people will run across intersections and such, it always seems kind of risky. Drivers also don't seem to know what to do with bikes on the road, since it's so uncommon. I've actually read a story of a público driver hitting (and killing) a bike-rider in Old San Juan... you've been warned!

Here's a short video of a traffic jam (ignore the music!).

Safety in Puerto Rico, Part 1: General Safety

Puerto Rico is SAFE.

There is a misconception that Puerto Rico is an unsafe place to be. Somewhere between the reports of some-high-number of murders and crime rates in New York it arose, terrifying would-be Americans and other tourists from visiting.

"Isn't it dangerous?" people have asked me.

It surprises them when I tell them I often feel safer there than in many big cities here. I would dare to say I feel very, very comfortable walking around Puerto Rico, despite being an obviously American young woman. Now, granted, I haven't been alone too often while there, but even still it's not something I would mind because I always feel safe.


I think this stems from a few factors...

1. Puerto Rico is in the Caribbean. Yes, it's true (go look at a map if you don't believe me). But this doesn't mean that their neighbors share their crime with them... duh.
   
2. Puerto Rico has poor people. Also true but sort of deceiving. Compared to most of America, Puerto Rico is far behind economically. On the other hand, compared to most of the Caribbean, Puerto Rico is thriving. The difference between them--and I'm going to go on a limb here, because I haven't been to other parts of the Caribbean, so feel free to correct me--is that there is no huge class disparity that is seen in other countries. Most people live on about the same level, and, while they do exist, there are very few pockets of incredibly poor and incredibly rich people. Another part of it is that most people make more than enough money for necessities and then some. After all, $20,000 is considered (low) middle class while in the U.S. it would be not much more than pocket change. However, the prices of living are increasing much faster than the wages (for example, water has gone up quite a few times by as much as 400% and real estate is getting ridiculously high), so eventually there may be some problems.
3. Puerto Rico has black people. Shocker there! Now, I know there are racists both on and off the island who would like to blame crime on them. It shouldn't be really too surprising that I'm going to say it's nonsense, especially for Puerto Rico where blacks, while certainly marginalized, receive more equal treatment than in the U.S. and certainly better than in their sister countries... DR, I'm talking to you. Racism in PR is complicated and I'll be touching on it later. In terms of crime though, it is definitely a non-issue.
   

That aside, what is the crime in Puerto Rico like? Well, there are two risk factors: where you are and what you're doing there. For the first, there are certain areas that you wouldn't want to go. The most famous, and important, is La Perla, pictured in the picture above. It's right between el Morro and el Castillo de San Cristobal and tourists have been known to mistakenly enter a few times. There are a few other places as well that could be avoided to prevent issues, like parts of Loiza (a bit east of San Juan) and supposedly parts of Ponce. Generally, the worse the houses are, the better it is you stay away... unless they're houses in the mountains, which are generally pretty safe.

The other question is what exactly are you doing? About 90% (I believe... I read it somewhere a while ago) of homocides are drug-related. If you're not messing with drugs and gangs you shouldn't have any problem at all.

For tourists, pickpocketing isn't as common as, say, Europe, but it is something to prepare for as would be done in any American city or even less, since most tourists only stop at Old San Juan, which is incredibly safe. Point is, there is no reason to be scared of the Island of Enchantment.

(Sorry for such a long hiatus between posts! They will continue in due order from now on I hope)