Got the going-to-the-US-to-visit-relations blues? Why not nip over to the Caribbean for some fun in the sun? Nyier Abdou on how to sneak a holiday into your yearly pilgrimage West Click to view caption With the exception of the successfully self-employed and the independently wealthy, vacation-time comes but once a year; usually in a sizeable chunk and aimed at circumventing the stifling sluggishness that envelops Cairo in July and August. For locals with families stretched across the globe, holidays can often become synonymous with trips to see relatives abroad and quickly settle into a startlingly duplicate string of holidays that are not without their charms, but wearisomely predictable. Should you find yourself doomed to roaming the sterile corridors of America's copious temples to consumption worship -- the shopping mall -- yearning to break free, perhaps it is time to consider splurging a little more on luxury of experience rather than the kind you can take home in a fleet of gargantuan suitcases. The Puerto Rican capital of San Juan has been going through something of a renaissance and is a three-and-a-half hour flight from New York. Confusion abounds for the uninitiated in Puerto Rican holidays. Are you leaving the US? Is it an international flight? Puerto Rico is a US territory, meaning US citizens do not need a visa or passport to enter. Puerto Rico is another country, however, and Puerto Ricans are mighty proud of it, as anyone who has witnessed the New York Puerto Rican Day parade can tell you (one politically incorrect thing to do is ask why the Puerto Rican flag looks so much like the American one). The country is a lively blend of three disparate cultures thrown together long ago under imperial imperatives: the native Ta�no, the Spanish colonisers and the black Africans brought over as slaves to work on American sugar cane plantations. Because of its close relations to the US, however, you will find many hallmarks of the US in Puerto Rican cities; most noticeably, American chain stores and fast food restaurants. The national currency is the American greenback, and the elaborate highway system wending its way around San Juan shares the anonymous functionality of most American cities. One thing you may not find outside your hotel, though, is someone speaking English, so be prepared to play charades if you don't know Spanish. We stayed at the Caribe Hilton in Puerta de Tierra -- an area that is really only worth being in if you are at the Caribe Hilton, which, to be fair, is certainly worth being in. The Caribe claims that the piña colada was born here, concocted years ago by an inspired hotel bartender. There's no way to confirm this, but who cares? Suck down as many as you can. The Caribe has surprisingly large grounds for a city hotel, and an irresistible tropical garden where one can mingle with peacocks, black swans and the island's mascot, the coqu�, the elusive indigenous tree frog known for its gleeful (and incessant) chirping. A double room in August goes for about $150 per night. Like any seaside resort, most people come to San Juan to park themselves on the beach. After late spring and until fall, temperatures and humidity mount for what is referred to in travel books as the "off-season". This is actually a misnomer, because during the "high-season" hotel rates soar to heights that frequent and savvy travellers aren't willing to pay, so it's rarely hard to find a room. In the summer, when the prices drop substantially -- presumably to entice people to come during the sweltering weather -- hotels are fully booked, demonstrating the well-known principle that most people are willing to sweat for the sake of a good deal. If you've come for nothing but sun and frozen daiquiris, have no fear: you are not alone. But if you want to nose around some of the historical sites of Old San Juan you will not be disappointed. Perched on the east side of San Juan Bay is the 16th-century Castillo San Felipe del Morro, a formidable complex that stood its own against a steady stream of invaders, among them the English and the Dutch, but is now only expected to withstand the onslaught of tourists and local weekenders. One can spend a pleasant few hours roaming through dungeons and up snaking stairwells to the fairly uninspiring modern lighthouse. The views of San Juan Bay from the lookout towers are stunning, and because only one person can fit in at a time it's easy to imagine yourself transported back in history. A ticket to "El Morro" will also get you into its nearby sister fortress, the 17th-century Fort San Cristobal. A mammoth fort designed to stave off an attack by land, San Cristobal is billed as one of the largest forts built by the Spanish in the Americas. From El Morro, make your way to the winding pebbled streets of Old San Juan. This entire area is a UN World Heritage Site, and justifiably so, but there is still something disheartening about seeing American brand-name factory outlets tucked into the side streets of a World Heritage Site. Just ignore them. There are enough galleries, curiosity shops and striking historic architecture here to divert your gaze. Pay your respects to Ponce de León, who founded the oldest settlement in Puerto Rico and whose tomb can be found at the Catedral de San Juan on Calle del Cristo. If you're Egyptian you're probably not an early eater, and good for you because you'll be hard pressed to find a restaurant that opens before 7pm -- 6pm if you're lucky. If your stomach's rumbling, Americana will beckon you. Grab some ice cream at the Ben and Jerry's ice cream parlour, or sneak a few fries from Burger King. Everyone else is having his or her siesta, so no one will know. We dined at the Parrot Club on Calle Fortaleza, a swanky bistro still trendy after all these years. Puerto Rican socialites come here to see and be seen, but we went for the food, which is "Nuevo Latino" and oh so good. Make sure you try their sampling of ceviche -- marinated fish -- and the signature drink, the "parrot passion". Strangely enough, there's no parrot on the premises, but you may spot San Juan's mayor holding court in the restaurant's spacious garden. Renting a car in Puerto Rico is a pretty straightforward business and driving the main thoroughfares is uncomplicated. A few day trips from San Juan are well worth mentioning. For the outdoor enthusiast, the lush rainforest of El Yunque is only half an hour away. The forest preserve is rich in flora and fauna, waterfalls, hiking trails -- and rain. The books say that an astounding 100 billion gallons of rain falls on El Yunque every year, a staggering fact for someone who lives in a country where a 10-minute shower can flood tunnels and grind all traffic to a halt. I'm a space nut, so I insisted on a visit to Arecibo Observatory, the world's largest radar telescope and the focal point of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). About an hour-and-a-half's drive west of San Juan and set in a large, crater-like sinkhole, this massive inverse dome is 300 metres wide and tracks celestial activity by focusing radio waves. It all seems very cutting edge, but the dish was actually built in the 1960s. It's popped up in a few high-profile places -- James Bond goes scampering across in Goldeneye and the film Contact was filmed here. There's a top-notch educational facility that's engaging enough to keep children interested, and a video about a mock day in the life of the observatory that is nonetheless worth seeing for the shots of the poor guys whose job it is to make repairs on the telescope's massive suspended antenna. As we were touring the facility I spied a man in a back office, papers piled high on his desk and two computers with complicated charts on their screens. He was scrutinising his papers with academic intensity and I imagined that he must be some extremely important astrophysicist scouring data that could at that moment reveal the existence of extraterrestrial life. As I passed by the office door I noticed a nameplate which revealed that he was actually the manager of the facility's small tourist shop. About a 20-minute drive from the observatory is the Rio Camuy Cave Park, site of the world's third-largest underground river. You can't actually see much of this river because it moves too deep to be seen, but you certainly benefit from the natural wonder it has carved out. After a slow trolley-ride down a deep sinkhole to the mouth of the cave complex, tours step gingerly through a slippery trail (wear shoes with good traction) that weaves through enormous stalactites and stalagmites and bat-filled chambers. This is a popular outing for students and camp trips, so you may spend an inordinate amount of time waiting for your number to be called (only a certain number of people are allowed in at a time). The system is not very exact, and we had to use a little muscle and persuasion to get ourselves into a tour, but these 45-million-year-old caves were the reward. The standard tour will take you through a few of the caves, but private outfits do more adventurous trips in less-charted parts of the complex. Ask about making reservations. After all that sightseeing, we were ready to do some serious sunbathing. We spent a few nights in nearby Dorado, an uninteresting town half an hour west of San Juan whose sole existence is tied to the string of luxury resorts that hog this strip of the northern coast. The beaches here are divine, but at this time of year the water was positively hot. As refreshing as the sparkling blue water seemed, I couldn't shake off the feeling that I was soaking in a very large bath. The north coast of Puerto Rico grows a little wild as you move west, and we spent a pleasant day just driving along it. The premium spots on Dorado beach are the twin Hyatt resorts, the Hyatt Dorado Beach Hotel and the Hyatt Regency Cerromar Beach Hotel, which are also known for their world-class golf facilities. Of these two, the former is the more stately, the latter more modern and with a younger clientèle. The Dorado Beach Hotel also has the advantage of having the best food in Dorado -- which, sadly, isn't saying that much. Su Casa, which is housed in an old Spanish-style villa, serves excellent local fare in a beautiful setting. Unfortunately the airy, open style also means that the mosquitoes feast here as much as the guests. If you grow weary of ceviche and other Spanish variations, the hotel's Japanese restaurant has a large menu of East Asian fare that we found a welcome change. A double room at the Dorado in August will run you around $180. The Cerromar is a little more. Before I went to Puerto Rico I was told that Puerto Ricans have a peculiar similarity in appearance to Egyptians. It's not something I had noticed in New York, which has a large Puerto Rican community, but it was obvious once I was on the island. I soon realised that it is not just facial features that are similar. Although Puerto Ricans bear the devil-may-care attitude of the Caribbean, they also share the seemingly incongruous mix of relaxed insouciance and hot-blooded arrogance so common in the Arab world. We were commonly mistaken for locals, and even I had a moment when I forgot where I was when browsing in the gift shop at the Rio Camuy Cave Park. Was that ... Amr Diab playing on the radio? I stole a look at the proprietor. He could have been Arab, but it seemed quite unlikely. I asked him where he was from and it turned out, not surprisingly, that he was Puerto Rican. The store sold CDs of "world music", however, and he was playing one collected from the Arab world. I told him about the similarities between the cultures and he offered a convoluted explanation that brought Arab traits and habits over with the Spanish. He seemed to think this was obvious. Whatever it was, it made for an unexpectedly pleasant sense of belonging in a place so far from home. Practical information: Taking a taxi from the airport is surprisingly uncomplicated and maniacally organised. Prices are fixed, so at a desk near the exit, you state where you are going and are given a receipt. You take this receipt to another desk at the taxi stand, which then arranges the taxi. Aside from the five-star international chains, Puerto Rico has also adopted the wonderful system of paradors from Spain. These are inns situated in historic and scenic places. They almost always have a great deal more charm than the antiseptic quality of major hotels. Paradors usually offer excellent local cuisine and are a nice way to see the countryside. Call 800-443-0266. Opening times and days at sites change frequently, so it is a good idea to call ahead before going. The sites mentioned here, especially the Rio Camuy Cave Park and the Arecibo Observatory, are all signposted en route, but once you get off the main roads you need to keep a watchful eye for the twists and turns and have a pretty good sense of direction to get it right the first time. Airlines that travel from the US to Puerto Rico include: American Airlines (www.aa.com); Continental Airlines (www.flycontinental.com); Northwest Airlines (www.nwa.com) and US Airways (www.usairways.com). Telephone numbers: Caribe Hilton, Puerta de Tierra: 787- 721-0303. Hyatt Dorado Beach and Hyatt Regency Cerromar Beach hotels: 787- 796-1234. Parrot Club, Calle Fortaleza: 787- 725-7370. Su Casa: 787-278-1653. Castillo San Felipe del Morro: 787- 729-6960. Arecibo Observatory: 787-878-2612. Rio Camuy Cave Park: 787-898- 3100.
