> SOME THINGS I LEARNED

Driving in the countryside is not as much of a whiteknuckle experience as I had been led to believe. Still, you will find roads that are temporarily one lane, traffic lights that are out, and trucks in a rush. I found driving on the conservative side got me farther than trying to match the speed and daring of those who knew where they were going better than I did.

Power outages can still happen — and they can be unpredictable. My Airbnb, along with the rest of the neighbourhood in Isla Verde, lost power for about six hours on one of the days I was there. Luckily, both power banks I’m travelling with were fully charged, so I could venture out for the duration, with full juice on my phone.

Uber is easy, affordable, and the best way to get around if you want to leave the rental car at the hotel. I often left mine behind when I was going into San Juan, or when I was going out at night to avoid parking headaches and driving at night.