On the trail of Hunter S Thompson in Puerto Rico
http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2011/jan/01/puerto-rico-hunter-thompson
Old San Juan is the setting for Hunter S Thompson's The Rum Diary,
now a film starring Johnny Depp. We find out whether that rum-sodden
1950s atmosphere survives in the modern capital
Poorna Shetty
1 January 2011
There is something about Old San Juan that makes drinking rum at 11am
seem a perfectly acceptable activity. Whether it is the lazy fan
circling overhead, the warm breeze primed with sea air or the
background fuzz of Spanish songs on a crackly radio, it all distils
into the perfect atmosphere. So far, so Paul Kemp the protagonist
from Hunter S Thompson's book The Rum Diary who spends most of his
time in tiny sweaty bodegas knocking back the finest fermented
molasses the city has to offer.
My bodega of choice wasn't as insalubrious as Kemp's (fictional)
haunt a makeshift bar called Al's Backyard but it was traditional
enough to quell rumblings that San Juan is turning into a bastardised
version of Miami. As I sat on a stool in Bodega Chic (+1 787 722
0124) on Calle Cristo, the bohemian spirit of the 1950s and 1960s
fluttered around me, with framed old newspapers and yellowing bar
tabs clipped to an old washing line. Bacardi probably straight from
the distillery a short ferry ride away was sloshed into a glass and
served with fresh mint and soda water. Far away from the SUVs and
shopping malls now common on the island, this is Old San Juan, the
Unesco-protected old quarter, where the roads are so narrow that
anything bigger than a Chevrolet would struggle to squeeze through.
The film of Thompson's book which is mainly based in Old San Juan
but also takes in the Condado and Isla Verde areas will be released
this year, starring Johnny Depp as Kemp. Also starring, in all their
Technicolor glory, will be the old town's pretty bright blue, orange,
pink and purple neo-classical houses set on steep hills, as well as
its traditional bars and dusty cafes with ancient waiters.
Set in the early 1950s a few years after the US decided to make
Puerto Rico an unincorporated dependent territory the book shows,
through Kemp's eyes, a volatile yet fun-loving Old San Juan. Has much changed?
The city is a lot less troubled, for starters. Sitting on the
island's Atlantic coast, at the foot of the Cordillera mountain
range, San Juan these days gives an impression of well-behaved
hedonism, with a mixture of African, European and Taino Indian
cultures. America's efficient infrastructure is a boon rather than a
curse, and there are still plenty of old haunts from traditional
shacks to polished bars that are well worth a visit.
I started at the top by San Juan Wall, high above the seafront. Calle
Cristo runs from the top like a colourful ribbon, almost all the way
to the bottom, framed with pink flowers and vividly painted houses.
The thump of reggaeton boomed loudly from cars passing Bodega Chic.
The barmaid rolled her eyes and said: "They play that day and night.
I prefer dance music."
As it was a weekday, I headed to Nono's (+1 787 725 7819) back up the
hill on Calle San Sebastián. A cantina-style bar tucked into a yellow
colonial building, it's not quite Al's Backyard. But as I sipped a
glass of the local Don Q rum and ordered a burger from neighbouring
El Patio De Sam (+1 787 723 1149), I felt it was close enough. At
weekends, the bar is packed to the rafters with expats, but on an
average day it is quiet, and time passes lazily.
Puerto Ricans take rum very seriously: the island is home to three
distilleries. Local celebrity chef Wilo Benet (who has written a book
of rum-based cuisine) told me that Don Q tastes much cleaner than
other white rums. So I headed to Casa Don, the Don Q museum on the
seafront, which hands out free samples of the best-selling range,
Cristal. Less flowery than Bacardi, it has a smooth aftertaste.
Old San Juan, with its fine cigar shops and crumbling bodegas, is
unfortunately also the birthplace of the piña colada. And while that
ghastly concoction is something every barman will try to push on you,
any self-respecting rum drinker would rather sup from a horse trough
than let it pass their lips. Politely push it away and instead earn
the barman's respect by ordering a glass of Barrilito. This
golden-hued rum is available only in Puerto Rico, and is brewed at a
local distillery so intent on preserving the old ways that they even
stick the labels on by hand. Bacardi may be the bigger fish in the
pond, but Barrilito, with its warm, smooth texture, is the local champion.
I woke up next morning with a staggeringly bad hangover sadly
Barrilito's divine taste also makes it unbelievably moreish. Emerging
on to a street of bright-eyed fresh-faced locals, I stopped at a very
old cafe, La Bombonera (+1 787 722 0658) on Calle San Francisco. My
dishevelled clothes and bag-laden eyes didn't shock my silent,
elderly waiter: no doubt he'd seen many travellers in this pitiful
state. Seated at the long bar hunched over a coffee, I breakfasted on
restorative mallorcas warm pastries stuffed with ham and eggs.
But nothing is quite as restorative as a hair of the dog so, not
learning my lesson in the slightest, I continued my search for
atmospheric local bars. Blink and you might miss them, chinchorros
tiny hole-in-the-wall bars might not have the polish of Depp's
favourite watering hole, the Parrot Club (which incidentally does a
mean mojito), but they are tiny fragile treasures that offer cheap
drinks, few American tourists and a window into local life.
Café Celeste on Callejón de la Capilla is distinguishable from nearby
buildings only by its two outside tables, where workmen stop for a
drink or a bite to eat. Colmado Bar Moreno on Calle Tetuán (one of
the city's busiest roads, buzzing at night) plays grassroots
reggaeton and serves strong rum in plastic cups. Los 3 Cuernos,
tucked away in a carnival mask shop on Plaza de Colon, serves
chichaitos shots of rum and anise, cut with fruit juice. Potent,
but very delicious.
On my last night, I decided to dedicate another evening to Barrilito
rum and spent it in dive bar El Batey, also on Calle Cristo (+1 787
725 1787), where punters are encouraged to write on the walls.
(Drinkers have been known to form human pyramids to get to clear
writing space.) It's the sort of place any boozy hack would love, so
as a homage to Thompson, I ordered Barrilito on ice. Rich,
honey-coloured and almost brandy-like in texture, it lit a warm fire
down my gullet.
So began another warm Caribbean evening. Someone kicked the jukebox
into action: El Batey keeps only vinyl 45s from the 1960s. The music
was off by a decade, but with the ambience, the rum and the weathered
old bartender, it was as close to Paul Kemp's Old San Juan as it gets.
--
• Expedia (0871 226 0808, expedia.co.uk) has flights to San Juan from
London (via New York) from £495 return. The Gallery Inn in San Juan
(+1 787 722 1808, thegalleryinn.com) has doubles from £95 a night
including breakfast. The Water & Beach Club Hotel (+1 787 728 3666,
waterbeachclubhotel.com) in Isla Verde is a minimalist boutique hotel
by the beach with doubles from £100 a night
.
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