Tips for an Unforgettable “Chinchorreo” Experience in Puerto Rico

If you ask a Boricua what is a “Chinchorro”? they will describe a small bar, that serves local food while playing local festive music. So “Chinchorreo” would be the act of going on a day trip stopping in a good number of “Chinchorros” to eat, drink, and have a good time with family and friends.

Puerto Rico have the best X-mas in the World!!!!

The word “Chinchorro” has different meaning in other places of Latin America, in Venezuela it can mean a hammock and in Cuba could mean a small boat. For us in Puerto Rico the ward “Chinchorro” has been used to call a small bar since 1930 according to historians; during that time, people used horses and carriages to move from place to place stopping in places to have food, drinks and get some rest.

Great place to go with friends or just meet new great people…

We are fortunate to have family and friends that like “Chinchorrear”, for us is a must do if you are spending time over the holidays. The activity is one that help showcase the beauty of our island, and how fun us Boricuas can be. There are many routes to select and do the activity, most picturesque ones are along the central mountains, going through different municipalities like: Cayey, Aibonito, Orocovis, Jayuya, Ciales. Every route is different, but all of them will offer good food, music, sights, and friendly people.

Country Side or near the sea, natural beauty is always present…

Once you get to a “Chinchorro”, there are a couple of tips to get the most enjoyment out of that stop and here are my 5 tips.

Plan to stop at 3-4 “Chinchorros” during your visit
- The idea is to spend time at each stop, so you can enjoy the best of what the place has to offer, Plan to spend on average 1-1.5 HR per stop. You are not in a hurry and use the time to enjoy the views, talk to the people and have fun
- You can stretch and go for places , in my opinion is not about quantity and more about the quality of the stop. I prefer to go less places but get to enjoy more time in the “Chinchorro” having fun, if a place is super full go to the next and maybe on the way back you can stop and go in.

All “Chinchorros” are not created equal…

Ask what are their specialties before ordering… then get some!!!
- Medalla is our local beer and it is a superb mass produced beer, Beer culture has grown in Puerto Rico and you will find a good number of small brands made by local breweries here a couple of breweries: Boqueron Brewing, Ocean Lab Brewing, Old Harbor
- Besides great beer, you can also find great cocktails in the different places. If you want to enjoy a cocktail, you may find a good creative mojito or an alcoholic drink with some fresh juice like grapefruit or Passion Fruit. As the “Chinchorros” have evolved the owners have identified that having great cocktails creates differentiation versus other places, just ask and see if they have some special drink that you can enjoy.

You will find a great selection of food and drinks…

If you see live music… STOP, you will get to enjoy a free show
- In all of the “Chinchorros” you will find music, either from a streaming service or some live presentation. This is an important piece in the experience and can either add to an awesome experience or make you go out fast and furious to another place. Get to the place and feel the vibe… you will quickly see if the music is adding to your experience or not
- Watch Out for a big bus of people getting down in a Chinchorro ready to party with their own instruments and start a “parranda”… Don’t be shy and get into the chorus, it adds to the fun. You will see this big groups celebrating birthdays, business retreats, boricuas from the “diaspora” or a high school reunion.

Music is an important part off of the outing… From professional to just for fun!!!

Be Patient… You are in Island Time
- Expect a good number of people at each stop… This places can get busy, just Chillax and go with the flow. If you went out to “Chinchorrear”, there is no need to stress over a line, take the time and start talking with the person you just met in the line or even better pay a drink to someone just for fun. We are here to have a blast!!!
- If you come from a big city, you will see a change of pace from the hustle and bustle of city life. This is an important element for you to understand, here seconds are minutes and people don’t have to punch a clock to get to the next meeting.

Happy to call Puerto Rico my “Patria” – “Boricua hasta en la luna”

If you are in Puerto Rico, give yourself a chance to a great day and connect to the island with a real experience. You can go to the Puerto Rico tourism (Discover Puerto Rico) page and just search “Chinchorro” and you will get a list of couple of them. Thanks for reading and please share this post with your friends. Sign in to get our updates. Also follow us on Instagram and Facebook. Search for #BORICUASLIVINGABROAD. Until next time….

F1 Saudi GP in Jeddah, shows how Saudi Arabia is delivering on their 2030 vision …

Jeddah has clearly learned how to do a big event and after coming back from the 2024 #SaudiGP and knowing is only their 4th edition this city knows how to make sure tourist come back for more. Not only the event was A++ but getting to know more about the city history and talking with the local people made it even better. Their Saudi 2030 vision is into full throttle, go to Visit Saudi and see more info on what they offer, plus requirements to enter the country.

First F1 experience and it was a treat… Cheering for Checo all the way!!!

Jeddah a port city in the Makkah province in Saudi Arabia was established in the 6th century BC along the Red Sea coast; there are some experts that say it was settled more than 2500 years. It is the 2nd biggest city in terms of population and serves as arrival point to millions of Muslims that visit Mecca, a place where they go for pilgrimage especially for Hajj a sacred Muslim pilgrimage that ever-able bodied Muslim who has financial means should do after Prophet Muhammad farewell pilgrimage.

In Dubai Airport, many people going for their pilgrimage… On the right a photo of Makkah (From a poster)

Getting to Jeddah from Dubai by air is a quick 2:30 hours flight, landing at the King Abdulaziz International Airport. Immigration and Customs were a breeze and the people there were very welcoming. Airport is big with good signage in both Arabic and English; for transportation we arrange a paid transport that was waiting for us to take us to the hotel. The hotel offer is huge and you have many recognizable brands and also local hotels to choose, we stayed at the Intercontinental Hotel were the room and location was excellent.

Very nice airport, that gets you pumped for the race

If you are a fan to F1, you will know that each race is a fun filled weekend of activities leading to the big race that marks the end of that week Grand Prix; if you are not a fan of F1 but like entertainment the event is like a stop of a big festival where you get to spend a weekend doing outdoor activities like games, concerts, and in this case an auto race with some of the fastest car in the world with speeds of more than 250 km/hr and 4.5 G´s in the curves (crazy stuff when seen live)

The event is identified as the fastest street circuit in Formula One and is done at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit a 6.174 km motor racing street-circuit built in a beautiful setting by the Red Sea in Saudi Arabia. The circuit staged the inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on 5 December 2021, it looks that the race will be here until 2027 before moving to Qiddiya a planned entertainment and tourism megaproject in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia being built under the Saudi Vision 2030 program.

Don’t think of the F1 race as just the race; during the 3 day weekend you have multiple races of different categories like F1 Academy, F2, Porsche Carrera and of course F1, also many entertainment activities like F1 simulators, games, airplane shows plus live concerts in our case artists like Pharrell Williams, Alicia Keys, Martin Garrix were playing during the weekend. The weekend is filled with so many activities that time literally flies, important to download the even calendar so you don’t miss all the action. Expect to spend 10-12 hours doing GP related activities and also, I encourage you to add some sightseeing to explore the city and get to know the local vibe.

More than racing is a mega event… With top artists and shows

I do not consider myself a hardcore fan of F1, but having the opportunity to see some of the best drivers in some of the best cars in the world racing one of the toughest tracks of the calendar was exhilarating. You see on tv these cars and look fast, but when you see them live in the track at the end of a DRS zone it looks like they are flying, simply amazing. We bought Grandstand B tickets and found a nice place to see some of the best live action (end of a DRS straight) plus a big monitor in front to follow the race. In my view you need to find a place where you can see good live action but also access to monitors, so you can follow all of what happens in the race.

Awesome Sunset by the Red Sea… Also the circuit from the ferris wheel

It was a hectic 3 days in Jeddah but had the opportunity to do some activities outside the GP and one of them was spending half a day in one of the local Beach Clubs (La Plage), arranged by one of my co-workers that lives in Jeddah. What a great place to relax, enjoy the Red Sea and chillax. If you are a Scuba diver, there is a station there where you can enjoy some diving and from what I read the Red Sea offers lots to see underwater. There are many great people in Saudi and my friend Farid clearly is an example of how welcoming people are and how they really want you to spend the best time in their country. Shukran my friend.

Nice to enjoy some vitamin Sea and Chillax before the big race…

The other activity before flying back to Dubai was an Old Jeddah (Known as Al-Balad) walking tour. Here in Old Jeddah, you will find many traditional buildings that dates back to the era before oil was found, it has been granted UNESCO World Heritage status in 2014 and the crown prince has issued a royal decree to restore many of the buildings. I know that this area will be an iconic place to visit soon with many restaurants, hotels, and museums based on all the refurbishing they are doing; here you will see some photos of the very nice architecture the city has to offer.

Old Jeddah is a must when going there… Great people and food

We finish our tour eating fresh seafood from Jeddah at a local restaurant, it was a unique experience, the recommendation was done by our tour guide Muhammad that showed us the city in a very detailed way, truly recommend him for the tour. It was a great way to finish our 3 days in Jeddah before flying back.

Jeddah is transforming and becoming an even greater city; their history and architecture; their food, and more important the people will make Jeddah a great tourism destination in the years to come. Thanks for reading the post, please share it with your friends and sign in to receive our updates; also follow us on Instagram, and Facebook search for #BORICUASLIVINGABROAD. Until next time….

Istanbul the city across two continents and one big heart…

Our first visit to Istanbul the most populous city in Europe was a great opportunity to understand better some of the greatest chapters of world history, I remember in school talking about the Roman Empire, Constantinople, the crusades and never imagine having the opportunity to visit and explore where history happened.

Some of the views of the Galata Towers are impressive, the Basilica cistern is an engineer marvel

When you visit Istanbul and walk the streets, you witness how great a city can balance between the old and historic, with the new and modern aspects of urban life. A city that have traces of civilization of more than 8,000 thousand years is a city that can definitely share a story or two about world civilization. Is an awesome pedestrian city with lots of connectivity (Walking, Metro, Bus, Tram, Taxi, Boat) to go and visit the multiple historic sites that the city offers to share their story.

You can travel in the second oldest railway in the world.. also you can use taxi and ferry

Because of work we stayed in both the European and Asian side, but after doing it I would recommend staying in both sides: in the Asian you find good places to enjoy awesome food, great sea views, and hip neighborhoods and in the European side there are tons of places to stay with great collective transportation options to the many tourist attractions. I was happy with our selections, here are links to 2 of the hotels we stayed at during our visit. First one is called The Marmara Pera with a very nice rooftop and a top restaurant is a good alternative to use as home base, the second one is called Fer Hotel, the location and their employees are very good.

This hotels are so close to the sights, easy to explore

We were only in Istanbul a total of 4 nights; it is not enough for sure but with a combination of tours and going by ourselves we were able to really see most of the top things you need to see and also taste some of the best food Istanbul has to offer. My recommendation to maximize your time is to do: 1 private city tour and explore the city with a local, this helps you when you are on your own / 1 food tour with a small group because food taste better when is shared with people / the rest of the time do some research and go explore by yourselves enjoy at your pace what the city has to offer.

Istanbul is a walkable city… enjoy fully

There are too many things to do in Istanbul and I could put a long list of things for you to do, but for me when you travel part of the fun is to create your own memories; let me just share 5 things you could that will help create and awesome Turkish experience:

Taste of 2 Continents Food Tour, for a gastro-cultural experience: You can find this tour in TripAdvisor, for me one of the best I had since they have a good blend of food and sightseeing.

Food tours wirth a group are the best… truly enjoy meeting new people, while having great food

Night dinner in one of the many fine restaurants Istanbul Offers: We had many good meals, one of them was at Mikla one of the top restaurants in the city with many recognitions. I did the tasting menu and was phenomenal.

Do a Turkish breakfast and eat all the sweets they offer: Turkish breakfast is very different from the western world with the mix of sweet and salty, but once you try it you will love it. Also, the Turkish sweets are out of this world and a must in Istanbul

Remember sweets and the Turkish breakfast… Don´t miss it

Go to one of the many rooftops, have a drink and enjoy the view: Finding a place where you can see 2 continents at the same time is rather unique in the world, if you throw a good drink and some music it makes for a wonderful time.

The city provides great places to relax and enjoy the view

By some good walking shoes and explore the many historic sites: Spend the time walking and exploring the city, you never know when you will find a 400/800/1,000+ years old structure with tons of history. Really cool!!!

So many great sights to see and explore… walk,walk,walk

Exploring Istanbul, plus doing Cappadocia was a great way to learn a bit of Turkey history, their gastronomy, and their people. Turkey will be one experience we will always cherish; the people are incredible with good attention and true desire that your time is well spent. Thanks for reading the post, please share it and sign in to receive our updates; also follow us on Instagram, or Facebook look for #BORICUASLIVINGABROAD. Until next time….

Tokyo food capital of the world… If you are a foodie, you better not miss it…

When you live in America and you talk about Japanese food, you are often referring to Sushi and maybe a distant second would be Tempura that by the way would be done at the Sushi restaurant. Travel gives you the opportunity to not only explore new places but also taste it, in our trip to Tokyo we had the opportunity to go out and try many different foods for breakfast, dinner, and lunch. Now after exploring Tokyo food scene and being spoiled to really great food is tough to go back home and try Japanese food, since the bar is so high (LOL).

3 of the greatest foods we tried in Tokyo

While sharing some of the great food we had in Tokyo, there is also an important aspect that adds value to a great food experience, and this is having it with awesome people; the experience of sharing food, and stories is the perfect recipe for enjoying what the city you are traveling has to offer. Below you will see our team dinner where we had great food, but even better great stories were shared. I am thankful of these opportunities since makes travel even better.

Having food with friends is always great.

Let’s start with Sushi as is the most common dish in and outside Japan. Sushi places come in all size, shape, and form in Tokyo and would be very difficult to identify a good versus bad place since they are all full (I think they are all good), I was impressed by the variety of Sushi and the alternatives to select, like a set already defined or a la carte with as many as you want. All of them were great, but wanted to try ones that would be the first for me and in addition to the classic ones I had: Salmon Roe, Sea Urchin, Fatty Tuna. You can´t miss with your selection but would encourage to try any of the 3 that I mentioned earlier. If you are in Tokyo please try them, you will enjoy them and more important need to tell you that after going back home Sushi will never taste the same. Taste and flavor out of this world!!!!

With no Japanese, you use the simple pointing to the menu!!!

One of the places to go and eat Sushi is the Toyosu Market, with a train line that goes there is easy to land there, is one must do attraction in Tokyo. You need to go early and see the famous daily tuna auction that starts at 5:30 AM, this is an impressive place where thousands of fish are being sold every day, you can also find Fruit and Vegetable sections plus other comestibles. The market was opened in 2018, it had some pushback from the people that used to work in the old market, now that is finished is clear the great business development it is. Where you can find more fresh fish than the market, inside the big building you will see Sushi restaurants were in some case they have lines as early as 6AM to eat their Sushi. The experience is unique so be ready to have sushi for breakfast at the market. One important thing you will notice is the cleanliness of the place a clear signature of Japan culture.

Toyosu Market complex is Huge, also the Tuna Auction is packed with people

Second food that I would like to share is Yakitori, these small skewers that you can find most common made of chicken outside Japan. Here in Tokyo, you have full restaurants specializing in Yakitori made of many ingredients like Beef, Chicken, Pork, Shrimp, Vegetables also they sell Beers, Whisky, and Sake. These restaurants are very high on energy, the kitchen in the center makes it like a DJ spinning some music while everyone is dancing to their favorite tune. Like many restaurants in Japan, you take your shoes before you enter and get seated either on a table or in one of the sides of the kitchen (my favorite), then you start ordering from the menu the small portions while having a cold drink. If you like grilling on charcoal you will enjoy this place, the coal is named “binchotan” it gives a good smokiness and when they put the sauce you get a good amount of smoke that bring flavors to the skewers you ordered. Yakitori places can be a great way to start or end the night… Kanpai!!!

The last food I want to share on this post is called Okonomiyaki, a Savoury pancake that consist of: Wheat flour batter, cabbage, meat or seafood, sauce, and Japanese mayo. This tasty dish is done on a teppan (flat iron grill) in front of you, design to be shared by the group on the table with chopsticks. They have 2 versions wet or dry, we did the dry one and loved it, not only tasty but the combination of flavors and texture was out of this world. One thing that made the experience great was the location and that many locals eat there, for me when I travel is always cool to go and find the local jewels to spend time with locals. This dish was a complete surprise for me, I did not know it existed and was my colleague the person who told me to try it, for that Arigato gozaimasu Takada-san.

I am showing just a very small sample of the great food we tried during our visit to Tokyo, food is a great way to understand how rich a country is and what Japan showed to me is a truly rich and diverse palate of options. From hot to cold, rare to cooked, veggie to non-veggie you can get what you want in Tokyo.

There will be a future post on Tokyo food in the future, I hope this made you hungry to go and explore Japanese Cuisine. Thanks for reading the post, please share it and sign in to receive our updates; also follow us on Instagram, or Facebook look for #BORICUASLIVINGABROAD. Until next time….

Let’s finish the list on 10 things you could do in Dubai, while coming to Qatar World Cup – Part 2

Will take the opportunity to finish the list of things you could do here in Dubai, making the most of your time in the Middle East for the world cup in Qatar. Many of the big Airlines have announce the use of Al Maktoum International (DWC) airport to serve as a bridge between the 2 countries during the soccer event. Dubai is just 1 hour flight from Doha so definitely doing a couple of days here can be a great addition to what will be the biggest sport event of the year.

6) Explore the Dubai Mall and see the city atop the Burj Khalifa

In Dubai breaking records is a common thing, is not strange to find the second biggest shopping mall and tallest building in the world next to each other. They are both located in downtown Dubai, thousand of people go there daily to shop, dine and entertain. It is crazy to see hundred of people walking in bunches from the metro station to the Dubai Mall entrance, just the walk is 1 mile long.

Impressive view of the Burj from the outside

Once you are inside the mall, there is plenty to do… Some of the attractions are full hockey court, 22 movie cinema, Fountain show (Las Vegas Style), 150 million old Dino Fossil, VR Park, 1,000+ stores, more than 100 restaurants (Fine dinning, Casual dinning, Fast Food, Cafes). You need to plan ahead just to not get lost!!!

Dino is here to salute you… 150 million years old

From the Dubai Mall you can directly to the Burj Khalifa entrance where you can take an elevator and go up to different floors and admire Dubai from the altitude. In the lobby you will find interesting information on the development of the building and all the great technology it has. It is an impressive building from the inside but for me is more spectacular admiring it from different places of Dubai, you can see the building from many miles in the distance

Night View of the Burj Khalifa, being part of the Fountain show

7) Visit Dubai Marina and have a good time in one of the many restaurants

30 minutes by car from the Dubai airport you will find Dubai Marina an artificial canal city that opened in 2003 and now makes home for more than 50K people. Getting to Marina is very easy, you could take the metro and get down in the Dubai Marina Metro station, from there you can walk to many places or take the tram that will make it more accessible to move toward the outer parts of marina.

You can find great places to eat and have fun, during day or night… check for daily brunches and happy hours to benefit of good specials in food and drinks. There are places with great views of the Marina and JBR, some of the places I like are Pier 7 (7 restaurants under one roof), Bliss Lounge (great view to the Dubai Eye), Chalco’s Cantina at Marina Gate (Great Mexican food and Corona Beer, you will find me here during the World Cup). Very close from here is Dubai Harbor one of the places that will have FIFA fan zones to enjoy the games.

8) Jump into a Water Taxi and admire Dubai Skyline from the sea

In Dubai you will see a huge number of exotic car on the streets, you can even rent a Ferrari for 60 minutes and take it out for a spin; there is also many public transportation alternatives and one of them is a water Taxi service where you can move to key locations around Dubai. It is a great way to see a little bit of the city from the see with great skyline views of Dubai.

Enjoy a different view of the Dubai Skyline

Some of the locations you can go and start a trip are: Dubai Marina, Dubai Creek, Al Ghubaiba (Old Dubai). Depending the distance you will pay between $6USD to $20USD, taking the longest route will bring you some great views of different landscapes of the city. For sure is a great activity for all people, and you can combine it with other transportation methods to cover all the city.

This one takes you from one end to another end of the Dubai Marina

9) Visit Expo 2020 site and watch a game in this FIFA fan zone

In October 2021 with a delay of 1 year the Dubai World Expo 2020 opened, for this even that run until March 2022 Dubai created a city from zero a place where more than 180 countries got together to share the best they have to offer from innovations, culinary arts, folklore, business opportunities. It was an event that brought more than 20 million visitors in 6 months, and now the Dubai Expo site is being prepared to become a center for entrepreneurs to develop ideas and foster innovations that will impact the world.

In October they are reopening some of the country pavilions and activities that where part of the Expo, and during the world cup the central plaza will be converted into a FIFA fan zone where you can go and enjoy football with for sure thousand of people of different nationalities. It will be clearly a place to go during the world cup and after it, since it is reopening as Expo City Dubai.

Good Parks at expo, you will find some big screens

10) Make a short trip to other Emirates, they are all very close

If you want to explore beyond Dubai there are other great Emirates and activities to do a couple of hours from downtown. Here are a couple of ideas if you want to adventure: Go to Abu Dhabi just a 40 minute drive and do a day tour to see this Emirate and enjoy Ferrari World, WB Park or try some car racing in the Yas Marina Circuit. I will be doing a full post on Abu Dhabi so I can share detailed information on the richest Emirate of the UAE. The second idea is go and do the longest Zipline in the world at Jebel Jais in the Ras Al-Khaimah Emirate is around 2 hour drive, you will not be disappointed with this adventure.

There are many other things to do in Dubai but this 10 that I just shared are definitely must do if you have the time, the World Cup in Qatar is near and Dubai will be a great destination to enjoy the event. Thanks for reading the post, please share it and sign in to receive our updates; also follow us on Instagram, or Facebook look for #BORICUASLIVINGABROAD. Until next time….

Visit to Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque… Impressive architecture

As part of our year end holiday, we decided to spend a couple of days in Abu Dhabi and get to know more of the Emirate. One of the must places to got is the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque completed in 2007. In Dubai we went to the Jumeirah mosque it is much smaller but you have the opportunity of a tour so you can learn a little bit of Islam, it is a must go in Dubai and will share a post later so you have the details.

You can see the details on the walls and domes… It is incredible the craftmanship

It is an impressive landmark and you can see it from very far due to it’s size. You need to register to get a ticket for access, it is very simple and you do it online ( https://visit.szgmc.gov.ae/). Once you get the confirmation you will receive a QR code that you can use at the entrance and in different points during the visit to track your journey.

From the road, look a the size from the distance

Construction started in 1996 and was finished in 2007, took more than 10 years to get all the details in place. It is the largest mosque in UAE and the 3rd largest in the world, it can accommodate more that 40,000 visitors . It has an Arabic appearance but has collaboration from many countries including Italy, Germany, Iran, United Kingdom, China. As I shared previously UAE is the capital of world records and in the Mosque you will see the biggest hand-knotted carpet done by more than 1,200 Iranian crafters.100,000 tonnes of marble imported from Greece and Macedonia.

A closer look on the carpet, imagine is one piece

Some of the details you will find is the use of thousands semi precious stones embedded into the marble, huge Chandeliers with thousand Swarovski crystals. The Mosque has 82 domes, the largest located in the center of the prayer room.

You can see more of the details inside the mosque, very delicate work

It takes close to 45 minute to walk and see the mosque, with clearly defined areas so you can take pictures. The visit we had was more focus on walking and enjoying the architecture of the building. There was no additional information around Islam, that’s why having the experience on the Jumeirah mosque in Dubai is a great compliment because you will get a high level of understanding of Islam faith.

One of the must places to go in Abu Dhabi, the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is a unique place to see. I hope this post provide you with the opportunity to live a little bit the experience. For now if you just read my post, forward to a friend and sign in to receive our updates; also follow us on Instagram, or Facebook look for #BORICUASLIVINGABROAD . Until next time….

Gold and Spice Souk in Dubai… Is not the new Dubai, but is a must see attraction!!!

Once you arrive to Dubai, all the new buildings and new attractions capture your attention and forgot that the city started hundreds of years ago as a trading post for precious metals, pearl industry and fishing village. Not far from the new Dubai you will find this markets or Souks the way they are called here.

The Gold and Spice Souks are located in Deira, Dubai; can be said on the Old Dubai. Deira is the commercial part of Dubai but has lost focus due to the accelerated growth of Dubai other commercial places. In Deira you will find the Dubai Creek a natural waterway, where you will found many small boats (Abra boats) moving from one point of the city to another point of the city by paying $1 or $2 AED. The markets are more than 100 years old with gaining relevance with the oil boom of the 70’s.

Once you get to the Souks, walking them are easy and secure. As many places in Dubai they are well kept and with good signage to facilitate walking from point A to point B. As you enter the Gold Souk you are greeted with the biggest gold ring in the world (another record for Dubai!!!), weighting at more than 140+ pounds is huge, it can be the ring for King Kong. As many records they announce you will see the Guinness certificate.

Yes is a GOLD ring and below ou see the Guinness certificate

Along the hallway you see the different shops showcasing their work, all things gold… Gold Clothing, hundreds of necklaces, chains, rings, bracelets, everything you can imagine is there in gold. Different Karats and colors can be found, also Silver is widely available with many products being offered. It is a great place for a nice stroll just looking and stopping to see the level of detail in some of the pieces. We did enter to a couple of stores and never felt being hassled to buy something, obviously they will try and show you their work and get you interested but in a relaxed manner.

Some example of the gold pieces you can find

Not far from the Gold Souk you will find the Spice souk, also with good spaces you will have a colorful and aromatic journey from the different spices you can buy there. The displays looks wonderful and inside the stores you also can see other variety of products. The cool thing here is you can see the product very close before you buy and discuss with the shopkeeper on the different spices and their history.

Walking the Spice souk gives you a sense of traveling back in time, when no supermarkets were available and went to the markets to buy what you needed for the day, there’s no doubt that the level of intimacy on the service is the best compared to the big box stores that exist today in Dubai.

As the year start I will continue the updates from Dubai and sharing more insight on this great place, also will include some post around neighboring emirates. For now if you just read my post, please forward to your friends and sign in to receive our updates; also follow us on Instagram, or Facebook look for #BORICUASLIVINGABROAD . Until next time….

Egypt: Impressive look at 4,500+ years of history… Giza Pyramid the last standing original seven wonder

One of the benefits of my job has been the opportunity to travel to different countries and when the agenda aligns properly have the opportunity to know a little bit of the culture, sights and foods of the place I am visiting. Since August I been stationed in Dubai, being here by itself has been a great experience to learn more of the Arab world. Last week had the opportunity to travel to Cairo, Egypt for some business meetings and had the opportunity to go for a day trip and explore a little bit of what Egypt has to offer in terms of history.

On the road in Egypt, ample roads, hundres of residential buildings

Look in trip advisor for tours and selected a one day tour with a visit to Giza and the Egyptian museum, to my surprise the tour was a private one. The day began at 8am when they pick me up at the hotel and it was only the guide, driver and myself. What a great setup, doing the private tour was excellent , easy communication and also the personal attention to answer my questions and share behind the scenes information around the life of people more than 4,500 years ago.

One of the many Mosque, beautiful architecture / Sun down in Cairo

Going from the hotel that was in New Cairo to Giza that is closer to original Cairo we pass through a bridge and the Nile river. I was impressed by the river width, you can see clearly the impact to Egypt economy as the main water source of the country. The river crosses 11 countries and is more than 4,000 miles long (Honolulu to Chicago wow!!!!)

Nile River, impressive size and also the impact to the Economy

When you enter Giza, looking above the buildings you can see the impressive Giza Pyramid, standing at close to 500 feet it looks humongous, the entrance to the area is clearly identified or you can follow the many buses getting there. Once you are there, you buy your ticket and go to the entrance where you walk 2-3 minutes to arrive at the base of the pyramids.

From here you move to a couple pf points to really admire the Pyramids from different perspectives, the engineering is brutal and the idea of these structures been here for that many years is also mind blowing. Hopefully they will stand many more years and new generations can visit.

There is no picture that make justice to the beauty of Giza Pyramids

Also in this area is located the Sphinx of Giza, it is impressive as the pyramids. One of the most recognizable statues in the world and it has all the rights to be number one. Located in a place where they prepared bodies for mummification, for the afterlife; today you can see and feel how the people served their pharaohs.

Happy for the opportunity to see this live!!!!

Today if you want you can also visit at night and they have a light show that use the pyramids as a screen. Along the pyramids you also see many people selling stuff, if you want to buy something my recommendation is to talk to your guide and make arrangements, there is limited English or even Spanish and it can get complicated to negotiate prices.

The Giza Pyramids are a great place to visit, the pictures do not make justice to the beauty of the place, would recommend the stop and would put it at top of the list if you are there.

Important to always have fun!!!! Giza Pyramids in the background

Thanks to Maria (Guide) and Omar (Driver) for a great day. Still missing a post around the food and the museum visit, will do it in the next couple of weeks, Now back to Dubai and continue working!!! If you just read my post, please forward to your friends and sign in to receive our updates; also follow us on Instagram, or Facebook look for #BORICUASLIVINGABROAD . Until next time….

On the Mexican Pacific coast there is a great little gem called: San Pancho, Nayarit

For our winter holiday we decided to drive from Queretaro to the Pacific coast and have a couple of days relaxing in some beach towns across the Mexican Riviera. The drive is an easy 8-9 hours route via some good toll roads (two lanes each way), maybe the last 90 minutes is the toughest part were you cross some mountains in a 2 lanes (one each way) road.

Great roads from Queretaro to Vallarta & Roads in the beach towns with plenty stores, 5mph

We set up base in Nuevo Vallarta in the state of Nayarit from here there are many beaches within one hour drive including San Pancho or San Francisco (official name). Let me tell you, once you get to this beaches time slow down, people are relaxed so just chill and enjoy the views, the food and the people.

Lots of small restaurants and shops, really get to know the people

San Pancho is a small town founded on 1936 with less than 3,000 people, small streets with many small restaurants and hotels that finish at the Beach where you will find more restaurants and hotels all providing services to people gathering in front of the beach. The beach is a great place for learning how to surf, waves are not that high but enough to challenge new comers and give a platform to showcase skills of more experiences surfers. If you only want to take bath on the beach, there are some areas were waves are not that high and you can enjoy also the water.

Great beach , plenty of space to get a good seat

If you get early there re great places on the the beach to sit and enjoy a fun and relaxing day. There are beach lounges from restaurants that are free of charge when you eat and drink from their place. We tried some ceviche and fish fillet and was exquisite, fresh and very tasty, obviously accompanied with a Pacifico beer.

Many great places to get tasty food, from Grilled Meat to Fresh Ceviche

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Casa Herradura: One of the many great Tequila producers. Knowing their history improves the tasting experience

If you have known tequila outside off Mexico, probably your experiences were doing shots in a party or drinking a 30 oz Margarita using a blend of tequila not made of Blue Agave. Now living for 5 years in Mexico I can tell you that these experiences do not relate to the craftsmanship of Tequila making and how these producers make a great product that can compete with a good Whiskey or Wine.

Arriving to Casa Herradura you go back in time immediately…

We been to the tequila region a couple of times and on our latest visit we decided to focus on visiting one of the big distilleries that we also enjoy their products, Casa Herradura. I specially enjoyed Herradura Ultra an añejo tequila that at the end of manufacturing they add a little bit of agave syrup to make it sweeter.

They have maintained the property as an Hacienda, so you get the early 1900 feeling

Casa Herradura has been producing tequila for more than 125 years in Amatitan, Jalisco. They still make their products in the same place but have modernized the process to make more than 9 million bottles per year. They have 3 brands: Jimador, Antiguo and Herradura with prices from $12 dollars to more than $150 dollars.

If you come to Casa Herradura you will see a working manufacturing plant and have the opportunity to taste almost all of the different varieties of tequila they sell in Mexico and around the world. Tequila today is one of my favorite liquors, once you know how to drink tequila (small sips, not the whole tequila shot) and learn the difference between a “Blanco”, “Añejo” or “Reposado”. Having a tequila shot in one hand and a beer on the other while making a BBQ is like doing a sprint and a marathon at the same time. Important that the tequila you drink is 100% Agave Azul, these guarantee quality in the product

Great opportunity to see up-close and personal the process

Tequila region is just 1 hour away from Guadalajara and is a great day trip to have, give a chance to explore the many places to eat, see, and drink you will not get bored. If you just read this, forward to your friends and sign in to receive our updates about how you can enjoy Mexico as much as we have done #boricuaslivingabroad . Follow us on instagram, look for BORICUASLIVINGABROAD . Until next time