Description: Culebra International Hostel, on Culebra Island was very difficult to find as nobody claimed to know where it was. This was due in part to the fact that it was know more by the owner's name. The journey of and in itself of how I got there is in my special section under "I'm Lost".
The hostel almost seemed to be an extra long garage converted into a row of six beds with a bathroom, lacking in hot water, at the end. There were two overhead lights that when turned off left to a completely dark walk to the bathroom if you didn't have a flashlight. To make matters worse, there was a single step between the third and forth bed. If you sleep in the beds near the bathroom and the a/c was on, it was quite cold.
Annie, a native Puerto Rican and interesting lady, asked me and another guest, Thomas, if we would like to join them for dinner and told us they were only having a meal of traditional Puerto Rican roots. We accepted and dined on a mix of potatoes, yams, yucca, carrots and other roots topped off with fresh tomatoes and avocado. Afterwards, her husband said they charged $10 per meal. Needless to say, we were taken aback thinking it was a dinner invitation. Not to say that we wouldn't have accepted, but not knowing we were expected to pay for a meal in which we had no choice in entree was totally unexpected.
We did learn that only a pizza place and Chinese restaurant were dining options on Culebra. This explains why same day trips are popular. Without a kitchen, we consumed orange juice and rum along with two fellow travelers from Germany. We were all going to go to dinner, but spent the evening in pubs.
Brandi, a lovely young lady that works at the hostel and manages the computer reservations and check-ins is a huge reason to visit, eat at, or stay at this hostel. Tell her what you want and she can tell you where to go and either how to get there or take you there. She told me the best beach to go to for snorkeling as oppose to a family friendly beach, white sand beach etc...I was told to the left was sea grass with turtles, which I saw at least 20, and to the right was other creatures where I saw a spotted eagle ray and trigger fish. She gives details of bio tours, car rentals and has the absolute best stories of her experiences touring mainland Puerto Rico.
Close