Concepts of Time

San Juan [1] operates much like any big American city. The pace of life is fast, service is expedient, and everybody’s in a hurry. But the farther you get away from San Juan, and most markedly in Culebra [2] and Vieques [3], things tend to operate on “island time”—that is, at an extremely leisurely pace. You may be the only person in the restaurant, but it may still take 30 minutes or longer to receive your meal. Posted hours of operation are more suggestion than reality. Visitors are best advised to chill out and accept that this is just the way things are in Puerto Rico [4]. If fawning service is required to have a good time, then stick with the resorts.