camping in pr

hi,
i have a followup question about camping...when i phone the dept of natural resources in san juan to inquire about permits (787-999-2200) no one ever answers the phone...it either rings five times and then stops ringing or there is a pause and then a busy signal...i've probably called a dozen times over the past few weekdays...does anyone here know anything about this problem and how to solve it?

Get used to things taking longer and being more difficult to do, especially if you have to deal with the government. It's been mentioned on this blog frequently that PR "is a part of the US and things are often done the same way" This is a misleading statement and it's often not true. Though PR is a territory of the US it's often talked lot in terms of being like a state. This isn't true either. They have their own way of running the government and their own ways of doing things. Not saying this is good or bad, but if you are considering living there you need to understand about some of the adjustments you will need to make and learn to live with them. But you can't beat the weather there. The whole time I lived in PR I wore nothing but shorts, sandals(chanclas) and t- shirts. A good wide brimmed straw hat is nice to have to help protect you too. Don't forget good sunscreen, ever. You can fry up in no time if you aren't careful.

thanks, gregg...more difficult indeed!...after several days of frustration with the drna phone number, i learned it was out of order and the drna never bothered to describe this in any way!...pretty amazing...i was able to get another drna number through the pr tourism company and i used that number to get through...learned that to get camping permits in state forests you have to phone drna in san juan to reserve a site, then go to any of the six regional offices in person to fill out an application and pay a fee...then that office faxes the application to the san juan office, which processes it and faxes a permit to the regional office for the bewildered camper to use at the site...it would be hard to imagine a more onerous, bureaucratic procedure for permission to use a campsite...the national parks scheme is simpler...phone the campground to learn if a site is available...if so, go to the office there, pay a fee and set up your camp...what really amazes me is the lack of information on the internet, whether from government site in pr or from an array of travel guide sites, about what you have to do to camp...the guide sites all say you have to get permits and they offer phone numbers but they never give any details...very frustrating.

You are getting a good introduction as as to how things work, or don't work in PR. Sometimes things are even more difficult and surprisingly some things aren't difficult at all. If you end up living there just understand that the way you have been used to living your life all these years will cease to exist. But if you are patient, tolerant and understanding and keep an open mind, you can have a chance to make it work. PR's tourism slogan "Puerto Rico Does it Better" never seemed to make much sense to me. Always remember that you are living among people of a different culture. What they do or don't do may not always make sense to you, but it's still their culture so adjust as best you can.

Always remember that you are living among people of a different culture. What they do or don't do may not always make sense to you, but it's still their culture so adjust as best you can.

Gregg,
Is that the old, "When in Rome..." canard?
After reading these posts and listening to the advice and comments, I've begun to appreciate just that. To the natives, these type of things are the only thing they've known and that's the norm.  What's the other saying, "like it or lump it"?

Tim, I appreciate your looking into this as I had wondered myself how to go about spending some time outdoors in the parks there. I either want to tent it for a few days or bring down a camper, if I can ever figure out how much to budget for the importation tax.

doc,
one thing i learned about camping permits from the drna...you cannot get them at the humacao regional office...this is really inconvenient for me because i had planned to go to that southeastern region office and get permits for five or six days camping at various state forest campgrounds on an east-to-west trip along the ruta panoramica...now i have to physically go either to the san juan main office or the guayama regional office to make those arrangements...those are the only two offices to do so in the entire eastern half of the island...i continue to be amazed by how onerous the camping permit process is...it requires a lot of persistent effort to learn how to navigate it...the entire process could be done by phone and/or online!

I would be very cautious about camping in Puerto Rico.  This is a very poor island and there are folks who will do anything for $6.

Bottom line is that you should always take precautions.  This isn't the mainland.  It is extremely beautiful, but unless you are a local or know your way around you should keep to tourist areas and retain some sense of security around you, imho.

labochinchosa,
i appreciate your cautionary message but i have to roll the dice somewhat, given that the "tourist areas" do not appeal to me wherever i travel...i camped a couple days at balneario sun bay on vieques, which was fantastic, and next i'm headed for four days of mountain camping in forests along the ruta panoramica...i'll also be camping along the west coast and the north coast...throwing in a fair number of nights at inns as well.