INTRODUCTION
SHELTER
FOOD & DRINK
TRANSPORT
TO DO
MAPS
FORVM
SEARCH
POST NEW TOPIC
Puerto Rico

The current weather in Culebra
RSS feed
New Topic  |  Go to Top  |  Go to Topic  |  Search  |  Log In Newer Topic  |  Older Topic
A/C pros and cons
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: Michael (---.ny5030.east.verizon.net)
Date:   03-02-07 10:51

The question of A/C in accommodations has come up quite a bit in the Forum.

My general opinion is against it. Why come to a (sub)tropical island just to shut myself inside a fridge?

Also they are noisy. Some have mentioned they make for perfect white noise against the roosters. True enough, but isn't that part of the experience of another place?

I much prefer slow moving ceiling fans, which use a fraction of the electricity and do a similar if not better job of cooling you down. Best option of course is to have the trade winds blow through your room!

What are your opinions?

Enjoy Culebra!

Michael
Reply To This Message
Re: A/C pros and cons
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: David Dupre (---.sea.siemens.com)
Date:   03-02-07 11:50

Amen brother Michael... Air conditioners make air-conditioned people...
By the way, this is a great forum. I like the way you stir things up from time to time... I will be camping in Culebra next week for the first time after planning to visit for several years and I feel that I have already been there based upon all of the information in this forum. Originally, I was trying to plan everything but now I think I'm just going to wing-it.

dgd
Reply To This Message
Re: A/C pros and cons
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: R. Emmett (---.maine.res.rr.com)
Date:   03-02-07 12:02

additionally, tent and/or hammock placement while at campground is important in terms of catching a breeze.....

Owlihoot2
Reply To This Message
Re: A/C pros and cons
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: Peter Bowden (---.alb.choiceone.net)
Date:   03-02-07 14:05

Sorry but listening to the roosters crowing and dogs barking all night are
not part of what I'd chose to experience. We ran the fans and the AC (fan only) to drown out that cacaphony. I live in the country and am not used
to that kind of racket. After my first sleepless night without the "white noise" of the fans I was happy to run them all night long for the rest of the week.

Sleep deprivation isn't something I'll willingly endure on vacation.

I'm sure that after a while I'd sleep right through all the the barking and crowing but I'd rather be rested each morning for the day's adventures.
Reply To This Message
Re: A/C pros and cons
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: Michael (---.ny5030.east.verizon.net)
Date:   03-02-07 16:43

Here are some stats what the US are using in terms of A/C:

http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/reps/enduse/er01_us_figs.html

What I am trying to do here is raise a little awareness. I have caught myself more than once complaining about 'development' and turning on the A/C a minute later.

On the other hand I have lived without a fridge in Culebra for years and did not miss a thing (I did go to town to have a cold beer from time to time).

And I have used ear plugs when staying in town.

Just the mere fact that we fly to Culebra makes our carbon footprint twice as big as our allocated piece. Do we need to make it even bigger?

http://www.myfootprint.org/

Enjoy Culebra!

Michael
Reply To This Message
Re: A/C pros and cons
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: richard (---.washdc.east.verizon.net)
Date:   03-02-07 18:00

David:

yes, wing-it!

AC, I can take it or leave it. One place I stayed you couldn't run it and use anything else at the same time...

I'm usu. a (quite) late sleeper, but then I find myself going to sleep so much earlier anyway so I still got a ridiculous amount of REM sleep despite the crowing.
Reply To This Message
Re: A/C pros and cons
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: Ty Watson (---.dsl.stlsmo.swbell.net)
Date:   03-07-07 16:21

We stayed at a house that had AC in the bedroom only and honestly it was nice to have that option after being in the hot sun all day. Trust me, I enjoyed being outside all day long in the warm air but after a long day of humidity it was nice to sleep in that controlled environment....also agree with the drowning out of the roosters...after a night of partying it was the most annoying thing in the world to be woken up by a rooster right outside our window.
Reply To This Message
Re: A/C pros and cons
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: will (66.50.220.---)
Date:   03-12-07 18:41

are you people nuts is this really a thread? i live down here and it gets hot as hell, get the a/c.
Reply To This Message
Re: A/C pros and cons
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: richard (---.res.east.verizon.net)
Date:   03-13-07 08:40

will:

for us in the cold states (and even the not so cold ones) the heat there is a treat (we broke 60 degrees this week here!).

I have to admit that my guilty pleasure when traveling up here is to crank the AC and pile on the blankets...

not very "green" I suppose.
Reply To This Message
Re: A/C pros and cons
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: Michael (---.ny5030.east.verizon.net)
Date:   03-13-07 13:30

Not very green indeed. Considering the resource Culebra has is itself, articles like the following might make you reconsider:

http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/what_we_do/climate_change/problems/impacts/sea_levels/index.cfm

Enjoy Culebra!

Michael
Reply To This Message
Re: A/C pros and cons
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: richard (---.washdc.east.verizon.net)
Date:   03-13-07 16:38

I don't do it all the time - my house has been at 61 all winter and the summer thermostat hovers around 80. I rarely go anywhere around here so we're talking about 4 nights a year. I don't own a car and scrupulously recycle.

So I don't feel too guilty, although I am aware my footprint is still ridiculuously large compared to say, someone in the third world.

I do wonder what the heck is going to happen, it was low tide and yet Zoni was looking narrower than I remembered last time.
Reply To This Message
Re: A/C pros and cons
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: Michael (---.ny5030.east.verizon.net)
Date:   03-13-07 16:58

We all splurge.

For my part I try to be conscious of what we as a whole are doing.

Please, do not think that I am pretending to have all or even any answers.

This is a forum and I think this is a very valid issue. A lot of people in Culebra, as well as the US, have a choice. And exercising that choice and educating oneself aout it, is what matters - IMO.

And Will, please refrain from questioning people's sanity - ;)

Enjoy Culebra!

Michael
Reply To This Message
Re: A/C pros and cons
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: Jayleen Kilgore (---.hsd1.va.comcast.net)
Date:   03-13-07 19:23

I think the fan and windows open is nice during the day but to sleep the A/C helps keep the insects & mosquitos away.
Reply To This Message
Re: A/C pros and cons
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: LA_FadeAway (---.socal.res.rr.com)
Date:   03-16-07 02:20

Our house here in Southern California doesn't even have A.C. and 95% of the time we don't miss it. We're lucky enough to live a couple miles from the beach, so the ocean breezes keep the temperature pretty nice most of the time. However, when traveling to tropical (HOT) environments we like to have A.C. at night when possible. We spent several weeks traveling without it in Costa Rica and I got eaten alive by mosquitos (those nets are a joke). I spent my entire vacation awake and itching all night long, not to mention the dogs, roosters, etc. After that trip, I've made a little more effort to have a.c. when we can, especially if it's going to be blazing hot. We really only use it to sleep though.
Reply To This Message
Re: A/C pros and cons
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: Michael (---.ny5030.east.verizon.net)
Date:   03-16-07 09:35

I feel alienated when I am in airconditioned rooms or cars. I travel because I want to go there. "There" is the climate, the (sometimes old) culture and the way people (used to) live.

In hot countries people used to take a siesta, knew what to do about mosquitoes and stayed in the shade. (I am simplifying here)

The difference between sitting in an Imax movie theater, watching the desert go by and sitting in an A/C bus looking out the window, watching the desert go by, becomes minimal.

Enjoy Culebra!

Michael
Reply To This Message
Threaded View Newer Topic  |  Older Topic