HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — For the past three years, ‘The Dining Traveler’ blogger Jessica Van Dop De Jesus has been working on something very near and dear to her heart.
“I noticed that there was a lot of stories about Puerto Rico but they weren’t written by Puerto Ricans,” she said.
- Puerto Rican travel blogger writes book highlighting the island
- Book called 'The Dining Traveler Guide to Puerto Rico'
- Book represents eight different regions of the island
She just finished writing ‘The Dining Traveler Guide to Puerto Rico’.
“I partnered with a Venezuelan journalist called Itado Morales and we traveled for 5 weeks around Puerto Rico,” she said.
The book is divided into eight different sections, each representing a different region of the island.
Each section highlights different Puerto Rican restaurants and the stories behind the people that make the cuisine.
Then, Hurricane Maria hit right before the book was originally supposed to be published.
“There were some places that were featured in the book that are closed unfortunately or still planning to reopen but for me it was really important to see and tell the human part,” she said.
She hopes this project will help the island continue to grow post-Maria.
“After the hurricane I saw some really interesting things that were happening culinary wise, people that were returning to the island bringing some fresh new ideas, and in my opinion, it’s one of the best times for a visitor to go back to the island to explore it,” she said.
You can purchase a copy of the book here.
