The Full Spectrum: From Black & White Bar to Wine De Vine

A friend of mine had some work to do yesterday down south, so I tagged along.  We would grab lunch and a few beers on the way back.  Sounds good to me…I always like checking out new areas and new places.  We ended up on a strange tour…a mix of the lesser known places, the newer places, the shadier places and some of the nicest places.  Confusing I know.  Let me explain.

We drove down a mile or two and I stopped at a relatively new condo community/hotel that I’ve never visited before…Hol Chan Reef Resort.

The place is big…and seemed relatively empty.  They are directly across from the Hol Chan Marine reserve.  You could see all the boats parked out there for the snorkeling and diving tours…pretty nice view.

The water down there was VERY low yesterday.  Couldn’t have been more than a few inches deep all along the dock.

Here are some of the signs I saw down in that area…

There are some pretty nice houses down in this area and quite a few empty lots for sale or for future building projects.  The road is sand, but really nicely maintained at this time of year.  Not a bad place to live…

But one of my favorite houses on the island is up the road, a bit closer to town.  How cute is this?  Casa Tulipan.

Ok…enough about real estate.  Off to lunch.  Mr. Joe’s/Lone Star Cafe is a popular joint in this area and I had never been.

The taco salad was HUGE and packed with ground beef.  Very good.

On the way back north, we stopped by a mysterious bar.  I’d seen the signs but never been in.  The Blue Heron at Royal Caribbean Resort.

Royal Caribbean Resort was a bit of a ghost town as well.  It is rows and rows of small pastel wooden casitas.

The bathroom for the bar is actually Casita #33…here is the inside.  And a rare picture of me in the mirror.

Interesting spot.  On to the next.  We decided to check out a few more unknown spots in San Pedro.   Next stop, the re-opened Pink Hotel/Hideaway…now called Hutz.  It’s a bit off the beaten path.  About 4 blocks west of Marina’s Market.  There are lots of new signs.

The bar is actually very cute.

They have a little pool, 10 little hutz for rent and a new stage for bands.

We met the new owner (or maybe it is the owner’s son) who seems like a really nice guy.  There was a good little crowd at the bar.  You might want to put this one on your list.

Off the beaten path, yes.  Let’s continue on that note…next stop?  Black And White Bar.  This is the only sign you will see from the road.

It is certainly black and white inside.  And they have a bunch of empty Belikin wrappers hanging from the ceiling.  Not sure what that is about…

Let’s be honest.  The place is a bit shady.  And there is some interesting art work and lots of blue lights.

Let’s take it a bit more upscale.  On to Caribbean Villas.  They have a great bar with a great view.

Here is the bar.  They do a HUGE BBQ on Sundays.  It’s always pretty packed.

And they have been getting pretty inventive with drinks.  This one is called “The Iceberg”…a daiquiri with a Smirnoff Ice tipped in it.  As you sip, the Smirnoff fills in.  Apparently they do a margarita/Lighthouse combo also.  Worth stopping by to check this out…

Now let’s class it up even more…

Wine De Vine has $10 Tuesdays.  And the food there, the cheese and meats, nuts and olives, are always delicious.  A very nice end to the day.

So…in the end…mix it up!  There are so many bars and restaurants on the island.  Why sip Belikins at just one all day when there are so many to explore.  You never know…that place you drove past one thousand times and never went into might be your new favorite spot.