You’ll know you’ve arrived in Rincón – ‘the corner’ – when you pass the sun-grizzled gringos cruising west in their rusty 1972 Volkswagen Beetle with surfboards piled on the roof. Shoehorned in the island’s most remote corner, Rincón is Puerto Rico at its most unguarded, a place where the sunsets shimmer scarlet and you’re more likely to be called ‘dude’ than ‘sir.’ This is the island's surfing capital and one of the premiere places to catch a wave in the northern hemisphere.

For numerous Californian dreamers this is where the short-lived summer of love ended up. Arriving for the Surfing World Championships in 1968, many never went home. Hence Rincón became a haven for draft-dodgers, alternative lifestylers, back-to-the-landers and people more interested in riding the perfect wave than with bagging $100,000 a year, living in a Chicago suburb.

Rincón's town center has been revitalized recently and now boasts great bars and restaurants.