'The whole island is surrounded by water'

To prepare for my trip to Puerto Rico, I've watched hundreds of hours of Youtube videos.

Most of them can be categorized as:

-Influencer videos
-Documentary or informational videos
-Walking tour videos

The worst and least helpful are the influencer videos. These videos aim to waste your time by promoting the travelling host rather than the destination. They're overdubbed with loud, royalty-free music. We're implored to subscribe and to "smash" the like button. The indoor settings are usually expensive hotel rooms and cocktail bars, while the outdoor parts show the content creators engaged in extreme sports or various cultural indiscretions.

The best of the documentary-style videos tend to give a general overview of the destination, covering the history, geography, and culture. Some of these videos take a turn for the niche, focusing on only one aspect of the place, like street food, amusement parks or beaches. Then there are the banal "Top 10" videos made for viewers with atrophied attention spans. Most offensive among this category is a variation of the "Top ten". These are the videos that list the reasons why you shouldn't visit. This is where you'll find the privileged host complaining about impoverished  people, low thread-count sheets, tipping customs and poor cell service at the north pole.

The walking tour videos are normally the longest in duration, but seem most insightful. These videos feature a host walking the streets with running narration. They give a good impression of the atmosphere and character of the destination. Often these will show the host interacting with locals, chatting, shopping and enjoying attractions. I feel like these videos give the best impression of what it's like to be there.

This weekend I watched a walking tour video where the host unironically informs the viewer, "The whole island is surrounded by water". 

Good to know.

As far as practical preparations for the trip, I think I'm mostly ready.

Puerto Rico this week lifted the requirement for a negative covid-19 test for anyone who's fully vaccinated. The Puerto Rican government still requires visitors to complete a declaration of health status, so I've done that. They'll check in each day of our visit with an electronic health survey. Overall, the people and government of Puerto Rico seem to be taking the pandemic more seriously than here on the mainland.