Is this true?

It's true. It's one of a number of things you have to watch out for. Another is leptospirosis. This is a deadly disease you can get when coming in contact with something that has rat urine on it. That can be just about anything in PR. There are lots of rats there. One of my street dogs died from it. A friend's friend also died from it. Because of the heat and humidity the tropics are a hot bed for a lot of diseases and parasites. I don't think it's something that should deter you from going there. But it does fall under the category of arming yourself with as much information as possible. These are areas where blind idealism can get you in trouble.

So do people not go swimming in the lakes?  I've seen online plenty of people tubing and canyoning so people must not be too worried about it.

Don't rely on travel photos. Do your research. Look it up.

Charcoal aazul ...been there, swam there. no flesh eating bacteria....

Atabey Eco Tours   check these guys out!  GREAT RIVER TOURS. to my knowledge, no one has ever died from swimming in a running river or pool of water, including me ;-)

You can also get hit by a bus when you cross the street.....and the girl in North Carolina got a flesh eating disease when she was zip lining in NORTH CAROLINA......come'on....if you have this kind of fear you won't get up in the morning!!

I don't have the fear.  It would just be a disappointment to not be able to enjoy the freshwater swimming holes.  I grew up spoiled by the glacier lakes in WA state.  Now I live in Southern Louisiana and it's one of my complaints not being able to swim in the freshwater.  To many alligators you can't see in our brown, brown water.  I'm sure we have plenty of diseases as well with our hot and humid weather.  As they say, do as the locals do.  The locals don't really swim in the swamps down here but sounds like they do in Puerto Rico!

No alligators here.... well, there is a rumor that there are alligators in Lago Tortguera on the north coast... some idiot abandoned a mating pair there some years ago....
Check it out before you jump in...but MOST places are safe with in reason......no matter where you are, there is always a freaky risk of SOME disease.  I was bitten by a Sargent major fish the other day snorkeling off the north coast!!  GO FIGURE!!  no blood but the weirdest feeling!!  Locals in Puerto Rico also don't usually swim in the winter months either( dec. jan and Feb) that's when all the tourists are here  ;-) Make sure you go to CHARCO AZUL it's wonderful and COLD!!

Thanks, I'll check it out.  I've read about the alligators released in that lake.  It's kind of funny what some people do.  I guess someone thought they'd make good pets and realized they don't.  Imagine that.  Luckily they're not all over though some of the stuff I've read makes it sound like that lake is infested now with alligators.

You guys are talking about different things.

Places like charco azul are not man made lakes. They're natural pools of fresh water that are born up in the mountains. They tend to be safer because they're upstream from sewers and drainage pipes. And they're dangerous not necessarily because of disease or alligators but because when they become famous they get deposited with sharp beer cans and surrounded by shady men that ask you for 3 dollars to protect your car from getting vandalized by them. And those men are pretty good at doing their job. The same applies to upstream rivers and that's where you will see people tubing. The more upstream and remote the area the better off you will be.

But our man made lakes are another story. They're usually calm pools of weirdly colored water that are surrounded by mountains that drain into them the refuse of nature and civilization. So, even though you will find sightseeing spots around them and even though you can go for a boat ride in the lakes you will not find many people swimming in them. But what about fishing in those lakes? I've seen some locals do it but I honestly can't tell you how safe it is to do so. Unless you do some proper research I wouldn't risk it.

Adolfo has a good point, even if some of the CHARCOs are kind of dammed up there are also large man made things but you can tell immediately which is good and which is not....Like Lago Dos Bocas in Utuado... I wouldn't go swimming there but people do FISH (I don't eat fish anyway so i wouldn't eat it from there)  and boat.....it's a lot of fun even if you don't go swimming in the water there. don't worry there is LOTS of water adventures here and most are fine!!!

Ok. That's the 1st I've heard of  any lakes or pools that weren't manmade on the island. I guess $3 isn't too bad. Will they actually keep it safe or just break in anyway?  In most places in South America it was the same no matter where you parked. City or rural. There was always someone around. They'd actually make a show guiding you in and out of your parking space like you couldn't see without them. Always had to have a couple coins in your pocket. .

REMEMBER: this IS the USA!  but it's no different here than in Manhattan: a tourist is a tourist and fair game.

Nobody is saying that you shouldn't go swimming or enjoy water sports in Puerto Rico. All I'm saying is that if you are considering living there you should be responsible with learning any health issues and risks that are indemic to the area. Just because somebody doesn't get something doesn't mean it won't happen to you. It's nothing to be flippant about. Bhilharzia has very serious ramifications if you are unfortunate enough to contract the parasite. It is prevalent throughout the Caribbean. Probably no one on this blog has gotten Dengue but that doesn't mean you or anybody else couldn't get it at any time. It's there and people are getting it in epidemic proportions. Another thing to watch out for is Ciguatera. It's a toxin you can get from eating Grouper, Red Snapper, Barracuda and Eel. The symptoms will mimic food poisoning. If you eat the local fish and live there long enough chances are you will have an encounter with it. Should you stop eating fish? No. Just educate yourself so you can deal with life a little smarter and hopefully healthier. And by the way WMW, Bhilharzia is not a flesh eating bacteria. It's a parasite that can do some very nasty things to your internal organs. It's like when I moved to Florida. They have no poisonous snakes in PR. They sure do here. So I educate myself in knowing where they live and how to identify them and avoid them. It's simple. My Son lives here. Just because he's never been bitten doesn't mean I won't unless I take certain precautions.

podarkey wrote:

Ok. That's the 1st I've heard of  any lakes or pools that weren't manmade on the island.

The natural ones are pools, creeks, and streams. Don't expect anything of any significant size that isn't man made.

podarkey wrote:

Will they actually keep it safe or just break in anyway?

I've paid those 3 dollars many times in many different places and my car has never gotten broken into by those people. (Your mileage may vary.) But then again, I've never left anything of value in a visible spot inside of the car. I am willing to bet that if they saw a camera or a laptop they would rather break their contract and take it than to continue charging the extortion fee in that same spot for the next few hours. I've paid those 3 dollars at the beach, at some Fiestas Patronales and even in Old San Juan. I even saw a guy who was drugged out of his mind charging an entry fee at an abandoned public beach while pretending to be a government employee.

And GreggK is correct about those tropical diseases existing on the island. They are very real if not ubiquitous. Just remember to use common sense and to err on the side of caution. But that applies to just about everywhere, I know a guy who got Lyme disease when he traveled to the US mainland.

Well, I did have dengue as did many of my friends; some had to be hospitalized for it. I also have a girlfriend who contracted lyme disease in her back yard which was misdiagnosed (in connecticut by the way! ) and she now has it chronically.  I also got major food poisoning from a tomato in the DR....hey, you are going to get something sometime!

We have all gotten "stuff" and we will all continue to get different things throughout out lives, no matter where we live. It's not the point. Learning about these things is just as important as learning what the job situation is or how the economy is when moving to a place like PR. My question to you WMW is why is it that you have taken it upon yourself to try and minimize just about all of my comments and make them irrelevant? All I'm doing is trying to give a poster a valid and informative answer to a question. My wife had a cousin that died from Bhilharzia.

I am a glass half full person.....that's my opinion! That's the way I live....nothing against anyone....just always sad when people don't take the time to see the good first!

GreggK wrote:

My question to you WMW is why is it that you have taken it upon yourself to try and minimize just about all of my comments and make them irrelevant? All I'm doing is trying to give a poster a valid and informative answer to a question. My wife had a cousin that died from Bhilharzia.

WMW is minimizing your comments about Bilharzia because she probably understands that Bilharzia infections in Puerto Rico are so low that they're statistically insignificant. And research supports that statement.

The Rise and Fall of Bilharzia in Puerto Rico: http://prhsj.rcm.upr.edu/index.php/prhs … ew/358/238

Bilharzia infections were a problem in Puerto Rico during the first half of the 20th century but in 2012 you're more likely to die on the island from dengue or even from obesity.

I understand that Ciguatera is more common, but that's a condition that you get from consuming contaminated fish, which is not the subject of this discussion.

Thanks for the clarification, Adolfo!! Gracia!muy agradicido!

We're moving WHERE? wrote:

REMEMBER: this IS the USA!  but it's no different here than in Manhattan: a tourist is a tourist and fair game.

Or a gringo is fair game even if they live there.  I'm not worried.

Greg, I didn't think anyone was telling me not to go swimming. I do a lot of research when I move around.  These forums help point me in a direction. I'm not one to worry but I like to know what's out there. Thanks for the info everyone.

Adolfo, You are assuming that WMW even knows anything about Bilharzia. That may or may not be true. I don't know and neither do you. My initial answer simply confirmed that it exists. Nothing was ever said of it being widespread or a problem. I then went on to mention something else that one could encounter because it is relevant in the respect that there is more than one thing out there to look out for. This is useful information for people who have never been to PR. To which an immature comment was made about not having come in contact with any flesh eating bacteria. This has been the pattern with WMW ever since I have been posting on this blog. People who come to PR make life changing decisions. It's paramount to dispense useful information when possible. It's not all fun and games like some people make it out to be. And it's not all bad either. For most people it's usually somewhere in the middle. Like I said, I knew somebody that did die from it and it didn't happen in the early part of the 20th century. I've known people who have died in car accidents but it doesn't mean it will happen to any of us. And talking about people charging $3 to watch your car has even less to do with this subject.