Northeast Puerto Rico (Cont'd)

Northeast Puerto Rico (Cont'd)



On my last blog entry I left you off with a view of some visits along the northeastern Puerto Rican coast. I pick up where I left off on my last entry with another dedicated visit to Old San Juan which is also located towards the northeastern coast. Without offering a great deal of history on this entry - hey, that's what Wikipedia is great for - I think it is worth mentioning that the history of Old San Juan dates back to the early 1500s and is aptly named after Saint John the Baptist. Along with many great stories of Spanish settlements here, the images I collected during our tour of the city speak to the terrific architectural sights that await any visiting tourist. Old San Juan is truly "another time and another place" to the outsider. Without flying to Spain you might feel like you are in another country being in the heart of this city. If the architectural appearance of the surrounding buildings, signage, or vistas don't take you to another world, the culture present surely will.


The city's interior streets - barely wide enough for a single vehicle to navigate - often make for a challenging navigational experience for almost any driver. Forget paved blacktop roads. You know you are in Old San Juan when you hear that constant rumble entering the cabin of your vehicle. The bluish purple brick roads have accommodated many a vehicle during its test of time. Some areas of the road are uneven. Potholes, surprisingly enough, are seemingly non-existent anywhere where you drive over the brick covered roads. I didn't say they were smooth to roll over, but at least you don't stand to lose an axle in a 3 foot deep pothole often found in modern roads.


Our visit to Old San Juan was often limited by - you guessed it - rain. Most of our day was grey and overcast. When we could we took some time to stroll through the streets and dart in and out of small gift shops. Thankfully, the late afternoon to evening yielded much better weather. Breaks in the cloud cover offered some glimpses of blue sky mixed with bright sunlight. One of our stops included "El Parque de las Palomas" or "Pigeon's Park" for you non-Spanish speaking folks. This is a park - you guessed it again - full of pigeons which offers terrific views of the harbor, city, and mountains. The park's unique charm is the frantic scattering of pigeons. They live in the city walls, trees throughout the small park, building ledges, and scramble for bits of pigeon food sold just inside the gates. The birds, who are very conditioned to being fed, often scramble to steal from anyone who possess a handful of feed. If you stand with an outstretched palm of food expected to have a flock of birds land on your head, arms, shoulders, and anywhere else where they can perch and grab a bite. Nowhere else in Old San Juan is there such a concentration of pigeons. Why else would you live any other place if there was free food constantly being given away in one place?




Our day's visit also consisted stops at a local convalescence chapel, the governer's house, "la fortaleza" (spanish fort), and a tour via trolley throughout the city. Our day ended with extremely favorable weather. I managed to get a great set of sunset photos at the port (picture above) amongst many others. For an up to date view of photos from my trip, be sure and check out my Photo.net gallery (under "Links" above).

More updates to come as I wrap up my visit to Puerto Rico. It's been an outstanding vacation full of relaxation, eating, drinking, photography, quality time with mom, and a well needed escape into another world.

Take care. See you soon. - Eugenio

Destination Northeast Puerto Rico, Days 4&5

Destination Northeast Puerto Rico - Days 4 & 5


Yesterday (Wed 11/21) wrapped up our tour of the sights closest to the town where my mother lives. The first several days of my visit consists of several brief stops including Luquillo Beach, Loiza, Piñones, Caguas, Las Croabas, Fajardo, Humacao, Patillas, Cayey, and two days in Old San Juan in addition to other smaller towns inbetween. The weather has been hit and miss with many grey overcast days and small rain showers. The dreary conditions make for less than desirable images, especially anyplace where there is a coastal view.

The map above represents the area covered to date. Today (Thurs 11/22) is Thanksgiving and our day of rest. Tomorrow we hit the road again for a 3 nights stay throughout smaller cities scattered on the west and southwestern coastline. I hope to visit historic towns, pristine beaches, and most importantly, pray for great weather.



By Spanish design, almost every small city in Puerto Rico has a small plaza located directly in the center of town. Fountains, elaborate landscapes, and park benches are typical. Here you will also find small businesses, restaurants, and local government offices.








Museo Casa Cantiño


















(Above, Left) This small beach town resort, also know as "paradores", are scattered across the island. A single night's stay is incredibly affordable at prices starting at $79 and up. (Above, Right) Across the street from the small resort is a public beach access park. The palm trees here a rooted within a few feet of the water's edge. Go to your favorite search engine and type "paradores" for more info and photos.














(Above) "Palm Tree Forest" - I don't know that I've ever seen a forest so densely populated with palm trees, so I took a photo.













(Above) "El Nuevo Horizante" Bar & Grill offers spectacular views and a perfect balcony to hurl from if you had one too many mojitos or cans of Medalla beer.



(Above) This corner neighborhood bar was once a grocery store in the mid 1920s. While visiting friends of my mother's, we hung out on the corner just outside of this little bar. The establishment is locally operated. On the weekends, neighbors bring meats and veggies and make a giant pot of soup and rice. Everyone pitches in and spends a Friday or Saturday eating and drinking in the street on this corner. If you look closely in the upper righthand window, there is a large speaker playing the best of local salsa music. With enough festive and alcoholic spirits, dancing often ensues in the streets.

(PHOTOS & TEXT CONTINUED ON NEXT ENTRY)

More Island Views - Day 3

Welcome back and thanks for stopping by again. I am making a tremendous effort to stay on top of my vacation photos selecting only the best from our daily excursions. For those of you that pop in every month or so, please check back daily as I have had plenty of time in the evenings to settle in and post some new images.

More Island Views - Day 3


"La Pared" Surf & Boogie Boarding HotSpot - Playa Luquillo, PR.

For local surfers, "La Pared" - or "The Wall" - is a favorite destination for catching a wave. We arrived at this beach closer to the evening yesterday shortly after sunset and I only had a few opportunities to take a few non-blurry photos. I look forward to coming back here during the daytime so that I can actually enjoy the water and catch a tan...or, sunburn on this white skin of mine.


Just a day or two ago I spotted my first iguana roaming in a local neighborhood and was thrilled to have a chance to photograph it from a distance. Yesterday, while bringing some things to the car in preparation to head out, I was fortunate to spot one lounging up in a palm tree on the outside wall near the entrances to the condominium complex. I took several photos from a distance, and once satisfied, moved in closer to see if I could actually get some closeups. Sure enough, this green reptile must have had enough confidence in its camoflauge to stay in defensive mode. After a few close shots, I let it be and went about my day.

Along our daily drive my mother and her good friend Hector took us high up in the mountains bordering Ceiba and Fajardo. As you can see by the proximity of the condos to the sea, she chose a wonderful place to retire. Her building offers a view to the mountains and to the Carribean on the northeast side of the island.




I photographed this neighborhood from the same mountainside we traveled on. This particular arrangement of homes is typical as are the varied bright colors. Homes have flat rooftops for storing large water tanks that serve as reservoirs whenever there are issues with city water and most every home I have seen has white or black iron window and doorway treatments. This serves as both a simple method of securing a house, but is also a typical adornment for island living. In the upper righthand corner of this picture is someone's property comlete with a few goats and sheep.


"Chalko Frio", or "Cold Stream", is a favorite off-the-beaten path for locals to swim and cool off. This particular stream is fed from the mountains of "El Yunque" which is a national rain forest. Just ahead from where I took this photo is a small park where people gather to barbecue and enjoy the stream.



This is a view of the river rocks from above. I hopped out of the car on the bridge and took several photos from this vantage point.





"Pepo el Caballo" - This is Pepo, my mother's friend Hector's horse. Pepo is kept in a small field along with another horse on the mountainside. The grass is always green for these animals and they always have a small creek to drink from.





"Marina Croabas"







Much of the coastline that I have seen is littered with small restaurants, businesses, or outposts for fresh seafood such as this one. I don't know whether they actually cook anything in this little building, but since they are near a dock I would assume it's a fisherman's storefront for selling the fresh catch of the day.

Puerto Rico, Day 2

Puerto Rico, Day 2



To any displaced Puerto Rican living anywhere but here, this image should conjure some wonderful memories. Mmm...a typical dish complete with "arroz con gandules", roast pork, macaroni salad, and a side of plantains with garlic and onion.


My first iguana spotting! Apparently, this is a smaller sized iguana compared to what's out there. Iguanas aren't native to Puerto Rico, but apparently were brought onto the island by locals who would later release their pets into the wild.


A Puerto Rican doorbell...seriously!


Plumeria, a flower commonly found in Hawaii, can be found all over the island of Puerto Rico.


Dusk begins to fall. I took this photo from the front yard of one of my mother's relative's house.


Night falls quickly. We drove to the nearby beach in Loiza for a view of late dusk on the beach. Looks like a Corona commericial!.


"Centro de Convenciones, San Juan" - Convention Center. In the evenings, they offer a fountain and light show coreographed to local music.


Night is upon the city. Check back later this week or maybe even tomorrow. We're getting out and seeing A LOT of neat places!

"Todo Puerto Rico!"

"Todo Puerto Rico!" My Vacation Begins.



Today begins a 2 week long vacation that is a few years in the making. I came to Puerto Rico to visit my mother, to find rest, some serious relaxation, and of course, the opportunity to photograph an island whose culture is very much different from that of North Carolina...very different.



This journey begins in the small town of Piñones which is compressed into small villages full of side-of-the-road kiskos offering good eats, locally known as "frituras", or fried foods. This town colorfully illustrates the Caribbean with its brightly colored homes, aqua marine beaches, and the local residents.




Our next stop on the day's tour path was Old San Juan. Our primary reason to visit was to tour the Bacardi factory - a place sure to erase old memories with its fruitful rum blends and relaxing dark concoctions. Along the way I spotted a surf shop, and on one of our stops, had the fortunate opportunity to photograph a local who performed a tree climbing coconut retrieval stunt especially for my camera.





We walked Old San Juan on foot and found a nice restaurant to sit and dine on some local food. I ate a mixture of a mashed up green plantain dish seasoned with onion and garlic and some tender chunks of fried pork. This is referred to as "mofongo." Mmm...After dinner, we strolled back to parking lot for a long ride back to my mother's house. We spent some time visiting my grandmother who conveniently is about a mile just down the hillside from where my mother's condo is.






In 2 weeks time I will have to return home where I have a beautiful wife to greet me and no longer have an employer to report to whenever a Monday rolls around. Finding work, at least for now, is the last thing on mind; however, not having my lifelong companion to take in these moments with me is. She will visit someday.

Check back in a few days where I should have some great new photos from other areas of the island. Thanks all. - Eugenio

Black Widow for Halloween

Black Widow for Halloween

Today, October 31st, coincides with my first ever spotting of a black widow spider. While pacing along the courtyard in the back of our office today, I noticed this familiar spider resting in a web spun inbetween electrical conduits. Fortunately, my manager was toting her "Easy Share" point and shoot camera which I quickly put to work. Today's calendar date marks the 2 weeks remaining before the closing of our office and the loss of my employer. I consider the fortuity of today's events symbolic. Much like the painful bite of this sinister arachnid, counting the days until I enter the vast unknown and diminishing wherewithal to sustain a normal quality of life shall prove to be equally as harrowing.



I look forward to this evening's spook festivities, where for the first time since I was a kid, I will display some evil jack-o-lanterns carved from pulpy pumpkins. Our yard will feature some creepy delights and my parading in a freakishly delightful skeleton costume. I am relieved. For once, I can release my inner fears on others on this great night of "All Hallows' Day Eve." Trick or Treat. See you soon.

Beautiful Bride

Beautiful Bride

“You don't love a woman because she is beautiful, but she is beautiful because you love her.” - Author Unknown