I have absolutely no idea how my husband wore a) black and b) pants not shorts for the majority of the trip...and especially in southern Puerto Rico where the temperatures are a good deal warmer than elsewhere on the island. This man is doing a capsule wardrobe like a champ and he doesn't even know what that is. Also notice that he stole my hat again...
Anyhow, here are some of the adventures we had in Ponce and Guanica.
My favorite bird in the world - the brown pelican! I was obsessed with pterodactyls when I was a kid and then I found out that the pelicans I loved to watch fly over the Georgia coast were very much like those dinosaurs. Omg.
Giant Cretaceous pterodactyls belonging to the Pteranodon family had heads that were shaped like modern pelicans and pelican-like expandable lower jaws. Like pelicans, they used the plunge-diving technique to catch prey in the water. How cool is that?
And the pelican in the photo kept scooting closer and closer to me for a handout...which I did not give. I bet he would have jumped on my shoulder if I would've let him but he was too big. I wonder if he would've tried to eat my head? It's happened to someone before! What a story that would've been...
Sculpture at La Guancha which is a boardwalk in Ponce. It wasn't the weekend, which is when it becomes insanely busy, but it was still nice to walk around with a cold beer and talk to a few locals about UFO sightings on the island. Yep. That happened.
It got so hot that I wanted to do something outside of the ocean and walking around in the sun. What's a great way to putter about in the air-conditioning for a few hours and see cool stuff? MUSEUM. No malls. I hate malls. Bleh.
There was an exhibit on Queen Isabella II at the Ponce Museum of Art and it involved not only learning about her history (which I want to find out more about because that woman had a life, whoa) but also dressing up in period garb and trying your hand at shadow tracing. If you look closely you can see our outlines on the white cards Brady is holding up. Although our profiles are eerily similar now-a-days with our hair being the same length!
We were also allowed to view the only surviving Puerto Rican flag from the original three creations. It had a crazy long history of not only coming into existence but what happened afterwards and the steps that are now being made to slow its inevitable demise. Unfortunately, I can't find any information on the backstory at the moment but if I do I'll update. Short story was that the flags were made for the revolution, the revolution failed, priests hid the flags, priests died protecting flags, one flag made it to the US via a soldiers family and now it is back in Puerto Rico for a visit/research. The docent told the story so beautifully and my apologies to him for my quick and awful retelling...
I have a thing about birds (like you couldn't tell) and adore the ones in the genus Fregata. Frigate birds, or scissor birds in Puerto Rico, are huge and their outline in the sky is something to see. When were floating on our backs in the water I'd watch them swoop for hours. They are also kleptoparasites and will steal food from other creatures. I like that they are kinda the jerks of the bird world. So, I was obviously drawn to this piece of iron art at the museum...
Still in Ponce! This is the Parque de Bombas found in the Plaza las Delicias and it's one of the most iconic buildings in Ponce. It's the old fire station and the architecture is both Moorish and Victorian. So, so, so cool! I wish I could've gotten a better shot but it was lunch hour and there was no way in hell I was going to risk my life by standing in the street to get a frontal shot...
Speaking of lunch...I ate ice cream for lunch that day! King Cream has the best natural coconut ice cream I've ever had and we went back twice during our short visit to Ponce. There were old men playing dominoes in the park and I'd just slurp down ice cream while trying to learn some new strategies from them...
This is Parador Guanica 1929. It was our base hotel during our 4 days on the south part of the island. This is also where I recovered from a serious bout of food poisoning that had me rockin' and a reelin' for over 36 hours. Thank god for Puerto Rican soap operas and air-conditioning and king size beds. It still pains me a bit to look at this photo. Bad memories. Sorry Parador Guanica 1929! You were great in so many ways that I just can't appreciate right now...
Ok, I can appreciate one. Guess what they had on the grounds?
HUGE WILD IGUANAS! That thing was seriously 5 feet long. They are not indigenous and they have no natural predators (just cars and humans) so they are out. of. control. A few places we ate at were cooking them up (tastes like chicken we were told) but I said noooooo thanks. I'd rather watch them meander about...
Right before the dreaded sickness kicked in we found ourselves sitting on a bench and looking out over the bay, sipping on a beer and enjoying the breeze. Soon we'd be moving on to the west coast but we had plans to visit a few locations near us. Alas, that didn't happen due to that pesky illness but we did finally make it over to Cabo Rojo for a long day of adventure. But more on that next time!
Today I'm grateful for not having food poisoning...hehehe...
I love seeing your view of Ponce. I never made it there. I did however, spend a lot of time in Cabo Rojo (loved it!) I am glad the food sickness is just a memory now!
ReplyDeletePonce was an unexpected treat! We almost didn't go but we decided to make the trip and I'm so glad we did. So much fun! That's why I didn't have too many photos. Was way too busy taking in some of the sites/sights... :)
DeleteCan't wait to hear what you think about my Cabo Rojo post!