New Year, New Adventure - Part 2 of 5
Highway 52 crosses the mountainous center of the island, connecting San Juan with the south.
The next outing on Puerto Rico was a day trip across the island to the Pearl of the South. We departed right after breakfast and got our first taste of San Juan rush hour traffic. Since we were going against most of it, it dissipated by the time we climbed the first hill on the toll freeway heading away from the city. On the north side of the mountains we drove through rain showers and saw frequent settlements along the way. Cresting the east-west ridge, clouds shrouded the rugged peaks on either side, and the signs of human habitation decreased significantly. Descending out of the mist, the Caribbean Sea appeared on the horizon. The land became more arid, and the jungle gave way to scrub. The Captain and I were strongly reminded of southern California.
On the down grade of Highway 52. The coastal plain and the Caribbean are visible in the distance.
After a couple hours drive, we rolled into Ponce. An old agricultural and trade city dating to 1630, it is worlds different from the high speed hustle and bustle of San Juan. It has its share of suburban sprawl, but everything moves at a much slower pace. If you go south of the mountains, don’t expect modern 5G living. It just isn’t what they do.
Our first stop was the town center. Arranged in a typical square, with the church at the center and the old colonial administrative building opposite, Ponce has a slight variation. The church shares the square with the Parque de Bombas. An odd looking building that used to be a fire house, and now serves as a quaint fire fighting museum. It is said to be the most recognizable building on the island. Once I laid eyes on it, I couldn’t really disagree. We toured the museum and the town square, wandered off the main streets, and took in the feel of the place. As it was the day before a seriously big holiday, the folks we saw were engaged in preparations for the big party.
The Catedral Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe. Built in 1931, it is the most recent in a long line of churches stretching back to 1660 that were lost to disasters.
Built for a commerce and agriculture exhibition in 1883, when the show was over, it became the firehouse.
Unlike Old San Juan and its cats, Ponce and the surrounding country is mostly dog territory.
Once we were satisfied that old Ponce was what it looked like, we rolled up the hill to El Vigia and the Museo Castillo Seralles. These two attractions are sold as pair, but they aren’t exactly a matched set, or even like peanut butter and chocolate. El Vigia is a massive concrete cross-shaped observation platform with a parking lot and a traditional Japanese garden at the bottom. A glass elevator takes visitors up to the crossbeam observation deck, where the mountains, coastal plain and town are laid out for viewing. The Japanese garden is nicely executed, but a little out of place in the heart of the former Spanish empire. Behind the complex, further up the hill is an incomplete attempt at a high-rise hotel/apartment building. Deteriorating at the edge of the mountain jungle, it looks like an apartment block from a Ukrainian city that has been shelled by Russians. The second part of the tourism duo is the mansion built during the Great Depression by a Spanish planter who made his money growing sugarcane in the surrounding country. It is a fantastic setting for a home with well executed construction. Like so many massive homes, it turned into a white elephant for the descendants when the sugar market collapsed. After the last resident family member died, it was sold to the city. It is now a museum and a rental venue. If you’re getting married in Ponce, it is worth considering for the reception.
The Japanese garden and the cross.
Museo Castillo Seralles as seen from the glass elevator.
Finding food in Ponce wasn’t hard, and we elected to combine it with a trip down to the harbor. We ended up at Bahia’s Restaurant, right on the beach. It was a sleepy afternoon, and we were a quarter of the customers present in the establishment. What with the big shindig coming the next day, that wasn’t surprising. The food was good. The price was right, and they had The Captain’s beverage of choice. Winning all around.
The mid-afternoon excursion took us to the harbor park. Guess what we found there? A lot of folks prepping for the next day’s holiday. We parked the car and wandered the beach. A lot of the stalls were already up and running, so we checked out the offerings. We came away with a couple of sodas for the next leg of the journey and the solid impression that these folks like a good party.
Highway 1 took us east across the coastal plain. We encountered numerous roadside stands selling everything from plantains to pigs. As far as the eye could see there were fields under cultivation. This was clearly the ‘country’ side of the island. At the end of the road was the yacht marina town of Playa de Salinas. There were loads of little concrete bungalows wedged in among each other and businesses serving the boat owners out in the bay. From what we could see of the bay, it didn’t look much like a tropical paradise destination. We could be wrong about that, but there was no obvious attraction for us, so we moved on.
The drive home was a memorable event. We made our way back to the toll freeway, with a few wrong turns, and got rolling up hill on 52. About half way over the mountains, we decided a rest stop was in order. After passing a toll plaza, we pulled off at an exit with an advertised gas station. The place was packed with folks stocking up on gasoline and Medalla beer for the weekend. After waiting a while to get a parking place, we were disappointed to find the restroom was inoperative. Great. I circled around the local area looking for any other business, but there was nothing open. We found our way back to the on-ramp, at the incoming side of the toll plaza, and saw there were public restrooms on the far side of the plaza operations buiding. Shazam! I pulled up to the collection booth and rolled down the window. The lady inside looked at me and knew. She said, “This is a rental, right?” I nodded, and she waived us through to the parking area.
Problems solved, we recrossed the mountains and descended into the craziness of San Juan. Traffic was backing up and my desire to drive in it was diminishing, so I suggest to The Captain that we might check out the Mall of San Juan before returning to the hotel. She agreed and we diverted off the freeway. The place was busy, but it was an entertaining diversion. We wandered around, checking out the selection shops, and watching the kids lined up to get a photo with the Magi. Eventually we decided to end our day’s adventure by getting dinner at one of the restaurants before returning to home base. We hung out on the establishment’s outdoor patio, people watching until the mall closed, and then finally headed back to the hotel.
The Three Wise Men set up for photos in the center of the Mall of San Juan. Did I mention the it’s a big deal?