Beautiful Places

Well, here we are in beautiful Dorado, Puerto Rico. The sky was gorgeous, as were the various sections of the water in the ocean. We could see clear to the ocean floor since it was so clear and clean. Titi Cuchi took us out for a day at Luquillo Beach, which is a gorgeous and famous recreation place on the island. I think it was the most beautiful beach I had ever visited.

Later that night, our cousin Linda took us into Viejo (Old) San Juan to look at the sights. The streets were fairly quiet since it was mid-week. A few people were out doing minor shopping, lovers were in the plazas talking quietly on park benches, and tourists were winding down and walking back to their hotels.

This is the major cathedral in Viejo San Juan. Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony were married here. It seemed to be a lovely stop on a breezy, warm night.

Linda took us out to El Morro, the fort built by the Spaniards that walled in most of San Juan back in the late 1400s and early 1500s. This fort was manned by Allied soldiers during World War II, as they kept a lookout for the Japanese and Germans. When we got there, the wind was howling up off the beach and we were hit by huge raindrops at great velocity. It felt wild and untamed there that night.

Here we are in La Plaza de Delicias (The Delicious Plaza) in Ponce, in the South central area of the island. Apparently, to say something is delicious is like saying that it is delightful. We loved watching the blackbirds bathing in the fountain behind us.

This is the cathedral in Ponce. A lovely building, not unlike other cathedrals on the island.

This is the old firehouse in Ponce, built by the Spaniards. It has been maintained for over 200 years and was used for many years until it became a tourist stop in the 50s. It houses the old fire rescue vehicles. It also has a number of the hideous masks (below). I believe that these kind of masks were first created by the African slaves that were taken to Puerto Rico to work in the sugar cane fields. Their native religions were melded with traditional Puerto Rican indian religious ideas, and these masks were one of many results. It looks frightening, doesn't it?

Here is the fountain and cathedral in Mayaguez, on the West of the island. We enjoyed an evening there sampling maiz (corn) and guanabana ice cream at an ice cream shop just down the street. The plaza gave us a wonderful place to relax and watch other people come and go. Families came out and mingled with other people from the neighorhood, lovers met, and children slipped their hands into the fountain. It was a balmy and warm night with a nice breeze--just perfect weather.

We went from Mayaguez over to the city of St. German (pronounced, "Hermann"). This is the home of the very famous Porto Coeli--Window of Heaven--cathedral. It is the second oldest church in the Western Hemisphere and was built in 1606. In 1949 the church gave permission for it to become an art museum. The view above is from the steps of the church. The house on the right belongs to a cousin of my mother-in-law's family. The church with the original ruins at the left of the building are shown below.

When my mother-in-law was alive and when Sam was small, she used to tell him that he needed to one day visit Puerto Rico because it was a place where it rains when the sun shines. Sure enough--here is the sky over Vega Baja, right after a downpour.

This is what I think is one of the nicest verandas I saw in Puerto Rico, at our cousin's home in Vega Baja (which people there pronounce, "Begha baha"). I spend some lovely, restful time on this veranda. It is situated at such an angle that it catches the breeze from both sides and creates a cool, comfortable rest area in the house.

We ended up having a red snapper lunch with Tio Freddie on la Isla de Cabras (Island of the Goats) that is a thin peninsula that looks across at the ocean to El Morro in Old San Juan. It is a beautiful, beautiful place.