WARNING: If you get bored silly looking at the family vacation album, this blog is NOT for you.
Since Marlow had a three day week-end, we decided we needed to get out and do some exploring. What I really need is a map of Puerto Rico, but with limited skills that isn't going to happen. We drove to Cabo Rojo, which is the Southwest corner of the island. There is a lighthouse on the point down there that we wanted to see. Just before the lighthouse we stopped at this observation station. We found out that they harvest sea salt here, and this summer will mark the 500th year of doing that.
This is the Cabo Rojo lighthouse. It is still operational and helps ships navigate through the Mona Passage from the Caribbean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean.
The road to get to the lighthouse was most interesting. It reminded me of a baja roadway, and was better suited to a dune buggy than a car. One spot was a giant mud pit, glad we didn't disappear into the bottom. This is the walkway up to the lighthouse, at least there were rocks here, the road was just dirt, and lots of holes strategically placed so there was no way to avoid them.
I was most intrigued by the spiral stairway up to the observation deck.
Once out on the deck you see the beautiful La Playuela beach. The ranger told us it was voted 3rd most beautiful secluded beach in the world. It is truly breath taking. I didn't put pictures of the stunning cliffs all around the lighthouse, so much to see.
What is ironic about this beach, is the body of water you see right behind it is bracish, and stinky, you wouldn't want to be swimming in it!
So, here is the question of the day:
When you go on a week-end get away, is every detail planned out, or do you like to fly by the seat of your pants????
After we left the beach we wandered to the place we reserved to stay in. WELL, although the internet site let us register for a room, there was no room in the inn. They had a studio room they would let us stay in which reminded me of where you put someone you don't like very well. But as Marlow said, at least it's a room.
Then, we realized the AC wasn't working, and I decided I didn't want to stay. The place was really nice about helping us find a room, but with it being a holiday week-end every place was full. They finally found a room in La Parguera, yeeee hawww!!!!
It actually worked out pretty nice since we wanted to see the bioluminescent bay. The bay is something you see at night. A boat takes you about 20 minutes. There are micro-organisms that grow in this particular bay that glow when there is movement. A diver entered the water and you could see his movements as the water glows. We had a perfect night, no moon very dark, it was really neat. The boat ride was relaxing, and it was a nice little hamlet to stay in.
The next morning we had to wait for the store to open up to check out of our room, so we drove around, and found a beautiful seaside park.
The trees grow right on the waterline, and the roots help save the beach from erosion
We saw all kinds of animal life, a lot of crabs not only in the water, but also in the soft beach. We saw several hermit crabs in the shallow water. I hope you can see the arms in the picture below. The shell was probably 3-4 inches. You could see where they had been. Very fascinating.
I love the vegetaion, I'll have to find the names of these things. It looked like a bunch of grapes.
You have to have chickens if you have a picture of Puerto Rico.
Not to disappoint anyone, Mr Iguana also showed up. As a side note, when we were walking around at the first hotel, I noticed something moving in the tree, yup, it was a HUGE Iguana on one of branches. Makes you want to check the tree foilage before walking under a tree.
Once checked out of room, we headed toward Ponce. It was a beautiful drive, but one town caught our attention. The houses on the hill were all painted so BRIGHT. We decided we wanted to get a better look. The town is
Yauco
Every "town" in PR has a town square, and you will always have a church on the town square. We are attempting to visit all the town squares in PR, and get a picture of their church. I love how beautiful the churches are.
This street will give you a taste for the bright houses we saw from the freeway.
This town is know for their banans, and coffee.
Marlow loves Ponce. This is one of the areas he served in while on his mission. We visited here 6 years ago when we celebrated our 25th wedding anniversart. It was intriguing to come back and see it again. It is a beautiful city with a rich and colorful history.
They have a beautiful town square.
And the church is stunning.
I asked a question earlier about planning week-ends. As we strolled the square they had a train trolley that took you on a tour. I thought it looked fun, and it proved a high-light of the day. The ticket cost us $2.00 per person, and I think the tour lasted 45 minutes. Gave us lots of information, and took us past many important parts of the city.
There was a big fire in Ponce January 25, 1899. Many firefighters were killed fighting the fire. In gratitude to them, houses were built for their families. It was sobering to see how many houses were on this block, each house representing a death.
This sand sculpture was built over a year ago, it was amazing to see it has lasted this long, and to see the detail in it.
The symbol of Ponce is the lion. This is the gate to the city, with a lion on either side.
We came home through the middle of the island. It is good road most of the way, but right in the middle there is a 10 mile stretch that is not for the faint of heart. Narrow, curvy road that hugs the side of the mountain. I must be getting used to the terrain, because it didn't bother me.
It seems like the summer was a total blurrrrrrr. Kyle graduated in July from Air Force basic training, and is now in San Angelo Texas. Mark and I were able to stop and visit them in their new abode while driving cross country. Hyrum totally loves his daddy.
Another fun addition to our family, is Jennie and Jon's son Ricky. I was introducing Hyrum to his cousin, and boy did I have my hands full. Hyrum thought Ricky should play with him. I hope they can have some play time when they are a little older.
We had a visitor in our backyard last week. This Iguana was over 5 feet long. They say they are pretty harmless, but I'll just stay clear of them. Can I say UGLY!!!!! these are not native to Puerto Rico, like so many things someone brought them as pets from another country, just what I want stowed in my carry on. A cute cuddly Iguana!!!
