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| Fruit and flower of the cannon-ball tree |
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| Chris at the base of the large Panama canoe tree |
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| Colorful but crooked building on the Boqueron waterfront |
Mayagüez is the third largest city in Puerto Rico, and quite interesting. We walked all over the downtown area, including through the university campus there, which was very pretty, with all kinds of tropical foliage and trees, including the tallest palm I’ve ever seen. Next door was the U.S.D.A. Tropical Research Station, which had hundreds of trees and shrubs labeled with species and origin. Some of our favorites were the cannon-ball tree, with its namesake fruit, looking and feeling just like cannon balls, hanging from vines and littering the ground; and the Panama canoe tree, which was straight and broad and tall, branching out only way overhead. Boquerón is a small vacation town to the south of Mayagüez, where the university students come to party on weekends. And party they do; the music plays all day and most of the night, loudly. But it’s a fun atmosphere, and you could get an empanadilla (meat pie) for $1.88 and a Medalla (the local beer) for $1.25; where there are students, there’s cheap food and drink. We also met up with our friends Steve and Lynn on Celebration, who had just arrived from the Turks and Caicos. We hadn’t seen them since November, so we had a fun reunion.
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| The Bacardi bat creeping along the sand toward an unsuspecting Boqueron beach goer, looking to suck a little rum-laden blood |
Lynn and I wandered through a large, seaside cemetery in Old San Juan that looked like a miniature city from a distance. It was full of beautifully carved monuments. They were quite detailed, and by far the most popular motif was angels. Most were female, though there was one Archangel Michael in full armor.
OK, this is a place I’d like to stay for a few days. Along with Steve and Lynn, our friends on Celebration, we rented a car and drove up to Old San Juan, which is full of cute hotels, interesting-looking bars and restaurants, narrow roads pave with blue bricks, colorful buildings, and lots of history, all within easy walking distance. The city was built around El Morro, the fortress that guards the entrance to San Juan Harbor. The fortress is wonderfully restored, and the exhibits provide a great overview of the importance of Puerto Rico to sailing ships traversing the ocean between Europe and the Americas. You may recognize the distinctive shape of the watch towers, or garitas, suspended from the fortress walls; they are the emblem of Old San Juan. We walked until we were hot and tired, then sat in the shade and feasted on various tapas for lunch. Later on, we refreshed ourselves with a tour and libations at the Bacardi rum distillery. A long day, but worth it.
Whereas in the United States, display models are all little skinny things, here in Puerto Rico, they’re shaped much more like the actual women you see on the street.
