Video Part 2– 50th San Blas Marathon Runners
This final video is an edit of about 2 hours of runners down to 40 minutes. That 40 minutes was compressed to fit in about 14 minutes so the runners really scramble by.
At 14 mins 17 secs it is still the longest one I’ve produced to date.
I used some of the same ‘free’ music as in Part 1 to save editing time. My first attempt at uploading (12.5 hours) a 2.16 GB file ended with it ‘hanging’ at 86% complete. This required starting over so I resampled it to just under 1 GB and it uploaded just fine. Because of how long they take to upload, I do these at night… Continue reading
Video Part 1– Parade of 50th San Blas Marathon
Once I started editing the video, I realized I had too much stuff.
So I split it into two. This first one is about the traffic and activity near the 15th Kilometer mark on Highway 150, prior to the Marathon run. 8 minutes, 29 seconds run time. It has an upbeat music score too! Shot using me trusty VadoHD from a good tripod. The runners will get their own video in a few more days… then I’ll finally be done with it all. WHEW!!
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50th San Blas Half Marathon of Coamo
The party of the decade! Or… Why stay in San Juan when you can be here, the center of the Universe?
This was my 3rd San Blas Marathon.
The 1st post in 2010 featured a lot of photos and a video of the runners going by from a fixed vantage point. the 2nd post in 2011 featured tons more shots, a map of the route and a video of the route shot from the roof of my SUV. It turned out to be very popular on Youtube.
It gives you a real sense of how big the ‘all day’ party is.
This year’s 50th Anniversary post will feature tons more photos and video of each… Continue reading
Coamo’s Patron Saints Festival 2012
I took the opportunity this year to check out the local ‘Fiestas Patronales 2012′ on Saturday. It was staged this year on the plaza of Coamo. It’s a prelude to the San Blas Half Marathon, this coming weekend. In fact, this will be the 50th anniversary of the Marathon. I expect it to be a major ‘blow-out’.
Coamo has been getting ready for the 50th Annual Marathon since last year’s marathon ended. They have even painted new 50th Anniversary kilometer markers in the road.
As I’ve harped on before about Puerto Rico’s obsession with Christmas, the partying in Coamo will not stop until after the Marathon concludes next Sunday. In fact, Coamo has… Continue reading
Christmas in Puerto Rico and Fireworks too
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I’m not exaggerating when I say the Season starts the day after Thanksgiving (Black Friday) and does not end until the day after Three Kings Day on January 6th. I have a small post I did about Black Friday too.. it’s as crazy here as it is on the mainland. Here’s a link to it.
The reason for the long celebration stems from the fact that as a predominantly Spanish speaking Catholic state, the main event was/is Three Kings Day. It has been celebrated in Puerto Rico since the beginning of Spanish rule. Children would leave food for camels (dried grass) in a box, under their beds at night and then wake… Continue reading
Merry Christmas One and All
This is a short post to wish everyone a Merry Christmas.
I hope 2011 was as good to you as it was for us. I know it’s been a hard year for many. We look forward to the new year and all it brings.
I’ll be adding a couple more Category Pages to the site over the next year– One dedicated to Gardening in Puerto Rico for those that like to get their hands dirty. And one dedicated to Historical Images from the past with the back story to them. There are many untold stories here and I want tell a few of them.
Needless to say– Running the web site,… Continue reading
El Yunque Forest.. A Northwest Approach
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Most folks visit the El Yunque US National Forest via a formal tour and I highly recommend that. I took the half-day tour from San Juan on my first visit. 
There are links to half day and day trips in the Sidebar. That was great, but now I had an opportunity to see it from a different perspective.
The San Juan Photo MeetUp group was celebrating their 100th trip and chose this spot for their picnic. We caravanned from San Juan to the site since some of us had never been there. It’s a typical drive up into the mountains on paved, but narrow twisty roads. We took Highway 3, then 186 to 9966.
The road… Continue reading
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Acai, Caribbean National Forest, El Yunque US National Forest, Facebook, Ferns, GoogleMaps, Highway 186, Highway 3, Highway 9966, Hip-Boots, Lizard, Macro, MeetUp, San Juan, San Juan Photo MeetUp, Tree Ferns, Tropical Rainforest, US Forest Service, US Military, Vibram FiveFingers | 
1 CommentThe 42nd Indigenous Festival of Jayuya, PR
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An event worth the trip, no matter where you live.
We were there on Saturday, but the festival was spread across 4 days, ending on Sunday.
Activities included a conference dedicated to La Flor de la Guasabara, lighting of the Taino Fire, a special presentation of indigenous music and dance, the presentation of a documentary dedicated to Taino Indians, 
crowning of the Indigenous Queen, music workshops, a variety of local contests and tons and tons of live music!
I’ve now made the run to Jayuya 3 times. The first time was on Palm Sunday to check out the town and the second was for the Tomato Festival.
On the drive… Continue reading
Posted in Isla Mountain Central, Puerto Rico | Artesano, Balloon Plant, Feliz Navidad, Hairy Balls Plant, indigenous dance, indigenous music, Indigenous Queen, Monarch caterpillars, Music Video, Palm Sunday, Pina Colada, Pine trees, Ruta Panoramica, Sylvia Rexach, Taino Indians, Tomato Festival, Trio Voces de la Tierra Alta, Turks Cap, VadoHD, Wax Mallow, Wild About Alaska | Leave a commentArroyo’s Tren del Sur– Train of the South
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A Puerto Rican attraction in need of resurrection..
Most printed travel guides speak of the ‘Tren del Sur’ in Arroyo as if it were only temporarily closed. It operated 4 miles of track from 1984 to 2005 when it was shut down for ‘maintenance’ and never reopened. Today, it appears to be all but abandoned… weeds and tall grass are starting to overtake it.
That’s truly a shame.
It’s typical of the kind of changes that have taken place, island wide.
Sugarcane has not been a cash crop here for decades. Yes, you can still see it in small plots, but that’s it. More of a novelty, really.
Puerto Rican Rum is made from imported sugar and molasses…
Not… Continue reading
The Scurvy Dog’s Skull Rating System
San Juan, Puerto Rico Weather
Beautiful, Colorful Checks of Puerto Rico
PR Tours and Day Trips..
Ponce the Pearl City from San Juan
Price: $ 98.99
Ponce is a unique historical city with many museums and attractions; if you can’t spend a few days to see it all, you must take this tour. See Tibes Indian Ceremonial Park and Seralles Castle, with the city’s stately plazas and mansions, the famous red and black firehouse.
Zipline Canopy Eco-Adventure Tour from San Juan
A Memorable and Exhiliarating Experience!
Rio Camuy Cave Park and Arecibo Observatory from San Juan
Price: $ 101.65
From the depths of these dramatic caves to the stars above in one day!
Deep Sea Fishing Private Boat Charter in San Juan
Full Day or Half, sport fishing for dorado, wahoo, sailfish, tuna and blue marlin…
Rum Distillery and Old San Juan Half-Day Tour
Price: $ 54.99
Amazon.com PR Hot Picks
Order the Good Stuff Here
A Great Way to Make Coffee
Puerto Rican Flags and Banners
Fly Your Flag With Pride
Info to Help With Planning Your Trip
The Little Things You Need
B&H Photo/Video of NYC!
Scuttlebutt.. On the Dog’s Blog