On to Camuy on the Northwest Coast

This is part 3 of a 4 part series.  We previously covered Isabela and Quabradillas so next up are the beaches and town of Camuy.

A Few Words About the Caves

By far, the one place Camuy is most famous for is the Rio Camuy Cave Park.  This is seriously one of the top 10 attractions on the entire island.  I covered it in great detail last year.

We will be going back, too.  It’s that awesome!

In fact, this end of PR is riddled with caves.  Some are easy to explore, others not so much.  If caving is your thing then you must check out the Kruse Chronicles, a blog run by a couple who devote almost all their free time to exploring the caves of Puerto Rico.

It’s a ‘must see’ as well.

Back on the Road

Our road trip resumes where we left off.

We took Highway 485, aka Calle San José from Quebradillas going east.  San José will come to an intersection, but heads left towards the coast.  It will eventually become Calle Amador Brall.  As you get closer to the coast there are several bars and restaurants to check out.

The public beach at Peñon de Amador was our next major stop.

This beach is featured in several travel guides and on the Net too.  There are public facilities close by and a very nice boat dock that juts out into the bay.  The two panoramic shots you see above were taken from it.  One looking east and the other looking west.  There are also more bars and restaurants within walking distance.

This was one of the nicer beaches, for sure.

Something else I had seen on line and was keeping an eye out for was the local Pink Flamingo.  Well, the bird was there, across the highway.. wading in a pond along with a bunch of other shore birds.  I got shots of it and them and cattle grazing near by.  This is the only time I’ve seen a Pink Flamingo up close while out shooting.

We spent about 45 minutes shooting this area before heading towards the plaza of Camuy.

The beach continues on east for over a mile, but access is spotty at best.

If we had a Jeep I would not hesitate to check it out.  There were several dirt roads connecting Calle Amador Brall to the beach, it looks like it is probably a popular place on weekends.

The Plaza of Camuy

Calle Amador Brall took us into Camuy proper, then 2 blocks down Calle Estrella to the plaza.

The plaza of Camuy has a nice hometown feel to it.

A large central fountain surrounded by lots of paths, benches and shade trees.

A contemporary Catholic church sets just off the plaza, as does City Hall, the Alcaldia.

Though the plaza could use a little paint, it was well kept.

Camuy has a population of about 35,000 people and was founded in 1807.  Camuy benefits from a diversity of business including tourism from the cave and beach traffic, some manufacturing and agriculture in the form of dairy and meat.

When I was studying GoogleMaps of the town, I discovered what looked like an abandoned sugar mill.

The old chimney sticks out like a sore thumb.  On our way out of town via Avenue Luis Muñoz Rivera, we stopped to check it out.  Though there are ruins on the grounds, it is part of the Antigua Central de Palo Viejo, a local rum distiller. I tried to talk to the guard at the gate but he simply brushed me off and went back to chatting on his cell phone.  Not to be deterred, I walked back along the fence from the guard shack and around the corner past a gas station to get the shot I got.

I never did get in.. sometimes you win one, sometimes you don’t.

On to Hatillo

Avenue Luis Muñoz Rivera becomes Highway 119 as you head out of Camuy.   We took this into Hatillo which will be featured in our final post about our run through the northwest shore of Puerto Rico.

As always, there are more, larger pictures from our visit to Camuy, over on the Scurvy Dog’s Facebook Page.  Don’t forget to give the Page a ‘Like’ if you do.  Arrg!