• Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

The Scurvy Dog's Puerto Rican Blog

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Site Contents
  • Travel Tips
  • Maps of PR
  • YouTube Videos
  • Our Garden in PR

Ponce.. Pearl of the South!

Giant PONCE Letters on Highway 52 in Puerto Rico

The Letter 'O' from the PONCE Letters on Highway 52 in Puerto RicoIf you have a week or more to spend in Puerto Rico, then you must spend a couple days of it here. I promise you will not regret it. I will be back to Ponce myself, to shoot more of the local color.

Before I arrived in PR, I had this “vision” of what I thought Puerto Rico would look like and I found it here in Ponce.

As the locals say- “Ponce is Ponce”

Spire Monument to the Abolition of Slavery in PR, Near Plaza of PonceWhy they say that is open to debate. Ponce has its own attitude about things and goes its own way. A magnet for real characters… artists, thinkers, the independent types.. my kind of place.

Closeup Detail of Spire Monument to the Abolition of Slavery in PR, Near Plaza of PonceIt is the largest city on the south coast of Puerto Rico, but without the sprawl of greater San Juan. It has a very busy commercial port, a large marina and boasts many tourist attractions. Among those are a world class Art Museum, a large central plaza with grand Cathedral, the Serralles museum and the “Cross”. There are many other attractions besides these.. I’ll get around to them at another time.

My first stop was at the giant letters of PONCE, announcing your arrival. Ya can’t miss ’em. As can be seen in the letter “O”, they attract a lot of attention.

The first monument I came across was dedicated to the Decree of the Abolition of Slavery in Puerto Rico on March 22nd 1873. A date that is still celebrated. The statue and obelisk was created by the artist, Victor Cott. It IS magnificent.

Model of Original Wooden Look Out Cross in Foreground and Concrete look Out Tower Monument in the Background, located on the Hills Above Ponce, Puerto RicoI drove directly from there, to the ‘Lookout Cross’, La Cruceta del Vigia. A 100 foot cement monument and observation tower dedicated to the brave souls that once watched for in-coming ships. A replica of of the original observation “Post” stands just off the parking lot. It literally was a simple wooden post. From there, they would observe with a crude brass telescope. If they did spot something, they would hang a ‘flag of nationality’ so the town’s folk would know how to respond.. ‘friend or foe’. I took the elevator to the top.. Its a grand view to be sure. You can see all of Ponce, the port and Coffin island from there.

A Chilled Glass of MaviUnfortunately, you cannot open any windows for an unobstructed view. They were all screwed shut. Kind of limits your photo opportunities. Once back downstairs, I tried a glass of ‘Mavi’ at the little concession stand. Mavi is hard to describe… very sweet, sightly fermented and made from local roots and bark. It was good over ice. Nothing like root-beer.. a very light, slightly ‘yeasty’ flavor.

I walked up the path to the Japanese Garden to find a beautifully manicured setting. It did seem a little out of place, but who cares.. It was very nice. It would be a great place to stage portraits or group shots. There was a reflection pool, a Coi pond with lilly pads in bloom and several large Coi, a little babbling brook, a Bonsai tree display, a couple of foot bridges and a beautiful rest area.

Japanese Garden with Lilly Pond and Coi in Ponce, Puerto RicoThe ticket for admission to Lookout Cross, the Japanese Garden and the guided Serralles Museum tour was only $9 plus tax. They did not charge for parking! At the Serralles Museum, I could have waited for the English tour, but I opted for for the earlier Spanish one. I’m sure I missed a lot of details because of it. The presentation started with a short video about the old days of milling sugar and distilling Rum. Lots of classic shots. The family founder, Sabastian Serralles was from Spain and eventually returned there never to come back. He left his son, Juan Eugenio in charge of the plantation. He imported a French still to make Rum in 1865.  The Serralles family (of Puerto Rico) turned the sugar and distillery operation into a major enterprise, over the next 150 years.

Ground Level View of Serralles Museum, Below the Lookout Cross in Ponce, Puerto RicoThe Castle is a grand structure build in 1930. It was ‘state of the art’ for the times, incorporating many advanced features.. among those is an elevator, electricity and lights in all the rooms, telephones and bathrooms white bread Americans could relate to. The main dining room with fully dressed table and the indoor garden area was most impressive. We were allowed to shoot outside the structure, but not inside. To be fair, some of it was too dark to shoot anyway. The grounds outside were as well maintained as the Japanese Garden I had just visited.

View of the Pool on the Grounds of the Serralles Museum in Ponce, Puerto RicoSeveral generations of the Serralles lived here until it was sold to the city of Ponce and converted into a museum. Their fortune is synonymous with sugar (Snow White brand) and the distillation of Rum. Through an assortment of brands, they produce 60% of the rum sold in Puerto Rico. They are marketed here under the names of DonQ and Captain Morgan and under the Ronrico label on the mainland.

I’ve been drinking their Rum for ever and did not know it.

Go figure. They did emphasize the use of oak barrels for aging their Rums.. creating a very smooth product.

I was also able to put to rest my question about locally produced wines. The tour guide stated that they did produce a wine here up until about 8 years ago, but no more.

Five Skulls Rating Graphic

Panoramic Detail from the Plaza in Ponce, Puerto Rico

Interior Shot of the Armstrong Museum Directly Across the Street from the Catholic Church on the Plaza of Ponce, Puerto RicoAt the end of the Serralles tour, I proceeded to Ponce’s town square, Plaza de las Delicias where I stumbled onto a small museum across the street from the Cathedral. Museo Casa Armstrong Poventud. It is a classic example of 19th century English Victorian architecture. At $3, it was worth the short run through. They have spent a lot of money renovating the place, restoring it to much of its original condition. The court yard in the back and the view of the Cathedral from the second floor was fantastic. Easily worth the 3 bucks! Interior shots were hard to do so I’ll be back.

Five Skulls Rating Graphic

After that, I went and checked out the second most photographed place on the island, Parque de Bombas. It was built in 1882 as an agricultural fair and then converted into a fire house the following year. Its painted in a garish black and red color.

Catholic Church on the Plaza, Shot from the Second Floor of the Armstrong Museum in Ponce, Puerto Rico

You cannot miss it.. its right on the main Plaza. The Plaza itself was very nice, but none of the fountains were turned on. Kind of hurt the aesthetic appeal. There were monuments and statues everywhere.

Parque de Bombas, Restored Firehouse on the Plaza of Ponce, Puerto Rico

The most prominent art museum, Museo de Arte de Ponce is closed for renovation. They have a select set of paintings and sculpture on display in San Juan at the Plaza Las Americas. As mentioned in an earlier post, I did get to walk through this small collection.. it was very impressive. Another attraction I’ll want to see on my return.

Classical Art from the Art Museum of Ponce, Puerto Rico

I had good light for this final part of my trip. I’ll make several more post once I get back to Alaska. Coamo is a beautiful, but crowded little town, I will write about it soon.

I fly home tomorrow… Arrg…

Copyright © 2009~2020 Robert Westmoreland - RobertosPuertoRico.com, Comm Rights Reserved, CC3, ShareAlike

Reader Interactions

Trackbacks

  1. San Juan- The British have landed - The Scurvy Dog's Puerto Rican Blog, aka- Roberto's Puerto Rico says:
    May 2, 2011 at 11:53 pm

    […] of Ponce.  The tour of the Ser­alles Man­sion and Museum is a must see, if you make it to Ponce.  If you had not picked up on it yet, ‘Don Q’ is short for Don Quixote.  A theme made […]

  2. Palm Sunday in Jayuya, Puerto Rico - The Scurvy Dog's Puerto Rican Blog, aka- Roberto's Puerto Rico says:
    April 22, 2011 at 11:22 am

    […] headed out on a beau­ti­ful Sun­day morn­ing towards Ponce on Hwy 52. At the PONCE let­ters, We took the exit to Hwy 10 for the trip up into the moun­tains. Hwy 10 is in pretty good shape. […]

  3. USDA Tropical Agriculture Gardens of Mayagüez says:
    January 29, 2011 at 6:43 pm

    […] much on the oppo­site side of the island from San Juan. If you come in from Toll­way 52 via Ponce it even­tu­ally becomes Hwy 2. After you pass through Ponce, the going is slower. Its in good […]

  4. San Juan Photo & Social Club, Woohoo! says:
    September 8, 2010 at 8:55 am

    […] last stop was the main Plaza in Ponce. I had shot this loca­tion before so I was look­ing for some­thing a lit­tle dif­fer­ent. […]

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Search in Spanish or English!

Navigate the Dog's Blog

  • Gardening in Puerto Rico
  • Liv'n Large in Puerto Rico
  • Outside Puerto Rico
  • Puerto Rico Central Mountains
  • Puerto Rico Detours
  • Puerto Rico East
  • Puerto Rico North
  • Puerto Rico Northeast
  • Puerto Rico South
  • Puerto Rico Southwest
  • Puerto Rico West
  • Roberto's X-files
  • The Dog's Blog- How I did it
  • The Metroplex and Old San Juan

Me Mates 10 Most Favored Posts

  • 48th Annual Marathon San Blas
  • Degetau's Stone
  • Guayama – City of Witches
  • Perfect for Fine Art Photography
  • Real Estate and Living Costs
  • Sugar Mills and Plantations
  • Toro Negro in Orocovis
  • UFOs and OVNIs – Oh My!
  • USDA Tropical Garden Tour
  • Visiting Hacienda Buena Vista

The Scurvy Dog’s Skull Rating System

The scurvy dogs skull rating, one is bad five is good

Personal Checks with Roberto’s Photos

Puerto Rican Plants and Flowers

When you need new checks and want unique Puerto Rican Images, Now you Can Find them!

Puerto Rican Scenic Ruins

Visit FashionChecks to order your unique Checks!

Puerto Rican Ginger and Flowers

Roberto's Unique Photos Professionally Printed on Your Personal Checks!

Tours, Cruises and Day Trips

Island Hopping Boat Tour

Visiting Puerto Rico? Viator offers excitement, adventure and fun! Things to see and do in Puerto Rico with professional guides for Zipline Adventure, Surfing, Nature and History Tours, Cruises and Nightlife.

See Them All!

The Isle of Bamboo

Isle of Bamboo Screen Grab Wippy Woppy Webdesign is proud to announce our new site- the Isle of Bamboo. It's dedicated to the myriad of ways bamboo enriches our lives and our planet.  If there ever was a 'Super Plant', bamboo is it!

The Isle of Bamboo

B&H Photo

BandH Photo

Me Top 10 Puerto Rican Links, Arrg!

  • Caribbean Business Puerto Rico
  • CIA World Fact Book- PR
  • Clasificados Online- Puerto Rico
  • Conservation Trust of PR
  • Encyclopedia of Puerto Rico
  • Explore Puerto Rico
  • Father Sanchez's Caribbean Site
  • Govardhan Gardens of PR
  • Int'l Talk Like a Pirate Day
  • The Kruse Chronicles

Adorama Photo Deals

Adorama photo

New and Used!

20 Most Recent Ports of Call

  • Hurricane Maria Disaster Recap
  • Bodega Andreu Solé of Guanica
  • Our Slice of Paradise: Part 3
  • Our Slice of Paradise: Part 2
  • Our Slice of Paradise: Part 1
  • Talk Like a Pirate Day
  • Coamo, Center of the Universe
  • Ruins of Henry Barracks
  • A Long Overdue Update
  • 5 Years in.. Time to Reflect
  • El Capitolio de Puerto Rico
  • Rambling in Old San Juan
  • Puerto Rico's Iguana Hunters
  • The Beautiful Plaza of Mayagüez
  • Cacao to Chocolate, and Coffee
  • Big Yearend Garden Update
  • 2013 Year End Wrap Up
  • Montoso Gardens of Maricao
  • Paradise Tax, Costs of Living
  • Manatí – Wake of the Cross

Menu

  • Back to the Top
  • Home
  • Our Garden
  • Maps of PR
  • Our Videos
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Site Contents
  • Travel Tips

Back to the Top

| Contact | Privacy Policy | About Us |


copyright© 2009 Robert Westmoreland - The Scurvy Dog's Puerto Rican Blog

Creative Commons 3, All Commercial Rights Reserved.

Wippy Woppy Webdesign