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I have been to Mayagüez several times, but never to the Plaza.
Mayagüez Attractions– The Mayagüez Zoo is the only zoo of its type on the entire island. Worth a stop if you have the time. Then there is the USDA Tropical Agriculture Research Station next to the University of PR.
A facility with a marvelous garden, free to the public. I’ve covered both of these before. They are not the only things of interest in Mayagüez, but they are probably the most popular.
The busy Port of Mayagüez supports a commercial ferry run to Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. Something I really want to try. It’s a very popular trip for Puerto Ricans on vacation. You could fly there, but I like riding the ferry. Something I did in Alaska. The Dom. Rep. is a lot closer to PR than most folks realize. Someday…
Mayagüez is on the far west end of the island, about as far from San Juan as you can get. After Ponce, it is a very popular destination for visitors looking to get away from the crowded conditions of San Juan. Much more laid back with a real Puerto Rican vibe. During the Dry Season, it’s also a lot more lush than the south side of the island.
As of the 2010 Census, greater Mayagüez, ” City of the Mangos”, has about 115,000 residents so it is not a small town.
As one of the first settlements in PR, it has a very long and colorful history
Mayagüez was officially founded September 18, 1760. More than a decade before the US declared its independence from England.
Located on the Yaguez River, fresh water for crops was diverted by a series of aqueducts.
Mayagüez was a major supplier of tuna for StarKist back in the day and being a coastal city, seafood is still quite popular.
Sugar was a key part of the economyas well, right up to the time the industry collapsed.
The old Spanish map is from 1888, by Federico Drouyn, courtesy of the Library of Congress. A larger version of it may be seen over on the Maps Page. Scroll down some to see it.
The minor islands of Mona, Monito and Desecheo fall under Mayagüez jurisdiction. Mona is still on my ‘PR Hit List’. A much more detailed history may be found on Wikipedia and the online Encyclopedia of PR.
The Main Plaza of Mayagüez-
We were there on a perfect Thursday morning.
I needed to meet with a couple of friends to plan my next post so this made a nice place to make arrangements. My goal was to take care of business first and then do some shooting in and off the plaza.
That was cut short by a call from a PRT/Claro repairman who said he was assigned to come out and fix our internet ‘today’. Because we have been without A/DSL service since early February, we had to drop what we were doing and race home. An hour and a half drive in each direction. More about that at the bottom of the post.
I consider Plaza Colón to be one of the most beautiful on the entire island.
The public space features a moderately sized plaza dominated by a large central fountain with a large statue of Christopher Columbus (Cristóbal Colón) standing in the middle of it.
The whole area was immaculately maintained.
The Mayors Office or ‘Alacaldia’ stands at one end and the Catholic church, ‘Our Lady of Candelaria’ at the other. The Plaza is flanked by rows of benches, shade trees and a series of small, but very interesting bronze statues. In the old days, most plazas would feature little statues like these, but not so much anymore. This was exceptional. No two were alike.
Because of the angle of the early morning sun, I did not get a good shot of the church. Only having 30 minutes to shoot the plaza was a real bummer. We will be back. Next time, I hope to see the plaza at dusk.
Our Never Ending Internet Service Provider Issues-
I hate having to bring up our Internet issues again, but it has impacted everything we do. We ‘had’ reliable A/DSL service until someone from PRT/Claro came out and cut the main trunk line back in early February… all in an effort to stop someone from stealing their service. This affected everyone ‘after’ the cut
Who does this to paying customers?
It means we cannot update our system software or applications, or view or post up any videos. Nor can I post up larger shots of our trips until it’s resolved. This happened the weekend of Coamo’s Medio Maraton San Blas – which is why there was no mention of that event (or photos, or videos) this year.
One of my big goals for 2014 was to do a 4 part video ‘from the road’ of the ‘Ruta Panoramica’ through the mountains. Something featured by National Geographic. I even scored a new video cam for it… Not for now.
We have an ‘interim’ wireless Claro hub, but it has a 10 GB monthly limit and is extremely flaky.
Sometimes we get near DSL speeds, at others, less than dial-up speeds (.1Kb to 4Kbs) or nothing at all. It is not dependable enough to get work done on line.
No, we are NOT your average Puerto Rican Internet user. We are Power Users. We work online.
We are not unique in that respect, but we NEED reliable access to get stuff done. The service repair guy restored our phone, but NOT the A/DSL (Asynchronous / Digital Subscriber Line) service we are still paying for (yea, we know what it is and what it should be). 
Yet, since the phone works (which we do not use), he declared it ‘fixed’. He never came to the house even though he said he was coming. It is why we raced back to the house from Mayagüez. We were home by Noon.
The guy did happen to mention that our service was “disconnected in error” making us wonder if they thought ‘we’ were the ones stealing their service? This theft of service is something they rant on about, every time we call. Why would that matter to us? Are we being held accountable?
We have filed a formal complaint regarding our issues of service with the FCC and are waiting to hear back about it.
Needless to say, ‘Paradise Tax’ is taking a real toll on our psyche. As Puerto Ricans are fond of saying- “Ay bendito”. In English it would translate into something like “God, help him”.
You have no idea how much time it took, just to get this one post on line.
The news is not all bad… My gardens are coming along quite nicely. For that, I’m very thankful.
Last, but not least-
The Iguana hunters of PR is a story I’ve been wanting to do for some time.
I missed an earlier opportunity because one of our bathroom sinks sprung a serious leak and I had to stay and fix it. Ever get up to water standing under your bed? Anyway, a new post will follow with lots of shots and details. These guys are awesome!!
Milagros Irizarry Pistritto says
We went on “family trip” to Puerto Rico in 2012, in order to hopefully find more details for my family tree, as my father’s side is from Mayaguez and my mother’s side from Vega Baja. We were in Mayaguez for a week, at the hotel next to Our Lady of Candelaria and from our window we had a great view of the Plaza. And you are correct, you must return again in order to view the Plaza at night, it is even more beautiful. You will also see how well people get along in the evening after dinner, and of course you will see the “men folk” setting up the domino tables and these games will go on for hours. Just down the block from the church and across the hotel, is a great place for coffee, baked goods and wonderful bread. Wow, we need to make a second trip in the near future, good memories. I am having a great time on your website, it is so full of information, thanks for your dedication to Puerto Rico. Take care.