Isla Mountain Central, Puerto Rico

Return to Jayuya, Tomato Festival 2011

Closeup of Tomatoes of Jayuya, Puerto Rico

A Local Event with Variety..

Weather was going to be an issue so we got an early start. The morning was nice with only a few fluffy clouds to break up the blue.

I will not cover the specifics of the trip up to Jayuya since I did that in my last Jayuya post. We got there early enough that I wanted to get shots of the two old sugar mill chimneys I missed on our last trip. Unfortunately, a neighborhood has developed around them so they now stand in folks backyards. The shorter red brick chimney is behind a child day-care biz, the much taller one is located behind several homes. Living there under them seems kind of risky to me. I’m surprised the ‘powers that be’, would have allowed it. The island is prone to the occasional earthquake and these chimneys are very old.

Jayuya rests in a large bowl shaped valley, behind Cerro La Punta, the highest mountain peak in Puerto Rico. It is very lush and green up here. We passed many gardens, large and small along the way.

Of the local events I’ve covered to date, this one and the one in Corozal had a very local vibe. Unlike the Festival de Platano in Corozal, this one WAS about the Tomatoes of Jayuya. [Read more…] about Return to Jayuya, Tomato Festival 2011

Palm Sunday in Jayuya, Puerto Rico

A Jewel, Deep in the
Mountains of Puerto Rico

I never cease to be amazed by what I find when I explore a new place. Yes, Jayuya was on my original itinerary, but complications on that first trip prevented a visit. There is a lot of history here too. Something neglected by most American History books, but I’ll cover that a little later in.

Again, I failed to call ahead and verify dates for the Jayuya Tomato Festival. Being Palm Sunday, I should have known better. This is a time of reverence in PR, the week following Palm Sunday. I won’t make this mistake a third time.

What seemed like a wasted trip turned out to be one of the best.

PLEASE! If you have good dates for local events, send them to me via the Contact Page and I’ll add them to the Calendar Page. It’s a feature I will be expanding on in the future. The Contact Page is secure, I NEVER SHARE EMAIL ADDRESSES. Nor do I use email for marketing.

Please think of this post as an Introduction to Jayuya, Part 1 and the Tomato Festival in 2 weeks as Part 2. This is a longish piece since I have so many great shots to share. [Read more…] about Palm Sunday in Jayuya, Puerto Rico

Govardhan Gardens, Tropical Fruit and Bamboo

A tropical plant nursery dedicated to the concept
of self-determination and self-sufficiency.

This post is somewhat off topic for a travel site, but like the Tryon Project, Tropic Ventures or the Mayagüez Tropical Ag. Station, I like to feature unique places that the locals might find interesting too.

If you want to check it out, please contact Sadhu Govardhan through his Web site. I promise it’s worth it.

BTW- He manages the entire farm by himself, including the goats.

I stumbled onto the Govardhan Gardens Web site while looking for sources of tropical fruit and nut seeds. Though there are many nurseries selling seeds outside of Puerto Rico, this one is right here on the island. After a few emails, I finally got the opportunity to meet Sadhu Govardhan. A soft spoken guy with a real passion for gardening and all things tropical. [Read more…] about Govardhan Gardens, Tropical Fruit and Bamboo

Las Marias Orange Festival 2011 El Mundo

The fresh sweet smell of oranges (chinas).. No kidding.

Las Marías is way up in the mountains, due east of Mayaguez, not too far from Maricao on the west end of the island. We took the same route via Sabana Grande, we used to check out the Coffee Festival in Maricao.

Las Marías was founded in 1871 and as of 2009, had a population of about 12,400. That’s twice the size of Maricao.

In addition to oranges, their other principle crops are bananas and coffee. The farms between Maricao and Las Marías were covered in these three crops with some Gandules (pigeon peas) tucked between the coffee and oranges. Ripe dropped oranges were in the shoulder of the road. Some coffee still had berries on them.

Though the rich soil and damp weather make farming very popular, the rolling hills make it difficult to mechanize the process.

I have been very fortunate with the weather, the last half dozen posts. Unfortunately, my luck did not hold out. It was clear in Ponce, but became overcast by the time we headed up past Sabana Grande, into the mountains. [Read more…] about Las Marias Orange Festival 2011 El Mundo

2011 Puerto Rican Coffee Harvest Way Down

A follow up editorial to the Maricao Coffee Festival of 2011

I ran across an article dated Feb. 24, 2011 in the Caribbean Business Weekly regarding the overall decline of the Coffee Industry in Puerto Rico. In the article they quote the Puerto Rico Coffee Buyers & Growers Association, stating that this year’s harvest lost $25 million, all due to a lack of hands needed for the harvest. Of the estimated 150,000 bushels grown, only 80,000 bushels were ultimately collected. The industry cites the inability to lodge migrant workers during harvest time and have requested assistance from the PR Agriculture Department to help cover housing for next year.

This is particularly depressing news for Labor as unemployment here exceeds 16% and has been double digit for the last several years. This would have been a ‘shot in the arm’ for the Economy on the West end of the island. The best harvest in recent years was 178,000 bushels in 2006 and has declined ever since. The cost of labor and operations is slowly driving farmers out of biz.

“Small business (less than 12 employees) is all but dead in PR”

This is in spite of the fact that Puerto Ricans consumed 270,000 bushels of imported coffee last year. I did the math.. less than a quarter of the coffee consumed here is locally grown.

Puerto Rico’s Dept. of Labor will not allow the use of foreign labor even though efforts to enlist inmates with sentence reduction and changes in unemployment rules have not solved the problem. All of this reflects badly on the Puerto Rican government’s ability to respond to a time critical issue and act decisively. This is NOT a slam on the governor, but on the system itself. For the Economy to lose $25 million over a known issue is simply not acceptable.

Why Puerto Rican Coffee is NOT marketed to the world as an upscale boutique product is lost on me. Then the local coffee haciendas could actually thrive.

So Sez the Scurvy Dog, Arrg!

Info for part of this story was taken from an Associated Press report by Danica Coto dated Feb. 17, 2011