Isla North Region, Puerto Rico

Manatí on the North Coast- Wake of the Cross

We found ourselves in Manatí, ‘the Athens of Puerto Rico’ on a scouting trip, the weekend before the reenactment of the British Landing in Cangrejos, staged on the grounds of Hacienda La Esperanza. I’m glad we did because finding the Hacienda was quite the little trip. Once we nailed that down, we went back into town to check out the plaza.

Though we visited Manatí before the reenactment, I’m presenting it last as ‘icing on the cake’.

We were there on a beautiful, but overcast Friday afternoon with large fluffy clouds floating by. Some of my shots are a little flat because of the overcast. This required a little more Photoshopping than I usually do, but no biggie. It was worth it.

‘Photo Ops’ were everywhere since Manatí is one of the older towns of Puerto Rico. Our effort was limited to the plaza and places just off the plaza.

The plaza is unique in that a large municipal parking garage is tucked underneath it. I had walked 3 sides of the expansive plaza before I discovered this fact. A great idea since parking is always hard to find when approaching almost any plaza in PR.

The Mayor’s Office or Alcaldia and the Catholic church sit just off the plaza. The only structure ‘on’ the plaza was a beautifully restored Mercado built in 1925. Centro De Las Artes is an excellent example of the period. [Read more…] about Manatí on the North Coast- Wake of the Cross

The Ruins of Hacienda La Esperanza

A year ago, I stumbled onto info about Hacienda La Esperanza.

Part of a large archive over on a US Department of Interior FTP server. The info is open to the public and it is vast. The old drawings, maps and B&W photos were from their original studies done in the 1970’s and ’80’s of Puerto Rico’s many ruins.

This location had caught my eye because I later discovered it was in the process of being restored and it still is.
I commend the effort and wish they had more funding to go after more sites.

Once you lose a place to the vagaries of time, it’s gone for good.

Living history inspires the soul. It drives people to do great things. No, you can’t put a dollar figure on it other than actual cost. There is little monetary return, but it gives the next generation a grounding in the past. Something to learn from. So that we repeat less of the old mistakes.

History is important and should be held tight.

We were there on an absolutely gorgeous Friday to shoot the Commemoration of the 1797 Spanish Harassment of the British Landing in Cangrejos.
A contingent of British had tried to land in Cangrejos to march on to San Juan. That did not work out so well. Cangrejos is a small natural harbor very similar to the area on the coast of Hacienda La Esperanza in Manati. Today, Cangrejos is a Marina on the coast of what is now Carolina.

The Manati location was an excellent choice to replicate the original Cangrejos battle.

This particular reenactment enlisted the aid of a Polish contingent and a few North Americans from Massachusetts. There was even a San Juan TV crew here to do a story about it.

I wrote about the reenactment in a previous post. It’s full of great pictures from the day’s activities. Because of the remote nature of the site, we pretty much had the place to ourselves.

Driving directions to Hacienda La Esperanza can also be found in that post. [Read more…] about The Ruins of Hacienda La Esperanza

Muskets, Cannon and Soldiers of Great Stature

“They were as Gods… Men would tremble and bow as they marched by, never to dare and stare them in the eye”

Yeah, I said that.

I’ve talked about some of my great days in Puerto Rico, but this one stands out as a crown jewel. It was a genuine privilege to tag along and shoot without distraction, the day’s activities.

This year’s 1797 Commemoration of the British Siege and Defense of (Old) San Juan was perfect. Though the event covered 3 days- April 25th-28th, we were only there for Friday’s activities. The first reenactment took place out near Manati, on the grounds of Hacienda La Esperanza. This location has access to the coast making for a very private affair.

While on the grounds of the Hacienda, we did take a bunch of shots I’ll feature in a future post as well as a separate one on the town of Manati.

Because Friday is a work day, many of the participants would not be available until the weekend. But not to fret. The Polish Army was there in force! Yes, they had made the trip to Puerto Rico from Poland (as they did last year). What a contrast PR must be to their homeland. [Read more…] about Muskets, Cannon and Soldiers of Great Stature

Classic Puerto Rico, Hatillo on the North Shore

This story concludes our one day mega-run through the northwest shore of Puerto Rico. A marathon day, we do not intend to repeat.

My feet were killing me by the time we finished.

We started with Isabela, then moved on to Quebradillas and Camuy.

Each town had its own unique flavor.

Hatillo is situated on the coast, east of Camuy and west of Arecibo.

Hatillo has a population of about 42,000 people. It was founded in 1823 by Don Agustín Ruiz Miranda, an immigrant from the Canary Islands. Its primary source of revenue comes from dairy products and Hatillo supplies PR with about 1/3 of all milk consumed on the island.

Since we were coming from Camuy, we took Highway 119 instead of Highway 2. Either of these will get you there. Highway 119, which becomes Avenue Drive Susoni, took us to within a block of the plaza where we found parking.

The plaza is a large open space, peppered with a variety of trees and bordered by a short wall with colorful park benches running to the inside of it. There are also series of old fashioned street lights spread across the plaza. I bet the plaza looks real nice when lit up. [Read more…] about Classic Puerto Rico, Hatillo on the North Shore

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. [Read more…] about On to Camuy on the Northwest Coast