Isla South Region, Puerto Rico

Guayama, PR… ‘The City of Witches’

The Old Sugar Mills & Plantations of PR, Part 2

As mentioned in my last post, the area in South East PR was home to the last Sugarcane haciendas (plantations) and sugar mills. This is evident by the numerous red brick structures still standing from its distant past.

Guayama was the epicenter of this climatic chapter in Puerto Rico’s history.

Guayama as a settlement dates to before its founding in 1736 and boasted no less than 200 houses, a church and plaza by 1776. Guayama was also involved in the Spanish American War of 1898. Two battles were fought here, one in Guayama (August 5, 1898) and one North of town (August 9, 1898) as part of a campaign to move on Cayey, then on to San Juan. The war ended before that happened.

The nickname comes from the fact that African folklore is still celebrated today. This must not be confused with ‘black magic’ or Haitian rituals. There is a week long festival in March, the colorful Brujo Carnival.

There are several other fairs to see in Guayama, but the Dulce Sueño Fair is high on the local’s list. A celebration to honor the esteemed Paso Fino horse. I’ve seen a couple of these smaller horses out where I live. They are of Spanish origin and brought to Puerto Rico hundreds of years ago, however the Paso Fino is unique to Puerto Rico as its a mix of 3 specific breeds. A subject I will explore in the future. [Read more…] about Guayama, PR… ‘The City of Witches’

The Old Sugar Mills & Plantations of PR, Part 1

One of my favorite photo subjects is ruins and old run-down industrial buildings. Great subjects for fine art images. Seeing history with my own eyes is just too cool. To that end, I plan to spend several posts covering the sugar, rum and railroad history of PR. This is the first installment in that effort.

I’ve spent a lot of time researching sugar production and the rum (ron/Spanish) distilleries of Puerto Rico.

Coffee, tobacco and sugar cane were the primary income crops from the time the island was ‘settled’ until well into the 20th century. Slavery, followed by cheap, unorganized labor was the driving force behind all production. As labor costs increased, the Spanish and then American interests proceeded to mechanize where they could. Some plantations were still using ox drawn carts to transport the cane from the fields, up through the late 1940’s.

Prior to the interstate highways, there was a rail service that circled almost the entire island. What’s more, lots of plantations (haciendas) would have their own narrow gauge trains working the fields and local sugar mills. There were many of these small sugar mills spread out all over PR. [Read more…] about The Old Sugar Mills & Plantations of PR, Part 1

Coamo Springs Resort of Puerto Rico

Hotel Baños de Coamo en Puerto Rico

Since moving to Coamo last fall, I’ve been wanting to check out Coamo’s only hotel. This post is based on a quick 15 minute walk-through of the place.

A review of user comments over at TripAdvisor did not return good results. Almost all personal reviews of the place were negative… an average of only one star. I suspect if they were given the option they would have given it none. So I did not go with high expectations. I did not stay here, nor did I get a peek into any of the rooms.

This is what I found-

The facility is located at the end of Hwy 546, off Hwy 153, which is off Expressway 52. Not hard to find.

As legend has it, Ponce de Leon made the trek to these natural hot springs where the infamous fable of the “Fountain of Youth” originated. He’s also the namesake of Ponce. A hotel was established in 1847 and has been in existence in one form or another, ever since. [Read more…] about Coamo Springs Resort of Puerto Rico

48th Annual San Blas Marathon Video, 2010

This is my shortest YouTube video to date – 5 minutes, 14 seconds. The first part was shot with a Sony Handycam DCR-SR45. The last half was shot with the VadoHD firmly attached to a telephone pole at about 10 feet up. Since the San Blas ‘Half’ Marathon runs late into the afternoon, the setting sun messes with part of the video. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did putting it together. Effects were added with Apple’s iMovie and edited with FinalCut Express.

Music was courtesy Pack DV Free Music off the Net.

The winners of the race are the first two runners after the Coamo Motorcycle Police Squadron.. keep an eye out for the runner pushing the baby buggy near the end!

48th Annual San Blas Half Marathon of Coamo – 2010

I plan to drive around the Marathon route next year and post that video with an update. UPDATE! The video of the route was added and you can follow the San Blas Marathon Route from beginning to end now!
The San Blas Marathon sponsors are preparing a major event for the 50th anniversary in 2012. The original 48th Annual San Blas Marathon of Coamo post includes a link to a page dedicated to the runners.

My next post covers my return to Old San Juan with a video shot from the free trolley using the VadoHD. Cobblestones make for a very bumpy ride!

48th Annual San Blas ‘Half’ Marathon of Coamo

A Grand Excuse to Party all Night,
all Day and the Next Night too

The very first ‘foot race’ of 3 miles was held in February of 1963 by its sponsors, the Coamo Fraternity of Delta Phi Delta. It was conceived as a tribute to honor one of the Patron Saints of Coamo, San Blas. Yes, they have 2 Patron Saints whereas most towns have only one. Within a few years, the route was extended to 21.0975 Kilometers (slightly over 13 miles) and has grown into a race of international proportions.

Contestants from over 50 countries have made the ‘Coamo Run’

In fact, in the last 10 years of the 21Km marathon, all have been won by runners from outside Puerto Rico (or the US for that matter). The Men’s Overall Division was won this year by 26 year old Patrick Nthiwa of Kenya with a time of 1 hour, 2 minutes and 50 seconds. He received $8,000 for his efforts, but did not break the current best time of 1 hour, 2 minutes, 10 seconds. Patrick would have got an extra $5000 had he beat it. His time was the 5th best ever. There is a separate Women’s Overall Division with a purse of $8,000. That was won by Ann C. Bererwe also of Kenya. There are additional sub-categories based on age, another for residents of Coamo, one for residents of Puerto Rico and an International category. There is a Wheelchair Category as well. Medals are handed out in a formal ceremony that immediately follows the Marathon. It cost $20 to enter, $5 more if you wait until the last month before the race to register. [Read more…] about 48th Annual San Blas ‘Half’ Marathon of Coamo