Juncos Meetup and Lunch on a Sunny Saturday

A few weeks back, the Photography Enthusiasts Meetup Group (of San Juan, PR) made a run to Juncos. We all met at the Plaza and then preceded to work our way around the downtown area, shooting local color.

I made the drive to Juncos solo.. me First Mate stayed home.

Though I was a little apprehensive about it, I made all the ‘right’ turns and got there in record time.

Learning Spanish is going slowly, but I can get by in a pinch.

Can you say-

Pollo Asado,
Pincho, Cerveza, Pitorro, taza de Café, Baños,
Uno, Dos, Tres?  And maybe Cuba Libre?  

GOOD!

As I got near the plaza I spotted a style of sugar mill chimney I had not seen before. Most chimneys are red brick, square and taper towards the top. This one resembled a ship’s cannon from an old black and white cartoon. It had become a fixture for a local restaurant. Different.

The plaza of Juncos is most impressive.

I’ve complained before, about tourist venues not having enough benches, but this plaza had them in Spades. The short wall along the outside of the plaza incorporated one continuous concrete bench. Awesome!The plaza was also very well maintained. Since this was early on a Saturday morning, none of the plaza kiosks were open yet. Nor was the central fountain.. Not a big deal.

I’m sure the plaza looks even more impressive on a Sunday afternoon.

I also got a jump on checking out the Catholic church located just off the Plaza. I’ve become quite enamored with shooting churches as every Plaza in Puerto Rico has one. Some set directly on the plaza like in San German, Coamo or Ponce and some set just off the plaza like in Barranquitas or here in Juncos. This church was constructed in classic Mission style and is in pristine condition. I wandered back to the plaza after taking a few interior shoots.

I scored a few great shots of locals on bikes too

The old man stopped and posed for me. How cool is that? People in Puerto Rico are very friendly and outgoing. Bike racing is also very popular so they are always out en mass on the weekends.

Folks from the Meetup group were starting to show up at this point. After we said our ‘hellos’, we meandered down towards a local marching band doing practice drills. I got shots of photographers getting shots of the kids.

There were lots of abandoned or
dilapidated structures to shoot.

Our intrepid leader, Brad showed us a sculpture that resembled the statue of Christ with his arms spread like the famous one in Brazil. It was tucked behind what appeared to be a movie theater.

Down below this area was the Rio Valenciano (river). The plaza is only a couple streets off the river. There was a large cluster of bamboo culms next to the shore with a horse standing in its shade. Without the horse you would have no sense of scale regarding the bamboo. It was a mature, full grown horse too. Bamboo like this, grows all over Puerto Rico, but it’s most common up in the mountains and along the eastern shore.

It was quite hot so the group took a short break for drinks and then moved back through the plaza to the local cemetery.

On the way, we saw some great graffiti and more old Spanish style buildings. One of them had a Se Vende ‘for sale’ sign on it. It was less than a block off the plaza.

Electrical power lines and telephone lines dominate the sky in many of these old towns.

I like shooting in cemeteries, they can make for exceptional fine art images. It is something you should do with reverence. We got permission before going in. Though I’ve seen several, this was my first time in a Puerto Rican cemetery. As can be seen in the shots, almost all of the graves, crypts and mausoleums are constructed of concrete. It’s the only material to withstand the weather and pests and it’s cheap in comparison to stone. On Mother’s Day, cemeteries can be packed. Several tombs had concrete benches.

Brightly colored plastic flowers are also a common sight.

It is not unusual for older tombs to be replaced with updated, more elaborate ones.

There was also evidence of looters pilfering small statuettes… several had been stacked up near an outside chain-link fence. These things often end up in someone’s garden.

After about an hour shooting in the cemetery we moved back towards town.

Several of us stopped to shoot the Juncos Alcaldia. It is a beautiful structure. I had to stand in the street with an ultra-wide angle lens to get it all in. After we made our way back to the plaza, we all posed for the traditional group shot. Since part of the group had other commitments, we said our goodbyes and split up. All in all, I was there for 2 and a half hours.

Note- there is a gas station on the corner of the plaza with very nice restrooms. Ask for the key at the counter for the Baños (ñ= Bon-yos, like in canyon).

Lunch at Cerro de Nandy

I teamed with a couple who wanted to go check out a restaurant located up the side of a mountain. I’m so glad I chose to tag along!

This place is located near San Lorenzo, along Hwy 181. The couple I was following had not been there before and stopped to ask for directions several times. The locals had no problem sending us in the right direction.

Could I find it again on my own?

Maybe..

I was able to find a Spanish restaurant review about the place with a good address and phone number- Carr. 181, ramal 765, Sector Cantera Bo. Jagual San Lorenzo, PR- Teléfono: 939.630.2297. With that, I was able to find it on GoogleMaps. A couple of the reviews were somewhat critical, but I liked it.

If you do not have a Jeep or 4×4 with good tires, you can catch a ride to the top and back in an old military ‘Deuce-and-a-Half’ troop carrier. At $5 round trip, I think it was a deal. The road was a very steep with boulders as big as basketballs and shallow creek at the bottom.

The ride up was better than the ride down. Breaking caused you to slide around on the bench. Since we were the only 3 going up, we all rode upfront with the driver. Much safer. It was Awesome!

The view from the restaurant was breathtaking.

I could kick myself for not bringing panoramic gear… my current camera does not do ‘panos’, but if yours does, it’s worth the trip, just to get the shot.

Cerro de Nandy is a much bigger place than I expected, considering where it is. The owner, Nandy is always there, ready to bend your ear.

Rabbit is a specialty of the house and comes highly recommended.

There is plenty of parking once you get here. I bet it would accommodate 50 to 60 vehicles, no problem. There was a full bar and large kitchen with a huge covered patio area. There was also an area off to one side for a live band. I tried the roast chicken with rice and beans with a slice of Avocado on the side and washed it down with a Medalla cerveza. Service was reasonable. The menu display was quite long, but there were no posted prices. Basically, it was $10 per plate plus the beer. Prices were not bad, portions were generous and the food was very good. Not exceptional, but very good.

I would call it ‘Home Style Puerto Rican’.

As always, it is not spicy hot, but there was a bottle of mild hot sauce on almost every table.

Dominoes- The Great Puerto Rican Pastime

Dominoes are very popular in Puerto Rico, especially with the older crowd.. a local bar is not complete without at least one dedicated domino table.

It’s not unusual to spot a few ‘old-timers’ playing dominos in the plaza, under the shade of a big tree.

Me First Mate used to build and sell domino tables like the one in this shot. She sold hundreds of them before she quit making them. Furniture grade hardwood is difficult and expensive to come by these days. Shipping the tables has also become cost prohibitive. Now you can buy a plastic knockoff for under $40. Very few folks are willing to pay $350 for a quality made, hard wood table with custom graphic. Those days are gone.

BTW- Puerto Ricans play with ‘double sixes’ where as Cubans play with ‘double nines’. This subject alone, can turn into a heated discussion as to ‘which is better’.

There was a steady stream of jeeps making their way up to the restaurant. By the time we left, there had to be at least a couple dozen. Now if I had just kept that ’68 CJ with Buick V6 I had back in Alaska, I’d be set..

Once we got down to the parking lot, I thanked my new Meetup friends for letting me tag along. From there, I made my way back to Caguas, then back to the south side for home.

Another fantastic day in Puerto Rico!

Please note: Since July, our DSL Internet service has been very flaky making it difficult to get anything done on line. We have reported the issue many times since and always get the same response- ‘We are working on it’.

Infrastructure maintenance is a real issue in Puerto Rico.

DSL is much faster and not subject to severe weather like a satellite dish. We really do not want to go back to using HughesNet though at this point, it seems more reliable than our DSL.  Paradise Tax Revisited