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I had the good fortune to receive some specifics regarding the folks participating in the reenactment.
As it turns out, there IS a local group that stages reenactment exercises, right here in Puerto Rico.
Regimiento Fijo de Puerto Rico was formed in 2005.
The group has a very large, very tasteful Website (in Spanish and English). If you are a history buff, you’ll want to check it out. Nice job José. [Read more…] about British Battle of 1797 Reenactment Update
A Reenactment of the 1797 Attack on San Juan by the Brits
The US National Parks Service that runs El Morro and Fort San Cristóbal staged quite a show. El Morro is the perfect venue for a reenactment. Something I wish they did more often. I’m surprised it’s not something they do on a regular basis.
The crowd loves this kind of stuff… kids go home and tell their friends about how awesome it was. Then those kids pester their parents to go see Puerto Rico instead of the Grand Canyon. I know El Morro is a huge ‘crowd-draw’ in its own right, but how do you differentiate yourself from all the other old Spanish forts spread across the Caribbean?
And where are the Pirates? Arrggg!!!
This event was scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We hit it on Friday since we needed to run back by Jayuya on Saturday, the weather was supposed to go bad by Sunday. It did. As we like to do, we drove to the ferry terminal in Cataño where the parking is better, then ride the ferry into Old San Juan. [Read more…] about San Juan- The British have landed
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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
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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
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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