After about an hour nap in the parking lot of the Ponce Hilton and Convention Center I went in search of a shower and place to wash my clothes. I circled around back of the hotel and there was struck with a view of Xanadu. They had pools, hot tubs, Saunas, couches, it was perfection.
I went into the bathroom and found the showers, doing a thorough cleaning of body and clothes and sat by the pool while my clothes dried. Your obligatory pictures.
After a couple hours I was getting a bit fidgety, so I packed up and left before the pool area became crowed and people started complaining about the Gorilla in the Mist.
I was gunna head into Ponce to snap some pictures during the day, but opted to continue on West along the shore.
While driving along the coast I saw a flea market and an amusement park. I could not pass up the opportunity to buy some local stuff and maybe take some unique pictures in a broken down amusement park. I parked and was immediately greeted with a man selling crabs out of a trap followed my spray painted chicks in time for Easter. I thought I had found a gold mine, but that seemed to be the highlight other than coming across some of the potatoes I had hunted in the Canyon the night before.
The rest of the market was fake cologne and FUBU clothing. I moved through quickly and headed over to the amusement park hidden behind the doors of a castle. All boarded up and I looked for a way in. I found a fence I could have scaled, but I thought better as the risk reward was not resting on the positive side of the spectrum, so I moved on.
My next stop was Bosque Estatal De Guanica. It is a dry forest that sees a unique dry ecosystem nowhere else seen on the island. I worked my way through the neighborhoods and eventually found the park. A friendly old gentleman was manning the booth at the reserve and took the time to show me some pictures and explain the trails. He wanted me to take some of his pictures for my blog, but we actually just wanted me to take pictures of his pictures. So enjoy this cactus
I had done some research and was looking forward to a hike out to a point were a run down fort lies. after talking with the gentleman I asked if I could make a donation as that is what I figured he was driving at, but he only laughed, refused and left me satisfied and a bit confused as to his motive for spending all day showing pictures.
I headed out. The trail was well groomed and wide enough for a car, actually larger than most PR roads. I caught a glimpse of some birds that the old crazy man had showed me
I made the 3 mile hike out to the fort in under an hour. I took some shots, took in the view and was off as the rain was coming down.
I got back to the car fairly fast and was off. The first beach town I came to was La Parguera. It is know for its scuba diving. Apparently they have a cliff of coral that people come from far and wide to dive. There was a strip of Scuba bars and I would have stopped for a beer if I was not looking forward to making the locals beach town of Boqueron.
When I arrived in Boqueron, it was Sunday and a madhouse. Cars parked everywhere. I knew I had stumbled upon something special. I parked in a spot that would double as a campsite and walked into the beachtown.
All over people were selling everything from the sea at roadside stands. Shark, oysters, snapper, etc. I came upon the center of activity and saw people dancing and drinking to live music. I sat on the edge of a pier and took it in for a few hours. I stopped in a restaurant for an incredible fish sandwich, which I could not stop raving about to the point that I looked a bit odd. I made a fatal mistake and ordered a cup of tap water. I regretted either the water or the fish the next day. This was a cool town filled with absolutely no Americans and if I had a weekend with some friends I would drive down here and rent a room above this square and spend the days listening to music and snorkeling the coast.
This is a picture of guy with his new golden retriever. He had never been in the water and he just jumped right in as soon as his owner called. If we all could be so bold.
Below is a picture of a shirt I bought. I had no idea what it said, but I thought would be funny to wear back in the states. I envision wearing it out one night and having someone come up and slap me across the face. I have no plans of looking up its meaning until said event occurs.
After sunset I headed out.
I decided to make my way up the coast to the surfing town of Rincon as opposed to crashing somewhere along the way. Around 9pm I pulled into a favorite surfer bar and bellied up to the bar. I immediately mte some American couple and went through some of my recent activities as they were on their way in the opposite direction around the island. They were headed back to their room above another bar and invited me for drinks. As I had my room with me at all times I agreed to follow.
We landed at a local bar, which I was told was one of the top American bars in a recent Esquire magazine. About 9pm I had to crash, feeling bad I was making my exit early, but climbed into shotgun and vowed to make the most of my beach day tomorrow.
Here is a shot of a drunk couple that were making quite a scene grinding on the dance floor they created
Until Tomorrow
Darren
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