Ponce: Day 1

Puerto Rico Honeywell had Holy Thursday and Good Friday off as holidays, so we decided to make the most of our time off and explore Ponce.  We had a lot of recommendations from coworkers on what to see while we were there.  There were a lot of activities packed into two days!

We left early Thursday morning because almost everything was closed on Good Friday, and we wanted to get in as much as possible.  

Tibes Indian Ceremonial Center
At the Tibes Indian Center we were given a tour of the grounds which contained different rock structures (ball court, ceremonial areas, and rock structures in line with the solstices and equinoxes), and a model of what homes may have looked like in the past.  This site was found in 1975 when a tropical storm hit Puerto Rico.  So, it's a fairly new site.  It was interesting to learn about the Indians: pre-Taino, and Taino.  Also, the tour guide gave us a more complete history of Puerto Rico, and its native people.

After the tour of the grounds we went into the small museum and learned more.  We saw petroglyphs carved by the Indians, pottery, and human remains found in the area.  KC loves history, so this was right up her alley!

Petroglyphs on rock structure

Rock structure in line with solstices and equinoxes 

Petroglyphs

Cruz del Vigia

We saw this cross on our way to our next stop.  You can walk up to the top of it, but after reading reviews on Trip Advisor we decided to just drive by.  We didn't want to pay to walk up a few stairs and take in the view since we knew we'd be able to see the view at the next museum- which was literally across the street.

El Museo Castillo Serralles

We made it just in time for a tour of this castle in English.  A short video taught us about the sugar cane and rum industry and the Serralles family.  We learned that this house was built in the 1930's for the son of the founder of the Don Q rum industry.  The city of Ponce purchased it in the 1980's and it now functions as a museum and wedding location.  This house or "castle" was very ornate, and the family made sure only the best went into the floors/walls/furniture that was inside the home.

We couldn't take pictures inside the house, but once on the balcony you could take pictures of the city of Ponce below, and the view of the water.

The tour was a little long for our liking, but now we can say we've provided equal time to both Bacardi and Don Q while on the island! ;)  

Old Don Q bottles

Museo de Arte de Ponce
The #1 attraction on Trip Advisor was our next stop.  This Art Museum was a lot larger than we expected it to be, and the building itself was a work of art.  Their collection contains many pieces from European and Puerto Rican artists.

One interesting piece we found was this photograph taken in 1898 when the Americans landed in Ponce, and the painting depicting the same event.  

The oldest painting we found in the museum was of Emperor Maximilian I from 1518 made of oil on a cradled wood panel.  It's amazing something from this long ago exists, and is in such good condition.  We were impressed with the amount and selection of art in this museum.  

Driving around Ponce was interesting...  Many of the roads were in poor condition, and seemed to be neglected.  The further we drove up in the hills of the city the more deserted the streets became, and it left us wondering what happened.  During our tour of the castle the guide said the sugar cane industry left in the '90s, we're wondering/guessing if that had something to do with it.  Some streets in Ponce were alive and vibrant, and others felt like a ghost town.

We also encountered this situation while driving...  Can you help us out here?  How was this intersection supposed to work?  Thank goodness Jake has patience and is decisive when he needs to be!  Crisis averted!  We could probably do an entire series of posts on driving in Puerto Rico...  We'll save that for another day! 

Notice the lack of turn signals, something not uncommon in Puerto Rico...