Driving in Puerto Rico

Our next stop east, another 20 mile hop in the Puerto Rican Two Step, was Ponce. Ponce is the third largest city in Puerto Rico and we planned to stay at the marina here for a few days and rent a car to explore a bit as well as shop and re-provision. Puerto Rico is amazing and to sum it up we will quote a friend of ours, “It is like America without all the Americans”. And he is so true. All the infrastructure of America is here; the roads, utilities, schools, libraries, rec centers and parks, etc. And all of stores that we know and love are here too including Kmart, Walmart, Sam’s Club, Home Depot, Circuit City, and West Marine. Not only that, but we went to the Mall de Carribe and it is just like any mall found anywhere in America with Sears, JC Penny, Ann Taylor, Radio Shack, Gap, and even Baby Gap, etc. Holy Cow! And don’t forget the fast food chains like Burger King, Pizza Hut, KFC, Subway, Taco Bell, and Ruby Tuesday too. Even though it still feels like a foreign country and the locals speak Spanish here it is in fact America, conveniently parked halfway between the Bahamas and the Caribbean. So needless to say, we were able to get everything we needed and to fill the boat up once again with all the essentials.

Although driving around Ponce and Puerto Rico in general is quite an experience. Apparently the rules of the road are loosely followed here and stop signs are definitely optional. It is common for a car to turn right from the left lane and cut you off. It is kind of like playing chicken at every intersection and only the car with the most gusto gets thru. So we have found that you have to be both an offensive and defensive driver to get anywhere. If you are too timid, traffic will zip around you and you get stuck in the middle of the road. But you also can’t be too aggressive either or you will definitely get in an accident. So you often find yourself and other cars driving on the median to avoid such accidents. When we rented the car we were warned about the crazy driving and were reassured that if anything happened they would take care of everything (of course the extra insurance was not optional). Just keep a copy of the police report for when you drop off the car and that will be that. And yes, all the cars in Ponce have dings, scratches, and crunches from previous fender benders and we were told that the rental cars go to the auto body shop once a month for repairs. Our common phrase while driving around town became, “Adios Mio!”

On our third day here we decided to get out of town and drive across Puerto Rico, to see the countryside, and visit Arecibo- the giant radio frequency telescope. So we jumped on the highway, or the Puerto Rico Autobahn as we called it (road rules still optional, but at a much faster pace), and zipped up thru the volcanic mountains. Within minutes the scenery changed drastically and we found ourselves in the lush jungles and bamboo forests. The countryside is really very beautiful here and we decided to take a small detour to drive on the Panoramic Highway for a bit. Well, this turned out to be another adventure altogether. The road narrows down to one lane and has numerous sharp curves and bends. Jay was white-knuckle driving this slalom course up the mountain, and down the mountain, and up the mountain, and back down again (you get the picture) always worried about another car coming the other way. And all along the road were chickens or dogs or horses to avoid as well. But it truly is a gorgeous drive (at least for me, poor Jay couldn’t take his eyes off the road for a second). We drove along a river for a while and saw many little waterfalls and a couple of lakes as well as small towns built right into the side of steep mountains- very cool. All in all it took us over an hour to drive a 10 mile section and we decided it was time to get back on the Autobahn. I guess the guide book was correct when it warned us that driving the Panoramic Highway, although scenic, can take days and to be sure to fill up on fuel, money, and an overnight bag before setting off.

So we got safely back on the Autobahn and continued on to Arecibo. The highways here are 4 lanes with gentle curves, a much easier way to transverse the countryside. Although a portion of Highway 10 is missing which we found out when the road abruptly ended and we almost did an Evil Canevil maneuver over the valley (just kidding, we weren’t that close to jumping, there were giant concrete roadblocks). So after a little detour we found ourselves following the signs to the Arecibo Observatory. You can start seeing the giant support towers from a couple miles away as you wind up the mountain road but nothing really prepares you for the sight of this giant radio frequency telescope. It is amazing! The giant dish is built into the surrounding hillside and the massive detector is suspended by 3 towers and tension wires over a hundred feet in the air. It is the largest telescope in the world, detecting galaxies and planets far far away. If aliens were to contact us, this would be the place we would answer. It is also where Hollywood has filmed a James Bond 007 movie and the movie Contact- one of our favorites. It truly was awe-inspiring and was well worth the visit.

Besides all the crazy driving, numerous shopping, and great sight-seeing, we also took the opportunity to enjoy downtown Ponce. There are many great restaurants here with fine dining served in garden patios, an oasis from the urban city life. Afterwards we strolled around Ponce Main Square in the heart of town and admired the Catedral de Nuestra Senora de la Guadalupe and the Parque de Bombas (which is the red and black stripped Ponce Firehouse Museum). There are many museums and sights to visit here and we felt that our time in Ponce was definitely too short. We plan on re-visiting this area, driving more of the Panoramic Highway, and exploring more of Puerto Rico and what it has to offer.

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