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Light hole in Camuy Cave |
Today we decide to start the day by eating breakfast at the nearby cafe, El Buen Cafe, which is right across the street from the parador and seems to be very popular with the locals. After sitting down it takes a bit to get understood as the waitress is speaking only Spanish but with the help of a couple at a nearby table we make ourselves understood and the food is quite good.
After breakfast we check out and head inland towards Arecibo Observatory. As soon as we leave the main road the roads become narrower and twisty and there is more nature around us compared to the coast where it is almost town after town. The only animals that we see though are a few cows on a nearby field.
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Businesses in Hatillo | Cows near mountain road to Arecibo |
The dish at
Arecibo Observatory, our first goal for the day, is well known from multiple movies like GoldenEye and Contact and Sci Fi books but we are interested in it also from a scientific viewpoint. After arriving at the parking lot there is a short but steep climb to the visitor center and the viewpoint for the dish. The museum at the visitor center is quite interesting and after looking at the different exhibits we step outside for the view of the dish. It is huge and impressive even though it has a greyer color than we expected due to the regular rain showers. Another interesting tidbit that we learn is that special shoes are needed when entering the dish to clean and repair in order not to damage dish.
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Arecibo description | Arecibo view |
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Equipment and tower at Arecibo | Special shoe for working on the dish |
After leaving the Arecibo area we drive to
Rio Camuy Caves Park one of the major attractions in Puerto Rico. There are lots of locals and a few tourists from Europe so after standing in line for tickets for 3/4h we are happy that our timed ticket is in only 1/2hr. The tour starts with a train ride from the visitor center almost to the bottom of the sink hole from where we hike to the cave entrance. The vegetation is luscious but it is difficult to enjoy it given that you have to follow the guide closely to hear any comments she might be making. Luckily we were also provided with a recording with headphones that we use quite often to supplement what we hear from the guide.
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Camuy Cave trail | Entrance to the cave |
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Tour group | View of the entrance from inside the cave |
The trail goes around a cave with multiple light holes and even a viewpoint of a river far beneath the cave. Another highlight is a section where we see a few bats. After returning while waiting for the car we see a fenced area in which it almost looks like someone is intentionally cultivating mushrooms. Overall the whole tour takes about 1.5 hours and at the end we are beat so we decide to eat lunch near the car in the parking lot (like a lot of Puerto Rican families also seem to be doing).
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Light hole view from cave | Cave trail to bat area |
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Raining through the light hole | Culture of mushrooms |
After the cave we want to make one more stop in a mountain park,
Bosque Estatal De Guajataca, but unfortunately the road is closed due to repairs so we drive through to our next accomodation
El Combate Beach Resort. The room is quite comfy and after settling in we exit to eat dinner at the nearby restaurant Annie's Place where we order a typical Puerto Rican dish the mofongo. It is quite an interesting concoction with meat stuffed in a plantain and it is good but in the end we are chased by the mosquitoes back to our room to rest for the night.
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Combate Beach Resort Room | Mofongo at Annie's Place |
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