19 October 2012

[Adam]:  Yesterday was our first, full day of play in Puerto Rico. We arrived here Thursday night with just time to get in a dinner and then go to bed. Most of Friday was consumed (for me) with business meetings & etc. The gang hung out at the hotel, swimming, eating & etc.

Yesterday we got up, ate breakfast, and then spent the morning at the pool. Afterwards, we walked along the beach and then took a taxi into old San Juan, where the shops, forts and touristy restaurants are located.

We headed out to explore San Juan.

They have a feral cat problem.  This was a cat rescue operation, with dozens (if not hundreds) of cats.

Park pigeons.  We always have to feed the birds.  

20 October 2012

Isabella walking up to El Morro, the principal Spanish fort that guarded the maritime city entrance since 1525. Puerto Rico was discovered by Columbus on his second voyage to the New World.

Holden enjoying the views.

Old canons used to sink any unwelcome ships.

Josie:  “What is this tiny door for?”

Caught in a downpour. It is raining here every day, but usually only for about 10 minutes, then back to sunshine. It’s not too hot here (88 deg) but the humidity is close to 100%. We were caught in one of the downpours and hid under an old storage cubby hole in the fort. Holden and Josie chose to stand in the rain instead.

Near the top of the fort, between rain showers.

Streets of San Juan, the second oldest European city in the Americas. (The oldest is Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, one of the next islands over from Puerto Rico.)

These outer walls protected the entire island. The only way into the city of San Juan was through one of 5 heavily guarded city gates. (Only the main one still exists.)

 21 October 2012

Today we drove west and into the interior of the island to visit the Arecibo Observatory. This is the world’s largest and most sensitive telescope, with a dish 1,000 feet in diameter.
Next to the telescope is a visitor’s center with plenty of astronomical displays and things for kids to play with to show the capabilities and goals of the telescope.

You may have seen this telescope in various movies:  James Bond – Goldeneye and Jodie Foster in Contact are a couple.

We didn’t get to do anything as cool as in the movies … just some learning and looking.

Isabella with a 350 pound meteorite that landed in Africa in the 1850s.

One of the 3 support towers.

The parabolic dish focuses incoming signals to the dome shaped receiver above.. the signal is then amplified, supercooled down to near 0 deg Kelvin, converted to a digital signal, and then sent to a separate laboratory about 1/4 mile away where the scientists interpret the data.

The kids making clouds at one of the displays.

Aerial view (not taken by me…) of the telescope.

22 October 2012

Today we headed up into the mountains to go hiking in the rain forest. News flash: it rains in the rain forest. However, it was so hot and humid during the hiking that we were glad for the occasional downpours.

View from the top – looking out over the forest to the Caribbean on the horizon.

Josie using one of the giant leaves as an umbrella.

Afterwards, we found a road side stand selling coconut milk drinks.. they chill the coconuts before hand and machete them open at the time of purchase.. The kids loved the show and the coconut milk inside.

They were not, however, fans of the meat – which had a consistency similar to Hawaiian poi – a solid/slimy texture that turned everyone off.