Ponce es Ponce...

We started this beautiful day in southern Puerto Rico with a walking tour of the Ponce city center. The students got quite the history lesson today, as our sightseeing covered much of the history of the island all the way back to Pre-Columbian times.

We began at the Museo de la Historia de Ponce, where a local guide taught us about Ponce's history as the economic and political center of the island. The locals have a deep sense of pride for this role, which is why they will tell you of the island, "Ponce is Ponce, and the rest is just parking."

At the Plaza del Mercado, Angel introduced us to some of the fresh fruits that were not familiar to us. We saw cassava root, tamarind and soursop, to name just a few.














I believe the one he's holding in this photo is known here as pana (breadfruit).


Some of the students were quick to take advantage of the opportunity to enjoy the refreshing cocos frios for sale at the market here.

We visited the iconic Parque de las Bombas near the plaza. Originally constructed for a fair exhibition, the building now serves as a small museum honoring a group of local men who fought to save the town from a fire in 1899.











At the Tibes Indigenous Ceremonial Center this afternoon, we saw bateyes, or ball court ruins. These archaeological sites are attributed to the native population inhabiting the island when Columbus arrived (named Tainos by the Europeans), and their ancestors, the Igneris. The Igneri are believed to have migrated from the Orinoco Region of present day Venezuela.

Next we visited Hacienda Buena Vista, a historic plantation that has grown fruit, corn, coffee and cacao over the years. We took a guided walk through the beautiful grounds, admiring the waterfalls and the lush forest vegetation. The cacao trees provide the shade necessary for the coffee plants. Here the process of husking and cleaning the coffee beans for roasting is largely powered by water that is temporarily diverted from the river through a series of canals. They also have some unique equipment used for grinding corn into feed and a finer flour.

Here students try to peel the roasted and dried cocoa beans, a process done entirely by hand.


We also experienced some of the local flora and fauna on our ventures today. Students had mixed feelings about the variety of small lizards we spotted throughout the day. We learned the names of many different kinds of native trees bearing vibrant flowers, gourds and achiote, a red seed used in cooking to color rice dishes. We were also able to hear the chirping of the legendary coquis, tiny frogs endemic to the island.

Another scenic drive through the mountainous terrain of central Puerto Rico brought us back to San Juan this afternoon, where we will be staying the next five nights.

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Location: Ponce, Puerto Rico