1/18/24: Puerto Rico: Westward to Historic Ponce & San Germán

From San Juan on Puerto Rico's northeast coast, we crossed the island's Cordillera Central toward Ponce, the second-largest city whose rival with San Juan began in the 19th century with the arrival of Spanish, French, and English immigrants. 

In Ponce's town square of Plaza de Delicias was the pale blue Catedral de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, dedicated to the Virgin of Guadalupe and built on the ruins of a 1670 chapel destroyed by earthquakes.

Two alabaster altars and stained-glass windows adorned the serene interior filled with noon-day worshippers.

The plaza was once a popular site for music and dancing and is still where the city's festivals and celebrations are held. Next to the church was the park's famous lion fountain.

Strolling around the Cultural District in Ponce Centro we discovered many of the historic colonial buildings had been renovated.

It was hard for us to grasp but the unique black-and-red-striped Parque de Bomba has been described as the second-most photographed building in Puerto Rico after the 16th century El Morro military structure in the capital! As you might guess from the colorful stripes, it became a firehouse just a year after being built in 1882 as a pavilion for an agricultural and industrial fair. The small museum describing the feats of Ponce's fire brigade was undergoing renovations when we were there so we had to be content with these views.

Hardly historic but darn cute!

Art Deco-style architecture wasn't what we expected to see in Ponce.

Museo de la Historia de Ponce:

Given your fondness for the island's music, Paul, I have no doubt you'd have enjoyed spending time at the city's Museo de la Música Puertorriqueña. If it hadn't been closed for lunch, we would have learned how Puerto Rican music had been influenced by Native American, Spanish, and African cultures.

Inaugurated in 1864 was the historic Teatro La Perla, the second-oldest theater of its kind on the island.

The enchanting mural on the exterior of the Juan Morel Campos Institute of Music:

This shop sold gold ice cream cones, something I never knew existed until I began researching our upcoming trip to Asia. I think I looked forward to having one somewhere in Japan as we'd already eaten lunch.

Built as a hardware store in 1882, El Cometa became one of Puerto Rico’s most important companies. It was acquired in 1981 by the city and, after extensive restoration, was now part of the Ponce City Hall Block.

After an absolutely delightful few hours wandering around Ponce, we began driving northwest toward San Germán, a town thought to have been established in 1510 initially near the coast in Guánica. After being plagued by mosquitoes, and French pirates and smugglers, settlers moved inland to its current location in the 1570s.

We began our walking tour in the center of San Germán's Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, at Plaza Santo Domingo.

Admiring the striking Victorian-style gables at Casa Morales on the plaza's corner, we thought we'd been transported to a small town in New England!

Coming into town, we'd smiled at the logo of the dental clinic as it portrayed Capilla de Porta Coeli, one of the oldest religious buildings in the Americas.

Overlooking the square was the commanding, mission-style Heaven's Gate Chapel built at the behest of Queen Isabel Segunda in 1609 for the Dominicans. The original rudimentary church and monastery was replaced by this structure in 1692. I remember thinking my physical therapist would have been happy I was exercising my left leg as I slowly made my way up those imposing stone steps! 

The only vestige of the original monastery was this facade viewed from Porta Coeli's back. The monastery was originally called a 'convent,' as the terms were not gender-specific as they are now.

The chapel had been transformed into a museum displaying religious art including painted wooden statuary by Latin American and Spanish artists. 

The guide mentioned the tiled floors dated to the 1860s.

Presiding over the chapel's main altar was an 18th-century Baroque altarpiece moved to Porta Coeli in 1830. It was the only work of its kind still preserved in its entirety in the territory.

On the chapel's parapet were flags representing the 22 towns in the San Germán district.

The guide made sure we looked at the back of this wall hanging or rug as it was a painting by the artist Consuelo of his sister, Consuela. Consuelo painted her image as he needed 'consoling' after she died. It was one of the most intriguing things we'd seen in a long time.

What a captivating view we had overlooking the plaza. For some reason, it was empty except for one old man sitting on a park bench.

At the other end of the square was the Antigua Casa Alcadia, the former town hall and the current visitor center built in 1844. 

Commanding a lofty view on the city's other plaza, Plaza Francisco Mariano Quiñones was the Iglesia San Germán de Auxerre which dated from 1739 but had seen many additions over the years. We'd liked to have seen its carved wood ceiling in the nave and the chandelier that had been imported from Barcelona in 1866 but it was closed.

We wandered uphill and down dale in all the back streets before we finally found the Casa de Lola Rodríguez de Tió constructed in 1843 in Creole- or Criollo-style. Thought to be San Germán's most continuously occupied residence, it was possibly the home of a 19th-century poet and activist who was deported several times by Spanish authorities for her own revolutionary activities. Or, depending on what we read, the home may have been the residence of her sister, a descendant of Ponce de León. 

An architectural gem on the city's main drag and described as one of the most beautiful homes in Puerto Rico was Casa Juan Ortiz Perichi with its stunning wraparound porch and red zinc roof. The 1920s estate has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1986.

These other historic Criollo-style homes wouldn't have been out of place in New Orleans.

If the town's many historical sites hadn't been enough to woo us, the knowledge that tunnels existed built by the original residents under the historical homes intrigued us even further! Sounded like enough of a reason to return someday to San Germán.

Steven celebrating his birthday later that evening near the town of Cabo Rojo on the island's west coast:

Next post: Exploring Cabo Rojo Peninsula including the only lighthouse in Puerto Rico, a National Wildlife Refuge, and salt flats.

Posted on March 16th, 2024 from Tempe, near Phoenix, Arizona where we've come to get away from snowy Denver for the month. Steven and I hope you also are relaxing and enjoying life wherever this finds you. Stay safe.