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Puerto Rico..."La Isla del Encanto"

My sister recently went on vacation in Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory in the Caribbean, and she sent me not one, but two postcards from that island!


"Puerto Rico" is Spanish for "Rich Port." Before this, it was called "Boriken" or "Borinquen," from which the term "Boricua" is derived as referring to people of Puerto Rican heritage.

During the time that it was a Spanish colony, it became a sort of a stopover island for the Spanish galleons laden with goods from its oceanic conquests such as the Philippines en route to Spain. The historic district of Old San Juan (Viejo San Juan) is where you can find the famous Fort El Morro, one of many fortresses built to resist invaders and pirates (of the Caribbean?).

What's interesting about these structures is that they resemble Fort Santiago in Manila, Philippines. It's no wonder, because the Philippines was colonized by the Spaniards around the same time that Puerto Rico was.



This second postcard is of Ponce--the second largest city of Puerto Rico--named after Juan Ponce de Leon's grandson, Loiza Ponce de Leon. There you can visit the Parque de Bombas, or their historic Fire Station; the Trully Main Square, and the "Hacienda Buena Vista" Cathedral.

If you click on both postcards, you'll notice an emblem with a frog on it. That frog is Puerto Rico's beloved "Coqui", so named because of its unique call that sounds just like it's pronounced. It is said to be found only in Puerto Rico and, according to local legends, was named after a tribal chieftain whose name is immortalized by the sound the frog makes.

Chef Andrew Zimmern recently featured Puerto Rico on his "Bizarre Foods" show on the Travel Channel. Coupled with my sister's photos and stories...it all just makes me want to go the "Island of Enchantment," too!



¡Feliz Viernes, everyone!

17 vandalized my wall:

Terry said...

Hi
Happy PFF .
Wow that was so nice of your sister to send you two great postcards.
Thank you for sharing all the rich history.
It all sounds wonderful .
Hope you get a chance to go .
Have a fantastic weekend.
Happy Trails

Paul van Yperen said...

Tou must have a great sister. Thank you for your post that sure wanna makes me go on vacation. Greetings from Amsterdam.

Garando said...

I used to have a friend from Puerto Rico who settled in the Philippines. It was too bad he didn't cook because I was hoping for some authentic Puerto Rican food. :D
I can see we're both fans if Mr. Zimmern!
Thanks for visiting my blog!

Marie Reed said...

Now I'm craving a pork pul sandwich for breakfast! Is that a dragon fruit that he couldn't eat at the end of the video? hmmm.. What a vibrant post! I'm with you and Bob! I want to go on vacation tere now too!

RedLan said...

Hola! jejeje. Taga capiz ka gle. Kaw ang tag iya sang traveler/doll nga si Ms Igorota? Kilalahay kamu ni Zj?....

Sana magkaroon ako ng postcard from Puerto Rico soon kasi nagprivate ako sa isang Puerto Rican. Gary Valenciano, Ricky Martin and Dayanara Torres are people who could remind me of Puerto Rico.

Sheila said...

I know nothing whatever about Puerto Rico, so this has really interested me. I must google some more!

Postcardy said...

I wonder if they eat frogs. I don't think I would feel like eating pork after seeing that pigs head roasting with the rest of it..

ms firefly said...

lechon has never been bizarre for me...i can stuff my face with it now! *drool* ^-^

Kristin - The Goat said...

The Puerto Rico fort is really cool. I was fortunate enough to be able to visit there a few years ago. Good food, good people, really nice place to visit.

Daryl said...

I havent been to Puerto Rico, often called NYC's 6th Borough, in a life time .. neat post!

Mandala Michelle said...

Beautiful cards. My Dad used to travel to PR alot and he'd always bring back coins and other cool trinkets. Once he brought back chocolate covered bugs. Not so cool!

Debby said...

GOsh, they are gorgeous cards, looks like a great place to visit.
debby

Aimee said...

Wow, those are great cards! Makes me want to visit!

Jen Laceda | Milk Guides said...

Thanks for pointing out how similar the fort in San Juan, Puerto Rico was with Fort Santiago!! Amazing! I didn't even notice the connection--heehee!

Robin said...

Lovely postcards....and a wonderful post. So very interesting. I am curious as to what Mr. Zimmern won't eat as well. :-)
Thanks for sharing.

Hope your weekend is beautiful.

Kathy McCreedy said...

Love your postcards, and love the history about P.R. even more! The architecture is marvelous, and you've made me want to visit the island now! Thank you for sharing and thank you for your very kind comments on my site. I appreciate it!

Oman said...

i wanna go there too. di ba jan si dayanara torres?

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