We checked out of the hotel and were on the bus by 8 am. We drove up into.the mountains (cooler) to visit a 19th century coffee plantation which has been restored as a museum explaining coffee production. The path was gravel and upward, but the pace was not fast. At the head of the trail was a beautiful waterfall. The water was channeled down the mountain to a waterwheel which was used to process the coffee beans. The whole coffee production was explained. The road up (and down) was narrow and very curvy. If we started around a curve and met a car, you know who backed up. We are so blessed to have a wonderful bus driver, Louis.
At exactly 11 am (we were on the bus), everyone’s cell phone sounded an alarm (like when there is a tornado). They were conducting a tsunami drill. We had been forewarned about it. We did not have to do anything. Our guide told us that they had two earthquakes last week: one was 5+ and the other 4+. Plus every guide has related how Hurricane Maria in 2017 impacted them: six months without water, no electricity, supplies, roads, etc. We started to get the feeling that natural disasters are common!
We stopped at Caguas for lunch. We ate a local barbecue place that looked very unpretentious but had a line of customers. Two pigs and many chickens were on spits and in full display. (Later found out that they have several local locations and cook 8 - 10 pigs everyday and many, many chickens.) The first thing that caught our eye was a woman standing in the open-air kitchen with a machete (18” blade) whacking up the pork. We picked up our meat of choice, rice, and beans and sat down to eat. We also visited two small museums in that town that dealt with Puerto Rican history. Back in the bus and on to San Juan. We visited the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico - a fairly new art museum filled with wonderful exhibits—some quite modern.. Headed back to the Hampton Inn and waited for our rooms. Dinner on our own by the pool.
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