A Marvelous Maritime Museum

Photos supplied

We love museums in Puerto Rico—as you can see by the 50 or so that are listed in this issue. In addition to those related to art, history, and historic homes, we also have transportation, sports, religious art, indigenous, African heritage, wildlife, and music museums. We have two museums just for children, one devoted to bobbin lace, one to old Volkswagens, and another that focuses on the Biblical Magi. There are so many, indeed, that there is bound to be one that matches your interests!

One of the newest is the Museo del Mar (Museum of the Sea or Maritime Museum) in Old San Juan and it is brimming with fascinating artifacts that capture the romance and adventure of the sea.

Among its distinctions is one of the largest collections of life preservers in the world. An area features miniature ships in bottles, another has unique model ships, and yet another boasts rare and antique navigational instruments. Relics from the USS San Juan and USS United States occupy a place of honor, and documents and displays capture colonial maritime history, including Columbus’ journeys and conquests.

The Museum of the Sea is located at 360 San Francisco St. in Old San Juan, just a short walk from Plaza Colón and the cruise ship piers. It is open Wednesday to Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Admission is charged and special rates for educational groups are available.

For information, call 787-977-4461, email museo@coqui.net or go to www.elmuseodelmar.com (info. available in Spanish and English). The museum can also be found on Facebook and Instagram: elmuseodelmar.

  

Un maravilloso museo marítimo

En Puerto Rico nos encantan los museos —como podrá notar por los 50 o más que enumeramos en esta edición. Además de los relacionados con el arte, la historia y las casas históricas, también tenemos museos de transportación, deportes, arte religioso, herencia indígena y africana, fauna y música. Contamos con dos museos para niños, uno dedicado al encaje de mundillo, uno de autos Volkswagen antiguos y otro centrado en los Reyes Magos bíblicos. ¡Hay tantos que de seguro encontrará uno que coincida con sus intereses.

Uno de los más recientes es el Museo del Mar en el Viejo San Juan, que está repleto de fascinantes artefactos que capturan el romance y la aventura del mar. Entre sus distintivos figura una de las mayores colecciones de salvavidas en el mundo. Una de sus áreas cuenta con barcos en miniatura dentro de botellas, otra tiene singulares modelos de barcos y otra presenta instrumentos de navegación raros y antiguos. Las reliquias de los navíos USS San Juan y USS United States ocupan un lugar de honor y los documentos y exhibiciones capturan la historia marítima colonial, incluyendo los viajes y las conquistas de Cristóbal Colón.

El Museo del Mar se encuentra en el núm. 360 de la calle San Francisco en el Viejo San Juan, a pocos pasos de la Plaza de Colón y de los muelles de cruceros. Está abierto de miércoles a domingo de 10:00 a.m. a 5:00 p.m. Se cobra una cuota de admisión y hay tarifas especiales para grupos escolares o educativos.

Para más información llame al 787-977-4461, envíe un correo electrónico a museo@coqui.net o acceda a www.elmuseodelmar.com (hay información disponible en español e inglés). También puede encontrar detalles en Facebook e Instagram: elmuseodelmar.

Qué Pasa: Dine Out West

Qué Pasa: Dine Out West: Sophia's Caribbean Sushi Bar Photos supplied What’s best out west? Participants in the recent Saborea Puerto Rico, A Culinary...

Dine Out West

Sophia's Caribbean Sushi Bar

Photos supplied

What’s best out west? Participants in the recent Saborea Puerto Rico, A Culinary Extravaganza, held at famous Escambrón Beach in San Juan, discovered dishes that dazzled them—and inspired trips to the Porta de Sol region of the island.

Sophia’s Caribbean Sushi Bar (787-370-3605), located at PR115 at km 12.4 in Rincón, has garnered top ratings on restaurant review sites, including such comments as “Some of the best, most inventive sushi I’ve had” to “A little gem.” The restaurant was the only one in Puerto Rico to make Miamibased Caribbean Journal’s 2014 Best Sushi in the Caribbean list.

Chef Joerick Rivera, Sophia’s

Co-owners Chef Joerick Rivera and Charlyn Rodríguez (the restaurant is named after their youngest daughter) and their team prepare and serve some of the best Japanese and Latin American dishes—and, of course, sushi—in Puerto Rico, the culinary capital of the Caribbean. The fish is all locally sourced—for freshness and to support local businesses.

If you are lucky enough to live in the Rincón area, Sophia’s will cater your next party. You can order take out, enjoy the restaurant’s intimate indoor or outdoor settings, or just sip one of its three trademark sangrias outside as the famed Rincón sunset does it thing.

Sophia’s is open Mondays through Saturday from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. and Sundays from 2:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. You can keep up with the action at the restaurant by following it on Facebook: “Sophia’s Sushi.”

 

Fish Taco Appetizer, Textura Restaurant

 Textura Restaurant (787-436-5953), located on PR2 km at 120.8 in Aguadilla, serves Caribbean specialties created by chef-owner Oscar Estrada in a small, charmingly casual dining room—and also offers catering and takeout services.

At last count there were 54 places to dine in the Aguadilla area, but there is only one at the very top of the list: Textura. Diners almost invariably give it five stars—one of the 72 happy reviewers on one site calls it “Simply delicious! Best restaurant in Puerto Rico’s west coast.”

The newest menu features traditional Caribbean dishes prepared with a flair: local beefsteak served with a creamy mushroom sauce, pork loin with grilled pineapple and coconut sauce, Parmesan-breaded chicken breast with a fresh tomato and basil sauce, and broiled shrimp with lemon in cilantro oil. The Fish of the Day is just that—available only when local anglers snag it! Among the appetizers are breaded fish tacos with cilantro mayonnaise and homemade coleslaw.

Chef Oscar Estrada, Textura Restaurant

 Textura is open for lunch on weekdays from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Dinner is served Wednesday and Thursday from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 4:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. The restaurant is open for lunch or early dinner on Sundays from noon to 6:30 p.m. You can see the latest menu (and confirm operating hours) by searching “Textura Restaurant” on Facebook.

Puerto Rico From a Different Point of View

San Juan Bay/Bahía de San Juan

 Text by Ronald C. Flores. Photos by Salvi Colom

Accclaimed photographer Salvi Colom knows Puerto Rico intimately—he once spent 29 days traveling our coastline on foot! He followed this with a year on the island and on Vieques, Culebra, Mona, and Caja de Muertos, taking thousands of images with his specially adapted infrared camera.

He then created 300 panoramic photomontages that he published in his book, El Puerto Rico que yo conozco (The Puerto Rico I Know). Why infrared? “Objects that absorb infrared rays, such as the sky and bodies of water, appear darker than usual. And such objects as clouds, sand, skin, and vegetation shine and glow because they reflect these same waves. It is neither a camera trick nor the magic of Photoshop. It is pure reality at its maximum expression,” Colom says.

¡Qué Pasa! asked him to share some of his images with our readers, to take us with him to a few of the places he has been, and to see them in a totally different light. We hope you enjoy the view!

Salvi Colom is a commercial and fine art photographer based in San Juan. He is known for the use of multiple images to compose large mosaics, collages, and panoramic montages. He subsequently published El Puerto Rico que yo conozco, a collection of black-and-white panoramic images. His photographs are captured with a converted camera that is sensitive to infrared light. For information or to acquire the book, call 787-507-4906, email salvipics@hotmail.com or visit www.salvipics.com.

Crash Boat Beach/Playa Crash Boat, Aguadilla

Puerto Rico desde un punto de vista distinto

Puerto Rico ya que en una ocasión pasó 29 días viajando nuestra costa ¡a pie! A esta hazaña le siguió un año recorriendo la isla—incluyendo Vieques, Culebra, Mona y Caja de Muerto— y tomando miles de imágenes con su cámara especialmente adaptada para captar infrarrojos. Luego creó 300 fotomontajes panorámicos que publicó en su libro, El Puerto Rico que yo conozco.

¿Por qué el infrarrojo? “Los objetos que absorben rayos infrarrojos, como el cielo y los cuerpos de agua, aparecen más oscuros de lo habitual. Y objetos como las nubes, la arena, la piel y la vegetación destellan y brillan porque reflejan estas mismas ondas. No es un truco de cámara ni tampoco la magia de Photoshop. Es pura realidad en su máxima expresión”, dice Colom.

¡Qué Pasa! lo exhortó a compartir algunas de sus imágenes con nuestros lectores de manera que podamos acompañarlo a algunos de los lugares que ha visitado y logremos verlos bajo una luz totalmente diferente. Esperamos que las disfrute.

Labadie Mansion/Castillo Labadie, Moca

Salvi Colom es un fotógrafo artístico y comercial que reside en San Juan. Es conocido por el uso de múltiples imágenes para componer grandes mosaicos, collages y montajes panorámicos. Posteriormente publicó El Puerto Rico que yo conozco, una colección de imágenes panorámicas en blanco y negro. Sus fotografías son captadas con una cámara especial que es sensible a la luz infrarroja. Para obtener más información o adquirir el libro, llame al 787-507-4906, envíe un correo electrónico a salvipics@hotmail.com o acceda a www.salvipics.com.

La Rogativa, Old/Viejo San Juan

Honeymoon on the ‘Little Sister’ Islands

Club Seabourne, Culebra

Text & photos by Ronald C. Flores

Your destination wedding was a spectacular success. Your family and friends are flying home or staying on for a tropical vacation. You and your spouse want a little time alone before rejoining them at the host hotel or at home.

W Retreat & Spa Beach, Vieques

Puerto Rico has an idyllic honeymoon getaway just a few miles from the bustle and excitement of San Juan and the “big island.” Vieques and Culebra, Puerto Rico’s “little sister” islands, are just a dozen-or-so miles off the east coast—but they will seem like a million miles away.

There are no traffic lights, no fast food franchises, no big-box stores, no malls, and no crowds. Each island has just one main town, a few thousand residents, a handful of roads, one airport, one dock, a few choice places to stay or to dine, and some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Since there are no rivers or streams, there is no run-off. The ocean water is always crystal-clear and the sand white and wonderful.

There is plenty to do on either island—if it happens in, on or around the water, that is. Culebra is  definitely more intimate and laid back: there is only one endorsed hotel—the highly rated Club Seabourne—one gas station, one bank, one bridge, one supermarket, and one main road. Flamenco Beach is regarded by many as the most beautiful in the world.

Vieques is the bigger sister. It has eight lodging choices, most with fewer than 15 rooms, capped by the sophisticated 156-room W Retreat & Spa. With a population of about 10,000 (compared with Culebra’s 2,000), there is a larger variety of restaurants and shops. Major attractions include Conde de Mirasol, a Spanish colonial fort (now a museum), Mosquito Bay, a bioluminescent natural wonder, a black-sand beach—and about 40 gorgeous white-sand beaches. Even at the height of the winter season, couples will often find themselves the only beachcombers.

How to Get There

Culebra Kayaking

By Air

The following commuter airlines offer scheduled and charter flights to Vieques and/or Culebra from   LMM International Airport in Isla Verde, Fernando L. Ribas Dominici Airport in Isla Grande or José Aponte de la Torre Airport in Ceiba (call to confirm airport, schedule, and destinations):

Air America (787-276-5669), Air Flamenco (787-724-1818), Air Margarita (787-529-2336), Air Sunshine (787-791-8900, 800-327-8900), Cape Air (866-227-3247), MN Aviation (787-791-7090), Seabourne Airlines (888-359-8687), and Vieques Air Link (787-741-8331).

By Public Ferry

A ferry travels between the town of Fajardo (on the “big island”) and Vieques four times a day, and between Fajardo and Culebra three times a day, year-round (see schedule in this issue.) You must purchase your tickets at the ferry office in Fajardo one hour before departure. At peak vacation time--such as spring breaks and weekends from May to August--you’ll want to get there two hours before.

Snorkling at Culebrita

Where to Stay

There are eight PRTC-endorsed hotels in Vieques and one in Culebra. See our lodging list for details. “At press time, the Vieques-Culebra-Fajardo passenger ferries were not operating, please call to confirm before traveling to Fajardo.”

Vieques: Casa de Amistad, Great Escape, Hacienda Tamarindo, Hix Island House, Blue Horizon, Malecón House, Seagate Guest House, Villa Coral Guest House, and W Retreat & Spa.

Culebra: Club Seabourne.