Pilar Defilló Museum | Pablo Casals Statue | Mayagüez, Puerto Rico: History, Culture, and a Slow Coastal Rhythm | Puerto Rico By GPS | Orlando Mergal

Mayagüez, Puerto Rico: History, Culture, and Coastal Rhythm

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Mayagüez sits on Puer­to Rico’s cen­tral west­ern coast, fac­ing the Atlantic with a calm con­fi­dence that’s easy to miss if you’re rush­ing through. This is a town known for two very dif­fer­ent things: a fruit that helped shape its iden­ti­ty and one of the most respect­ed engi­neer­ing schools in the Caribbean. But num­bers and nick­names don’t tell the whole sto­ry. Con­tin­ue reading…
Our Lady Of Monserrat Basilica sit upon a mountain in the beautiful town of Hormigueros, Puerto Rico. | Puerto Rico By GPS | ©2026 Orlando Mergal

Hormigueros, Puerto Rico: Small Town, Big Stories, and One Powerful View

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Click on image to watch the video Some towns sur­prise you the moment you arrive. Oth­ers take their time, reveal­ing their sto­ry lay­er by lay­er. Hormigueros does both. Today, we’re explor­ing Puer­to Rico’s sec­ond small­est munic­i­pal­i­ty. To put that into per­spec­tive, Hormigueros is about half the size of Man­hat­tan. Yet with­in that com­pact foot­print, you’ll find one of the island’s most impor­tant Con­tin­ue reading…
Los Morrillos Lighthouse, Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico

Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico: Well Beyond the Beaches

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If you haven’t been to south­west­ern Puer­to Rico, you’ve missed one of the most beau­ti­ful regions on the island. This cor­ner of Puer­to Rico is where rolling hills meet rugged cliffs, where calm Caribbean waters touch wild shore­lines, and where his­to­ry qui­et­ly waits for those will­ing to slow down. In this chap­ter of our jour­ney to vis­it all 78 munic­i­pal­i­ties of Con­tin­ue reading…
Immaculate Conception Parish | Guayanilla, Puerto Rico — History, Heart, and Hidden Beauty | Puerto Rico By GPS | Orlando Mergal

Guayanilla, Puerto Rico | History, Heart, and Hidden Beauty

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Click on image to watch the video It was a warm Sep­tem­ber morn­ing in 2025, and my wife and I were wrap­ping up our last day of explo­ration in Puer­to Rico’s south­ern coast before head­ing back to the San Juan metro area. We had just checked out of the charm­ing Guáni­ca 1929 Hotel, an ele­gant, fam­i­­ly-run prop­er­ty that had been our Con­tin­ue reading…
San Jose Parish | Peñuelas | Beauty, History and Resilience | Puerto Rico By GPS | Orlando

Peñuelas | Beauty, History and Resilience

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A Cloudy Begin­ning in the Val­ley of Flam­boy­ans It was one of those gray Puer­to Rican morn­ings — humid, over­cast, and with a driz­zle that made every­thing shine just a lit­tle more. My wife and I were head­ed to Peñue­las, a small town on the south­west coast of Puer­to Rico, tucked between Ponce to the east, Adjun­tas to the north, Con­tin­ue reading…
Ponce Fire Engine | Ponce, Puerto Rico: Exploring the City of Lions, History, and Elegance (Part 1) | Puerto Rico By GPS | Orlando Mergal

Rediscovering Ponce’s Hidden Treasures
“Part 2 of Our Ponce, Puerto Rico Adventure”

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When most trav­el­ers think of Puer­to Rico, Old San Juan instant­ly comes to mind, with its col­or­ful streets, his­toric forts, and bustling plazas. But ven­ture south, and you’ll find Ponce, a city with a rich his­to­ry, stun­ning archi­tec­ture, and cul­tur­al trea­sures that are often over­looked. In our first Ponce arti­cle, we explored the town from the inside out, cov­er­ing the Con­tin­ue reading…
Federico Degetau Square | Ponce, Puerto Rico: Exploring the City of Lions, History, and Elegance (Part 1) | Puerto Rico By GPS | Orlando Mergal

Ponce, Puerto Rico, the City of Lions, History and Elegance
“Part 1”

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When you think of Puer­to Rico, your mind may jump straight to Old San Juan with its col­or­ful streets and his­toric forts. But trav­el south, and you’ll find a city with just as much his­to­ry, charm, and character—Ponce. Known as La Per­la del Sur (the Pearl of the South), Ponce is Puer­to Rico’s sec­ond-largest city and, some would argue, its Con­tin­ue reading…
Mar Chiquita | A Day in Manatí, Puerto Rico: History, Culture & Adventure | Puerto Rico By GPS | Orlando Mergal

A Day in Manatí, Puerto Rico: History, Culture & Adventure

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When you hear the name Man­atí, you might think of the gen­tle sea cow that drifts slow­ly through warm waters. But in Puer­to Rico, Man­atí is not just an aquat­ic mam­mal — it’s also a live­ly coastal town on the north-cen­­tral shore, full of his­to­ry, tra­di­tion, and nat­ur­al beau­ty. My wife and I recent­ly spent a day explor­ing this fas­ci­nat­ing Con­tin­ue reading…
Bad Bunny Hometown Mural | Vega Baja, Puerto Rico- Beaches, Culture & A Touch of Bad Bunny | Puerto Rico By GPS | Orlando Mergal

Vega Baja, Puerto Rico: Beaches, Culture & A Touch of Bad Bunny

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If you’ve nev­er been to Vega Baja, Puer­to Rico, you’re miss­ing one of the island’s most charm­ing towns. Nes­tled on the north-cen­­tral coast, Vega Baja blends stun­ning beach­es, pre­served his­to­ry and warm local hos­pi­tal­i­ty. It’s spot­less, invit­ing, and full of sur­pris­es — the kind of place that makes you feel wel­come the moment you arrive. And yes… this is the Con­tin­ue reading…
satellite | Why Your Smart(click on image to see it larger)

Why Your Smartphone GPS Fails in Remote Areas (How To Fix It)

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Have you ever been strand­ed because your phone’s GPS failed? It hap­pened to my wife and I while trav­el­ing through an Indi­an reser­va­tion in Ten­nessee. And it’s not the only time. Just a few weeks ago, we found our­selves in the mid­dle of Oro­co­vis —smack dab in the cen­ter of Puer­to Rico— star­ing at a blink­ing blue dot on a Con­tin­ue reading…