Tag: old san juan

Orlando Mergal bobblehead with carry-on suitcase | The Same Ole Sh*t | Puerto Rico By GPS | Orlando Mergal

The Same Ole Sh*t: How Tourists Miss The Real Puerto Rico

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Many vis­i­tors to Puer­to Rico see the same ole sh*t! They go by El Mor­ro, San Cristóbal, El Yunque Nation­al For­est and maybe even the Bac­ar­di Rum Dis­tillery, and then they’re off to their ship. If they go to Spain or Italy they do the same: El Pra­do, El Retiro, el Alcázar de Segovia, El Esco­r­i­al (if they’re lucky) and “adios” Con­tin­ue reading…
Puente Colora'o | The Story Behind Puerto Rico’s Town That Wasn’t: Morovis
| Puerto Rico By GPS | Orlando Mergal

The Story Behind Puerto Rico’s Town That Wasn’t: Morovis 

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When you think of Puer­to Rico, you prob­a­bly imag­ine beach­es, music, or the bus­tle of Old San Juan. But what if I told you there’s a small inland town that’s more famous for some­thing it “didn’t do”? That town is Moro­vis, Puer­to Rico—a qui­et spot in the island’s north-cen­­tral region that may not be on most people’s radar. But it Con­tin­ue reading…
Nuestra Señora Del Carmen Parrish | Discover Villalba, Puerto Rico — The Town That Lit Up First | Puerto Rico By GPS | Orlando Mergal

Villalba, Puerto Rico — The Town That Lit Up First

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If some­one told you that Vil­lal­ba was the first town in Puer­to Rico to be elec­tri­fied would you believe it? I’m not talk­ing after the lat­est string of Luma black­outs, or after hur­ri­cane María. I mean real­ly first, towards the ear­ly 20th Cen­tu­ry, when the rest of the Island still had can­dles and kerosene lamps. Well, it was­n’t San Juan. Con­tin­ue reading…
Man drowning and waving for help | 10 Beautiful, But Dangerous, Beaches in Puerto Rico
| Puerto Rico By GPS | Orlando Mergal

10 Beautiful, But Dangerous, Beaches in Puerto Rico 

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Every year, mil­lions of peo­ple vis­it Puer­to Rico. And let’s be hon­est — most of them come for one thing: the beach­es! Yes, we also have amaz­ing food, the only trop­i­cal rain­for­est under the U.S. flag, and Old San Juan — one of the old­est and best-pre­served cities in the New World. But let’s not kid our­selves. The beach­es are Con­tin­ue reading…
Luis Muñoz Rivera Square | Coamo: The Town with Healing Waters and a Legendary Race!
| Puerto Rico By GPS

Coamo: The Town with Healing Waters and a Legendary Race! 

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It was 7:58am on the morn­ing of March 20, 2025 when my wife Zorai­da and I left for the town of Coamo. We had planned to vis­it the town of Ponce next on our jour­ney to vis­it all 78 munic­i­pal­i­ties in Puer­to Rico, but I still remem­ber our neg­a­tive expe­ri­ence there, when I chose them to be our first post Con­tin­ue reading…
This isn't Europe or South America. It's actually the town of Juana Díaz, Puerto Rico | Puerto Rico By GPS | Orlando Mergal

Juana Díaz; A Homage, Home To A Drink And Fit For Kings 

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Jua­na Díaz is one of those towns in Puer­to Rico that peo­ple pass on their way to Ponce with­out ever vis­it­ing. I know, because I was one of them. I came to Puer­to Rico in 1963 when my par­ents moved back to the Island and I had nev­er been to Jua­na Díaz. And that was my loss. Jua­na Díaz sits on Con­tin­ue reading…
Santiago Apóstol Parish | Santa Isabel, From Sugar To Sustainability
| Puerto Rico By GPS | Orlando Mergal

Santa Isabel, From Sugar To Sustainability 

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Most peo­ple trav­el­ing to Puer­to Rico will nev­er vis­it San­ta Isabel. It’s one of those sleepy towns that you dri­ve by a hun­dred times on your way to Ponce or Mayagüez. That was cer­tain­ly my case, as I have lived in Puer­to Rico since 1963 and had nev­er vis­it­ed San­ta Isabel. Well, that changed last Mon­day. My wife and I Con­tin­ue reading…
El General, the first cabezudo.

Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián, Not The Largest, Just The Best!

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The 2025 edi­tion of the world famous “Fies­tas de la Calle San Sebastián”, known to many as SanSe 2025, will take place on Jan­u­ary 16–19 in Old San Juan, Puer­to Rico. I must admit that I sim­ply hate that “SanSe 2025” moniker! The actu­al name of the event is “Fies­tas de la Calle San Sebastián”, but mar­keters have man­aged to shoe­horn Con­tin­ue reading…
Student at Humacao UPR Regional College

Humacao, A Great Town Saddled By Puerto Rican Myopia 

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The last time I was in Humacao was in August of 1971. I mean, I’ve gone through it hun­dreds of times, but to actu­al­ly walk its streets has tak­en that long. Back then I was a fresh­man at the Uni­ver­si­ty of Puer­to Rico’s Region­al Col­lege. How­ev­er, I didn’t com­plete my stud­ies there, because short­ly after the Region­al Col­lege in Bayamón Con­tin­ue reading…
Condado skyline from Román Baldorioty de Castro Square | A Walk Around Condado Lagoon | The History Below Your Feet | Puerto Rico By GPS | Orlando Mergal

A Walk Around Condado Lagoon
“Discover The History Below Your Feet ”

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This week I did some­thing total­ly dif­fer­ent. I record­ed my first walk & talk around Con­da­do Lagoon, in San Juan, Puer­to Rico. Walk & Talks have nev­er been a hall­mark of Puer­to Rico By GPS, main­ly because there are oth­er peo­ple doing them in Puer­to Rico. But there were good rea­sons for this change of heart. First, my chan­nel is in Con­tin­ue reading…