Puerto Rico Events For This Weekend

Friday, August 4

Night in Paradise

@ Plaza de Dorado, Dorado

6 PM - 11 PM

Outdoor event held the first Friday of every month in Dorado's town square. Features latin and urban music, food tasting from featured restaurants and alcoholic beverages for sale.

Free admission


Saturday, August 5

Puerto Rico Comics Festival

@ El Mercado Libre, Roberto H. Todd Ave., San Juan

9 AM - 6 PM

This event highlights Puerto Rico's homegrown comic book industry. Featuring several local artists. A food  truck will be on site.

Free Admission


Cine Del Estuario

@ Condado Lagoon, San Juan

7 PM -10 PM

Showing of the Disney movie "Moana" on a large outdoor screen by Condado Lagoon. Bring your own chairs, blankets and food.

Free admission


PRFC vs Jacksonville Armada FC (Soccer)

@ Juan Ramon Loubriel Stadium, Bayamón

7:30 PM - 9:30 PM

Puerto Rico Football Club plays a North American Soccer League season game against Jacksonville, Florida's Armada.

Tickets: $10-$50


Sunday, August 6

Rincón Sunset Festival 2017

@ Plaza De La Amistad, Rincón

1 PM - 8 PM

Family oriented event featuring live music, petting zoo, exotic animal exhibits, artisans and food vendors.

Free admission


Emoji Fun Race 5K

@ Luis Muñoz Rivera Park, San Juan

7 AM - 12 PM

Pick your favorite emoji and create a team to participate in this fun race.

Registration: $30 pp, or $25 pp for groups of 4 or more.

The Puerto Rico Monitor cannot take responsibility for the accuracy of the  above listings. They are based on  the best information available at the time of writing.

Puerto Rico Events For This Weekend

Friday, July 21

Fajardo Patron Saint Festival

@ Plaza de Recreo, Fajardo

6 PM - 12 AM

This eastern coastal municipality holds its annual patron saint festivities from Wednesday to Sunday. Food vendors, carnival rides, boxing card, live music and floats.

Free admission


Gallery Nights

@ Plaza De Recreo Rey Fernando II, Carolina

6 PM - 11 PM

Enjoy art, live music, salsa lessons and the opportunity to taste local gastronomy at the plaza in downtown Carolina.

Free admission


Melao Melao Beach Festival

@ Puerto Nuevo Public Beach, Vega Baja

7 PM - 12 AM

Food vendors, live music and sporting events in a beach party setting. Runs from Friday to Sunday.

Free admission



Saturday, July 22

Loíza Patron Saint Festival

6 PM - 12AM

@ Medianía, Loíza

Loíza probably has the most unique patron saint festivities in Puerto Rico, and they stretch from July 21 to July 30, taking place at different spots throughout town each day. Loíza's festivities are known for their many processions, African influence and distinctive "vejigante" masks.

Free admission


Vieques Summer Festival & Carnaval

@ Vieques Town Square

7 PM - 12 AM

The offshore municipality's patron saint festivities include live music, food stands, games of chance, sporting competitions, a marathon and bouncehouses. Runs from Thursday to Sunday, with a "carnaval" on the last evening.

Free admission


Bayamón Museum of Art Guided Tour

@ Ramón Luis Rivera Avenue, Bayamón

10 AM - 4:30 PM

45 minute guided tour of the permanent and temporary collections of the Bayamón Museum of Art. Call 787-269-4433 to register.

Free admission


Sunday, July 23

Playa Summer Tour 2017

@ Puerto Nuevo Public Beach, Vega Baja

11 AM - 5 PM

Radio stations Mega 106.9 and La Nueva 94 host this touring beach festival which is held at different PR beaches  through the summer. Games, contests, music will be on offer.

Free admission


World Salsa Congress / Street Welcome Fest

@ Plaza Del Mercado, Santurce, San Juan

6 PM - ???

The "biggest event in the world" for salsa dancers opens its 20th installment beggining on Sunday and running until July 29th. Sunday features a welcome party at the restaurant and bar-lined Plaza Del Mercado with live music and DJs.

No admission cost listed



The Puerto Rico Monitor cannot take responsibility for the accuracy of the  above listings. They are based on  the best information available at the time of writing.

Puerto Rico Events For This Weekend

Friday, June 30

Aibonito Flower Festival

@ Puerto Rico 722, Aibonito

8 AM - 7PM

Horticulturists show off a wide variety of flowers and other plants, many of them for sale. Live music will also be featured at this long-running festival. Runs from June 30 to July 9.

Kids $2 / Adults $6 (weekdays), Adults $7 (weekends & July 4th)


Al Fresco Music & Culinary Show

@ Paseo de las Artes Abelardo Díaz Alfaro, Calle Padial, Caguas

6 PM - Midnight

Food and beverage vendors, artisans and live entertainment. Takes place the last Friday of every month.

Free admission


Saturday, July 1

Fiestas Ciudad De El Yunque

@ Ovidio de Jesus Más Pista Stadium, PR-3, Río Grande

12 PM - 12 AM

The city of Río Grande holds its annual carnival, featuring live entertainment, food vendors, music and a traditional "carnaval". Runs from Thursday to Sunday.

Free admission


Sunday, July 2

Playa Summer Tour 2017

@ Boquerón Public Beach, Cabo Rojo

11 AM - 5 PM

Radio stations Mega 106.9 and La Nueva 94 host this touring beach festival which is held at different PR beaches through the summer. Games, contests, music will be on offer.

Free admission

Visiting The El Yunque Rainforest

Feature

Bill Alvarez

The only honest-to-goodness tropical rainforest under the United States flag is located in eastern Puerto Rico, mostly in the town of Rio Grande. To get to it from San Juan, take Highway 26 east, and then exit onto PR Interstate Road 3, and head east/south (you can also take Toll Road 66 east, which is a faster way to get to Road 3, with a lot less traffic lights.) Off of Road 3, turn right onto PR-191 (you will see road signs directing you there, so it’s hard to miss). Once on PR-191, follow the signs for El Yunque. You will go through a small neighborhood and then you will notice you are driving increasingly uphill. Before long, you will see the forest’s welcome sign, and then the visitor’s center. The total drive from San Juan (if you take only Road 3, rather than Road 66 and Road 3) is about 30 miles, and will take about an hour.

The forest is officially open from 7:30AM to 6:00 PM daily. It doesn’t cost anything to get into the rainforest as such, and you can enjoy the many hiking trails, streams and waterfalls at no cost. The Visitor’s Center does charge $4 for adults and $2 for seniors, although children under 15 get in for free. They have a gift shop, cafeteria and some forest-related exhibits, as well as a movie about the rainforest narrated by Benicio del Toro. It is open daily from 9:00AM to 4:30 PM.

As you drive up through the rainforest, you will see several spots with limited parking where you can stop and go hiking or take some pictures. La Mina and La Coca waterfalls are both beautiful, and I recommend taking a dip in at least one of the pools at the bottom of the falls. The water is pretty cold, though! Rocks will also be slippery, so water shoes would be a handy thing to bring with you, along with an umbrella and/or poncho. As the name suggests, it rains all the time up there.

Stop at Yokahu Tower, climb up the stairs to the top and take some pictures of the stunning panorama. The hiking trails are pretty amazing, but they can be a bit narrow and steep. If you’re not in at least moderately good shape, you may only want to walk a portion of a trail, or skip them altogether. Wear some tennis shoes or hiking boots with good traction. La Coca Trail, La Mina Trail and the Big Tree Trail are some of the more popular ones (more trails here:http://www.fs.usda.gov/activity/elyunque/recreation/hiking/?recid=43377&actid=50).

The Mina Trail actually has a southern and a northern portion. The northern one follows the river more closely and seems to be the prettier one. Most trails have small picnic areas and gazebos along their trails.

DO NOT go exploring off-trail. El Yunque is a very large, deep jungle and you can most definitely get lost, perhaps for days. A few people who throughout the years have decided to venture into the forest without following trails did not make it out alive. I don’t want to scare you, all I’m saying is: follow the trails and you will have a great time.

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There are no indigenous peoples, cannibals, lions, elephants or other large animals in El Yunque. While the flora is very extensive and beautiful, the forest’s fauna is limited to lizards, insects, frogs and birds. If you’re lucky, you might catch a glimpse of the endangered Puerto Rican Parrot. You will almost certainly hear the call of Puerto Rico’s small native frog, the Coqui (its call sounds just like its name, a hypnotizing “co-kee, co-kee”). Please deposit all trash in marked receptacles, or take it with you.

Out of the hundreds of species of plants you will see at El Yunque, some are known to be poisonous. I would not recommend eating any wild fruits or berries during your visit. For more detailed information on

poisonous plants, go here:http://www.fs.usda.gov/detailfull/elyunque/learning/nature-science/?cid=fsbdev3_042885. Most of the vegetation is safe, though, and the forest is home to over two hundred different species of tree, as well as a dizzying array of flowers, among them different types of orchids.

If you’re more than a little adventurous, you can do some rain forest ziplining. YunKE Zipline Adventures offers a couple of different ‘adventures’ involving a few ziplines over a part of the forest, as well as some rappelling. As of summer 2013, their packages were priced at $99 per person. You can contact them directly at their website (http://yzapr.com). Rain Forest Zipline Corp (http://rainforestzipline.com/) also offers zip lining adventures, apparently at about the same price as YunKe ($99 + tax during day, $75 + tax at night), including a nighttime “Firefly Canopy Tour”.

For more detailed and current information on the rainforest, visit the US Park Service’s El Yunque website at: http://www.fs.usda.gov/elyunque

For more information on visiting Puerto Rico, check out The Real Deal Guide to Puerto Rico, 

available as an e-book

The Real Deal Guide To Puerto Rico

 Buy Now

Visiting The El Yunque Rainforest

Feature

Bill Alvarez

The only honest-to-goodness tropical rainforest under the United States flag is located in eastern Puerto Rico, mostly in the town of Rio Grande. To get to it from San Juan, take Highway 26 east, and then exit onto PR Interstate Road 3, and head east/south (you can also take Toll Road 66 east, which is a faster way to get to Road 3, with a lot less traffic lights.) Off of Road 3, turn right onto PR-191 (you will see road signs directing you there, so it’s hard to miss). Once on PR-191, follow the signs for El Yunque. You will go through a small neighborhood and then you will notice you are driving increasingly uphill. Before long, you will see the forest’s welcome sign, and then the visitor’s center. The total drive from San Juan (if you take only Road 3, rather than Road 66 and Road 3) is about 30 miles, and will take about an hour.

The forest is officially open from 7:30AM to 6:00 PM daily. It doesn’t cost anything to get into the rainforest as such, and you can enjoy the many hiking trails, streams and waterfalls at no cost. The Visitor’s Center does charge $4 for adults and $2 for seniors, although children under 15 get in for free. They have a gift shop, cafeteria and some forest-related exhibits, as well as a movie about the rainforest narrated by Benicio del Toro. It is open daily from 9:00AM to 4:30 PM.

As you drive up through the rainforest, you will see several spots with limited parking where you can stop and go hiking or take some pictures. La Mina and La Coca waterfalls are both beautiful, and I recommend taking a dip in at least one of the pools at the bottom of the falls. The water is pretty cold, though! Rocks will also be slippery, so water shoes would be a handy thing to bring with you, along with an umbrella and/or poncho. As the name suggests, it rains all the time up there.

Stop at Yokahu Tower, climb up the stairs to the top and take some pictures of the stunning panorama. The hiking trails are pretty amazing, but they can be a bit narrow and steep. If you’re not in at least moderately good shape, you may only want to walk a portion of a trail, or skip them altogether. Wear some tennis shoes or hiking boots with good traction. La Coca Trail, La Mina Trail and the Big Tree Trail are some of the more popular ones (more trails here:http://www.fs.usda.gov/activity/elyunque/recreation/hiking/?recid=43377&actid=50).

The Mina Trail actually has a southern and a northern portion. The northern one follows the river more closely and seems to be the prettier one. Most trails have small picnic areas and gazebos along their trails.

DO NOT go exploring off-trail. El Yunque is a very large, deep jungle and you can most definitely get lost, perhaps for days. A few people who throughout the years have decided to venture into the forest without following trails did not make it out alive. I don’t want to scare you, all I’m saying is: follow the trails and you will have a great time.

Map data ©2016 Google

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Map

Satellite

Source

There are no indigenous peoples, cannibals, lions, elephants or other large animals in El Yunque. While the flora is very extensive and beautiful, the forest’s fauna is limited to lizards, insects, frogs and birds. If you’re lucky, you might catch a glimpse of the endangered Puerto Rican Parrot. You will almost certainly hear the call of Puerto Rico’s small native frog, the Coqui (its call sounds just like its name, a hypnotizing “co-kee, co-kee”). Please deposit all trash in marked receptacles, or take it with you.

Out of the hundreds of species of plants you will see at El Yunque, some are known to be poisonous. I would not recommend eating any wild fruits or berries during your visit. For more detailed information on

poisonous plants, go here:http://www.fs.usda.gov/detailfull/elyunque/learning/nature-science/?cid=fsbdev3_042885. Most of the vegetation is safe, though, and the forest is home to over two hundred different species of tree, as well as a dizzying array of flowers, among them different types of orchids.

If you’re more than a little adventurous, you can do some rain forest ziplining. YunKE Zipline Adventures offers a couple of different ‘adventures’ involving a few ziplines over a part of the forest, as well as some rappelling. As of summer 2013, their packages were priced at $99 per person. You can contact them directly at their website (http://yzapr.com). Rain Forest Zipline Corp (http://rainforestzipline.com/) also offers zip lining adventures, apparently at about the same price as YunKe ($99 + tax during day, $75 + tax at night), including a nighttime “Firefly Canopy Tour”.

For more detailed and current information on the rainforest, visit the US Park Service’s El Yunque website at: http://www.fs.usda.gov/elyunque

For more information on visiting Puerto Rico, check out The Real Deal Guide to Puerto Rico, 

available as an e-book

The Real Deal Guide To Puerto Rico

 Buy Now

Activities For This Weekend Across Puerto Rico

From Discovering Puerto Rico:

Click to enlarge. For more, visit http://www.discoveringpuertorico.com/

Things to do in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico

by Bill Alvarez

Paseo de la Princesa

Source: Wikimedia Commons

What is now known as Old San Juan is now only a small portion of the city of San Juan, but was once a town in its own right. Founded in 1509, after the original “capital” of Caparra (founded by Ponce de Leon in what is now Guaynabo) was abandoned, the area was first known as ‘Puerto Rico”, until it was rechristened as “San Juan Bautista” in 1521. Old San Juan is about seven square blocks in size, and you can see most of it by foot, although this can be made difficult by the steep hills and the heat. OSJ is in reality an island itself, and rises from the area by the cruise ship piers and the Paseo de la Princesa up towards Calle San Sebastian and El Morro castle. An ancient city wall surrounds it, and its narrow cobblestone streets and Spanish colonial architecture give it a unique, charming look.

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Castles

Old San Juan boasts two major Spanish colonial forts: San Felipe del Morro, or just “El Morro” (built in the 16^th century) and San Cristobal (built in the 18^th century). Both are managed by the United States Park Service. El Morro has numerous rooms, staircases, guard posts (known locally as “garitas”) and a lighthouse. Admission to El Morro is $3.00 per adult (or you can pay $5 to visit both El Morro and San Cristobal). Children 15 and under get in for free. San Cristobal is smaller, and located along the northern edge of the old city, east of El Morro. Entrance fees are the same for both fortifications, and guided tours are available for both. El Morro has a huge, green lawn in front of the fort, which is a great place to walk, picnic or fly a kite. More information here:http://www.nps.gov/saju/index.htm

Museums

Old San Juan has various museums to meet different tastes (and most of them are air conditioned, which I’m sure you will appreciate). Several museums are located at Cuartel Ballaja, a former Spanish military headquarters, which has been turned into a cultural center. It is located across the street from the El Morro grounds. For example, Ballaja hosts the Museum of Coffee, Tobacco and Rum as well as theCasa del Libro (‘House of the Book’) on its first level. Both of these museums are free of charge. On Cuartel Ballaja’s second floor, you can find the Museum of the Americas (http://www.museolasamericas.org/), which deals mostly with the history and culture of the Americas (“from Alaska to Patagonia”). Admission to this museum is $3 each for adults and $2 for children and seniors.

Inside the Convento de los Dominicos at San Jose Plaza (uphill, on the way to El Morro), you can find the excellent Galeria Nacional, which highlights visual art (mostly paintings) from Puerto Rican artists from the 18^th century onwards. The museum is divided into three separate rooms. No photography is allowed. Admission as of summer 2013 was $2 per adult.

You can also visit the Museo de San Juan, which showcases the city’s history, on 150 Norzagaray Street, not far from the Galeria Nacional. It is roughly located between El Morro and San Cristobal castles, facing the ocean. Admission is free.

Pigeon Park

As the name suggests, this is a small park inhabited by hundreds of pigeons, many of whom live in square holes along an ancient wall on the south side of the park. You can usually buy some corn or other type of feed from someone at the park for a dollar a bag which you can use to feed the birds. But watch out! These pigeons are not shy about not just going up to you to get their grub on, but they will get ON you as well. It’s a lot of fun to feed them, but I would recommend bringing a hat, some hand sanitizer and napkins. Maybe a spare shirt, too. The park is located at the very bottom of Calle del Cristo (next to the “Capilla del Cristo” or “Christ’s Chapel”) and admission is free.

Other Stuff

A free trolley which covers the great majority of Old San Juan is available. Stops are scattered throughout the old city. The Puerto Rico Governor’s mansion, La Fortaleza, is conveniently located on the street of the same name. Walk along thePaseo de la Princesa (located at the bottom of OSJ) and take a look at the ancient wall surrounding the city, right in front of the ocean. Very romantic.

Old San Juan has several bars for those wanting either a cold drink during a day of walking or a fun spot to hang out after dark. My favorite ones are El Batey on Calle del Cristo and Nono’s. As far as restaurants go, there are too many to list, but I personally recommend Mojito’s and Dragonfly.

San Juan, Puerto Rico Facts
Time Zone	Atlantic (UTC -4)
Area Code	787, 939
Population	395,326
Languages	Spanish (main), English
Founded	1509

More information

Want more information about visiting Puerto Rico? Check out The Real Deal Guide to Puerto Rico, available for the Amazon Kindle.

The Real Deal Guide To Puerto Rico

 Buy Now