Just south of Arecibo we started to drive south on Highway 10 to cross the islands main mountain range, the "Cordillera Central", in order to reach the island's south coast. Although the island is only 35 miles (about 50 km) wide, it can take hours to cross the island, especially after the main highway ends. We had to get onto narrow local roads that snake around the mountains and took us past local towns such as Utuado and Adjuntas. We could barely go faster than 25, 30 km/h and it was fascinating to see modest local houses patched up against the steep tropical mountain sides. It took us about 2.5 hours to reach the south coast and the second largest city of Puerto Rico: Ponce, also called "Ciudad de los leones" (City of Lions) or "La Perla del Sur" (Pearl of the South). Ponce has a beautiful main square, Plaza de las Delicias, which features the Ponce Cathedral and the Parque de Bombas, a red and black striped wooden building built in 1883 that used to house the city's main fire station. Several classical buildings frame the square, among others the Alcaldia (City Hall) and several bank buildings. To get back to Dorado we went on Highway 52 which took us right into the crazy traffic of San Juan again, so the trip from Ponce to Dorado took us almost three hours.

Added on 01-04-2008 by travelandtransitions