Friday: Worked on the site for a 3rd day. Tired. Looking good.

Saturday: TRIP TO ARECIBO’s OBSERVATORY.

Ok, so the trip getting there had excitement on its own since it was a bit long and kinda going into the mountains making the crew believe that we were actually going where no one else had gone before… LS and Groundel and I, all of us, were in “jodeína mode”. We watched Meaíto trees, and Flamboyanes and Trinitarias and Big Houses and pesky birds and rocky roads, and it all was fun. When we got to the place, using my osmosis sense for getting to places and pleased at the miracle of not getting lost, we sighted in glee as the place was not closed and the sun was not too hot.

Stairs lead the way up, and some famous words were read “500 steps from here to the top”… and then the famous phrase followed “What is the big deal about 500 steps?” Oh, boy… LOL Had to stop to catch my breath several times… I guess THAT was the big deal about it… So, we all get to the top in one piece… Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! And we got the tickets… And as I though, they have ATM over there, I mean, such a techie place MUST offer that simple techie thing, no? Good rationalization. Einstein would be proud. Anyway, went in to see the interactive exhibitions… WAY COOL. Loved the fog thinguie, and the electricity demo and the informationals about galaxies and stars and asteroids and… gosh… THE movie! LOL

It was a hilarious 20 min informational-movie that depicted, literally, a DAY in LIFE at the Observatory. Man, the employees MUST be very happy, they eat like gods! The emphasis on the food was… strange… Perhaps it is the main thing ALIENS love about us… who knew? Anyway, it was as nice as the shots of people working OVER the radio-telescope… EWWWW… That’s friggin HIGH. After the movie, the doors open to show a lookout that is a balcony standing right next to the radio-telescope… AMAZING. No words can describe the beauty of the place, the poetic duality of raw nature versus iron and technology. And so, one of my life-goals came to an end. I have always wanted to go see the Observatory and today I did. A new milestone was reached. And I loved every minute of it. The place is very nice, very clean, so unlike places of value in this forsaken island. Took some pics, grabbed the moment, rain poured freely, and we all went back to the road. Our next target: FOOD.

Ok, so following my osmosis-sense I decided to follow the roads leading to Lares. Old habits die hard, and I knew the way from Lares to San Sebastian fairly well… I knew… Notice the past tense? LOL Ok, so it was a VERY good thing that I bought a map… but… There is always a big but. To reach our destiny, Aguadilla, we needed to take the 111 road and stick to it. Problem: the damn road is NOT completed, so there are diverse detours and dead ends… one dead end was the backyard of a house! The detours took us through curved narrow roads with bad, deep chasms on one or each sides… a small problem when you are driving and you are afraid of heights but nothing too serious… :P The 111 road has a new meaning for us, a phantom road that is wicked and enjoys being random and careless… Ironically it is the road that I have always travelled to get to Moca and San Sebastián… I didn’t knew that was the number… LOL After an hour and a half we arrived at Aguadilla Mall and attacked the food court. Mission accomplished.

From Aguadilla to Mayaguez the road was smooth and kind, the rain stopped, jokes flowed and the arrival at home was flawless. Nice day full of fun and adventure. I refreshed my memory of where the Camuy Caverns are, where the Moca’s Mundillo Museum is, Moca’s castle, and of course, the Guajataca forest… Mental notes to visit them soon. Taking pics to see if I can start my Western side “Porta del Sol” project… Me and my hobbies…

Anyway, enough about tourism… Back to the cave…

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