This is a blog about all kinds of interesting things that may cross my otherwise eclectic web journey. Amazing facts, shocking trivia, original lists, ... You name it, I might already wrote it.
Welcome and have fun!
Puerto Rico was discovered by Christopher Columbus on November 19, 1493. It was his second of four expeditions to America.
One of the ships, discovering today's Puerto Rico (named after rich resources, especially gold, and obviously a port), was called San Juan. San Juan is the capital of Puerto Rico, its largest and most populous city, the second oldest city in America established by Europeans (after Cumana, Venezuela), and also the world's busiest ship port.
Puerto Rico is not a country in the classic sense. Officially it's an unimported territory of the United States of America with the full name Free Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. There were several referendums about the political status of Puerto Rico in the last decades and the option of becoming one of the US states was always rejected. Tourists need to obtain a similar visa to visit Puerto Rico as if they would visit the USA.
Puerto Rico became part of the US after the treaty ending the American-Spanish war in 1898. Before that USA unsuccessfully tried to buy Puerto Rico from Spain for 120 million dollars.
Noche de San Juan is held every June 24 in honor of the patron saint of the city (St. John the Baptist). Millions of people enter the sea at midnight and dunk their heads seven times in a row.
Puerto Rico has the only tropical forest without snakes. It's also the only tropical forest on the list of the US Forest Service.
The largest rum distillery in the world (Bacardi) is located in San Juan, Puerto Rico. There are more than 40 other brands of rum on the island. Pina Colada was officially invented in the hotel Hilton in San Juan.
Barceloneta, a municipality in Puerto Rico has so clean water it needs almost no treatment for use in pharmacy. Consequently, there's the largest pharmaceutical complex with 14 industries in the world. Other interesting characteristics of Barceloneta are huge pineapple plantations and blue sand beaches.
Puerto Ricans pay no income tax.
The official currency of Puerto Rico is the American dollar. But they call it the peso or dollar.
Cock fighting is a legal (and very popular) sport in Puerto Rico.
The leatherback sea turtle, the largest known reptile, lives in Puerto Rico.
The first winner at the Academy Awards (Oscars) was not American, but Puerto Rican: Rita Moreno. Five Puerto Ricans won the title of Miss Universe so far.
Playa Quique Bravo in Rincon is known as the best beach for surfing in the world.
Among the biggest tourist attractions of Puerto Rico are numerous caves (about two hundred altogether), made by one of the largest underground rivers in the world. Speleologists believe only about 20 percent of all caves are already discovered.
Another top attraction is a 100-foot waterfall Salta (sometimes Chorro) de Dona Juana, a cascade, composed of three connected waterfalls with a pool at the bottom where visitors can swim. It's pretty easy to climb up to the top with a spectacular view of the surrounding mountains.
There are no native mammals in Puerto Rico. All are 'imported' from other countries. There was a barkless dog living in this area (already recorded by Columbus) but is extinct today.
