Arecibo & Around

Introducing Arecibo & Around

Approaching Arecibo today, it’s hard to imagine that this sprawling modern municipality of nearly 50, 000 people is Puerto Rico’s third-oldest city, after San Juan and San Germán. Founded in 1556, the original town was named after an esteemed Taíno cacique (chief) and gained notoriety in 1702 when Spanish captain Antonio Correa thwarted a full-scale British invasion off the coast. But, while little of historical note remains in the present-day city, save a restored 19th-century cathedral and the emblematic Spanish-­colonial Arecibo lighthouse, veer further inland and the view gets a lot more interesting.

Indeed, today the name Arecibo is more synonymous with the world’s largest radio telescope than with its historic lighthouses and erstwhile Spanish military tacticians. The Observatorio de Arecibo lies several miles to the south in the heart of karst country, a tree-studded pastiche of haystack-shaped hills and plunging depressions that flicker like folds on a badly indentured map. Harboring a fascinating museum and a view worthy of a futuristic James Bond film set, the observatory is open to public viewing and reigns as one of the island’s most rewarding must-sees. Back on the coast you can pass a short afternoon at the lighthouse and its surrounding historical park or saunter off in search of ancient Taíno petroglyphs in one of the north coast’s many karstic caves.

The popular Hatillo Mask Festival, held on December 28, is one of Puerto Rico’s most symbolic ceremonies whose innovative masks and costumes adorn the front of numerous books, postcards and tourist literature.

Last updated: Feb 17, 2009