We're off on our winter adventure. It seems we're drawn to the same kind of places each year...warm weather, beaches, waterfalls and natural wonders to explore. This winter we're off to Puerto Rico...the feel and excitement of being in another country, but all the conveniences of being in the United States since it's a U.S. territory. Sounds like a great place to spend a few weeks.
Puerto Rico's location. While we're in PR we'll be on Atlantic Standard Time, which is one hour ahead of the eastern seaboard.
Puerto Rico is an archipelago made up of about 143 islands, cays and islets and is part of the Greater Antilles in the Caribbean Region. The main island of Puerto Rico, Vieques & Culebra are the only inhabited islands. It lies east of the Dominican Republic and west of the Virgin Islands. The north shores face the Atlantic Ocean and the Southern Shores face the Caribbean Sea. The main island is about 35 miles wide (north-south) and 100 miles long (west-east) and just under the size of Connecticut.
History Lesson: When Christopher Columbus discovered the island in 1493, he named it San Juan Bautista (St. John the Baptist). The city later became known as Puerto Rico (meaning rich port). In the 1520’s the city’s name changed to San Juan and the island to Puerto Rico by a confused cartographer.
Puerto Rico became a territory of the United States in 1898 following the Spanish–American War. It was acquired from Spain under the terms of the Treaty of Paris. Puerto Ricans were outraged after the war, instead of becoming citizens, they were in limbo. They didn’t have any legal standing in the U.S. system until 1917. Although they are U.S. citizens, they can not vote for president or elect voting senators or representatives to the U.S. Congress.
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