ToewsTravels – Page 12 – every country or bust!

weekend in kisumu, kenya

i had a free weekend in kenya, so i jumped on a very inexpensive flight from nairobi to kisumu, kenya’s third largest city, on the shores of lake victoria. the climate is much more hot and humid than in nairobi, and the predominant ethnic group in this area are the luo people, who have their own language and customs. kisumu is a nice, mid-sized city which was fun to wander around. i did not encounter any other tourists. i wandered all around the city for 2 days – the expansive market area, the downtown business district, and along lake victoria south of the city, where there is an impala sanctuary, some fishing villages, and a place called hippo point which is where everyone goes to relax on the weekends and watch the sun set over lake victoria.

in past decades kisumu was a major trading center and port, but barriers to trade between the countries of east africa have unfortunately atrophied these connections. another interesting thing to see near kisumu which i didn’t have a chance to visit is a unique rock formation called kit mikayi. this site is believed to be sacred by members of the legio maria sect, a pentacostal offshoot of catholicism unique to the luo people of kenya who believe that christ reincarnated as an african man.

at the fishing village at the end of the road to the south of kisumu, i picked out a fresh raw fish and had it fried it front of me, lakeside, which was amazing!

solid buffet breakfast, hotel vittoria, kisumu

in kisumu. either this was the epitome of religious syncretism, or a goodwill gesture. turns out it was the latter. there was a protracted legal battle between a local mosque and a local seventh-day adventist church over this plot of land, and the muslims eventually won the court battle. they put up this sign as a gesture of goodwill to the church, and it made national news in kenya

then have it fried! shore of lake victoria, kisumu

st. croix

ann and i were able to able to visit st. croix, the largest of the u.s. virgin islands, for a quick trip. we jumped on a mistake airfare; $72 each return from ohio! the island has a remarkable history, including belonging to seven distinct colonial overlords since the europeans arrived, and emancipation of slaves prior to the american civil war. these days it has a laid back, bucolic vibe, with plenty of abandoned buildings despite the high price tags.

a post-apocalyptic abandoned sugar mill in aguirre, puerto rico

abandoned aguirre sugar mill, puerto rico

the company town of aguirre in southern puerto rico is home to a massive sugar mill that was in use until the 1990s. the mill is now completely abandoned, and has the most post-apocalyptic vibe i’ve ever experienced, especially at dusk. it is fenced off, so we needed to climb through the window of an abandoned building to access it.

aguirre sugar mill – the only access was through this window

abandoned hospital in town of aguirre, puerto rico

street art of santurce, san juan

the hippest neighborhood in san juan, puerto rico!

1492. look closely here. santurce, san juan

old san juan

an atmospheric old city!

among other things that happened in old san juan, ann and i were sauntering around when we heard screaming from a balcony. turns out some tourists had been partying a bit too hard in their $2000/night airbnb, and a guy had overdosed on heroin. we told them i was a physician and went up to their apartment, and he still had a pulse and was breathing. we were about to try to go find some naloxone at a pharmacy when an ambulance arrived. we then got some gelato – this was supposed to be a vacation, right?!

catedral basilica menor de san juan bautista – the second oldest cathedral in the americas, old san juan

iglesia de san jose – the oldest church in puerto rico, old san juan

capilla del santo cristo de la salud – a tiny chapel, old san juan

el morro

el morro is a massive, spanish-built fort at the tip of the peninsula that is old san juan, puerto rico. in front of it lies a huge open field, always filled with people relaxing and flying kites in the stiff atlantic breeze. the fort was closed when we were there due to the covid pandemic, but it is a great place to walk around, with a lot of history.

el morro, old san juan. note the monitor lizard in the foreground

central puerto rico and the pork highway

in central puerto rico, we drove through aibonito, the town with the highest elevation on the island, which has a nice central square and great views.

at my urging, we spent one evening in the hot thermal waters of the coamo thermal springs.

and definitely one of the highlights of the trip was visiting the ruta del lechon, or the pork highway, in guavate. after driving up a valley, there are many restaurants all specializing in lechon. we tried multiple, along with hundreds of other meat lovers.

jake prepping to eat lechon, ruta del lechon, puerto rico

me prepping to eat lechon, ruta del lechon, puerto rico

southwestern corner of puerto rico

we drove out to the very southwestern-most point in puerto rico, a peninsula called rojo cabo. here there are atmospheric cliffs and a lighthouse called faro los morrillos.

a little further north, the seaside village of boqueron had some of the freshest (and least expensive) oysters imaginable!

further east, we spent a few hours at santa beach, regarded to be the best beach on puerto rico’s south coast. here we also did some jetskiing!

that evening, we had some dinner in la parguera, then went on a boat ride to la parguera bioluminescent bay, the largest of 3 such bays in puerto rico. luminescent zooplankton glow which disturbed, which is an amazing sight to see.

red snapper and mofongo (mashed plantains), la parguera, puerto rico

ponce, puerto rico

my friend jake came down to puerto rico to hang out for a week! our first stop was ponce, puerto rico’s second city. i’ve worked with a number of people in the continental united states who attended medical school here. jake and i stayed in a nice airbnb and went on some daytrips. downtown ponce didn’t seem to be doing very well unfortunately.

parque de bombas, an old fire station, apparently the most-visited tourist attraction in puerto rico

museo castillo serrallés, mansion of the don q rum family, ponce

la cruz del vigia, ponce. closed due to the covid pandemic. we found our way onto the grounds, but not up the cross.

st. german, puerto rico

the crumbling town of st. german in southwestern puerto rico was once the island’s second most important city.