Northern Coast

Arecibo is on the northern coast of Puerto Rico on the shores of the Atlantic. We went there to see the Parque de las Cavernas. It is the third largest cave system in the world. 

We got on a tram around 9:30. It took us down a long trail shaded by bamboo and palm trees.

The tram to the cave.

There are 18 entrances, but we were taken to the main cave, Cueva Clara. It is more than 170 feet high and has gigantic stalagmites and stalactites.

Once inside you see the different formations.

One part of the cave is where the bats live. You can feel the heat their bodies generate as you enter that portion of the cave. We also saw some huge scorpion spiders inside the cave. You walk the path to view the Tres Pueblos sinkhole, where you can hear the third-longest underground river in the world passing from one cave to another.

Looking down and up at Tres Pueblos Sinkhole

We stopped at Good Times Restaurant for our meal of the day. 

Good Times Restaurant

Inside the restaurant. It was very attractive.

We both had Kan Kan, Salsa de Guava. It was recommended by the waitress. It was a large pork chop in a guava sauce. Stan selected rice and beans for his side dish; Diana selected a green salad.

Kan Kan, Salsa de Guava

Salad

Then we made our way back along the northern coast to our condo, stopping at Manatí to see the beaches in the area. One was Playa Los Tubos.

Playa Los Tubos

Another was Mar Chiquita (Little Sea Beach). It is a small cove of a beach that is protected from the rough Atlantic by a rocky wall. It is a picture-perfect beach!

Mar Chiquita Beach

Mar Chiquita Beach 

From there we continued along the coast to Vega Alta to see Cerro Gordo Beach.