You may be thinking to yourself, "Has Emily dropped off the face of the earth? I see she isn't blogging like she usually does." The correct answer would be yes, kinda sorta. But we'll get to that more tomorrow.
Today, let's finish what we started with Parque de Bombas. The oldest, more eclectic looking firehouse in all of Ponce.
If you're visiting, this is a free museum. However don't expect a tour.
In fact, don't expect much English unless one of the local police are standing around. You're in the south of Puerto Rico, not the most tourist driven area.
Why were we hear? Well my grandmother's family is from Ponce and Salinas. Granny Aida specifically being born in Salinas, or Ponce, but growing up in Salinas none the less.
Like everything worth seeing in Ponce, Parque de Bombas is right in the town square.
It's super easy to get to, and I suggest getting there earlier in the day, everyone seemed to close up shop around 5.
Wandering around the firehouse we actually found a picture of a Capo (our family name was Capo Diaz, Capo being my great grandmother and Diaz being my great grandfather) who was one of the fire chiefs.
We were told by someone from the area, my father's super knowledgeable oncologist, that the Capo's were involved in politics in Ponce. From what I've read about the town this was the epicenter of political change and a bit of protesting back in the day. Then again it's a college town, and those two go hand in hand.
The most Puerto Rican of the group, also known as "the old man."
He isn't typically this bald, but we got lucky and he got a pass to go to Puerto Rico during chemo treatment. It pays to have a doctor from there for sure!
Now what does Dad do once we get out of the firehouse, he hunts down a snow cone.
Of course it wasn't called a snow cone, and I'm not entirely sure what it was called other than good.
He went with strawberry with some honey syrup over the top. When given the chance always get the honey syrup over the top, it was divine.
You'll probably understand that more after this series of the entire family eating Dad's snow cone.
The honey syrup stuff was super sticky and actually really chewy.
I took a bite, Laura on the other hand will steal everything you have.
I love her, but you'd think we did without growing up the way her, Dad, and I hid snacks from each other. Needless to say the four year old in the family has already learned you can't trust the three of us with your food.
Lucky for us there are no known contagious diseases plaguing the family, if so we all got whatever we had after this snow cone.
Right past Parque de Bombas, down a very long ally, are a ton of street vendors... during the day. These people closed up at five on the dot. Plus the farther you got down the street the less safe it felt.
I suggest scoping this out during lunch when everyone is open.
After our snow cone adventure Josh decided he had to have some ice cream.
Again, it will seem like all the food shops are empty and closed because the lights are off and there is no one there. Don't let that fool you, Puerto Ricans just don't eat out except for breakfast and lunch during the week. One the weekends places are packed in the evening.
Jeremy needed an iced coffee which Dad quickly let him know coffee doesn't contain milk or ice. Ice is blasphemy to the old coffee drinking men from what I gathered on this trip.
I should have figured that out back at Easter though when he was barely out of surgery and wanting coffee (after having something done to his throat). I told him he could have some iced coffee and he said if he couldn't have real coffee he didn't want any at all.
One thing I always suggest doing on any trip is stocking up on local candy. This was not a local candy I suggest stocking up on. Not that yummy at all.
In the next post we will talk about the cheapest spa you'll ever go to and finding our family mausoleum in Salinas by chance.
