Corny's Puerto Rico Safari: SAN JUAN [Bandwidth warning, 1024p pics]

[Corny]

San Juan is on the north shore, meaning at the Atlantic ocean. The south shore of Puerto Rican is Carribean - more about that - in yet another thread.

The atlantic has somewhat more waves, and is loved by surfers.

On the weekends many locals would come with the boards on their car, strip down on the road and just go surfing. If I had been there somewhat longer, I would have tried it myself.

The beaches in Ocean Park and Condado were quite nice. Some strips even had "natural" wave breakers:

But there is much beach with just sand as well:

And even some beachlife:

 

[Corny]

After the beach life, here is more from San Juan's fauna (more will follow in the Vieques and El Yunque posts):

Let's start with Puerto Rico's national animal. The Coqui.

After hearing the Coquis ALL the time, finally at the end of our stay we managed to spot one. He was probably somehow disturbed during the day and was hopping around the Plaza las Americas.

The coquis are tree frogs and endemic to the country. The name is onomatopoetic. Here frogs croak - this little tree frog shouts "co-quiii". Kinda surreal during the first nights, but I learned to love the sound and missed it later.

Then there were many Anoles. Like everywhere. Loved that little fellas:

(I'd be very grateful if somebody could identify them!)

But even some familiar fellows are around - the sparrows:

The pidgeons (?) looked different though:

This bird looks like a blackbird. Someone called them "Django" bird. But we might have misheard it.

There was a tree in Santurce, full of those carterpillars - I'd love to know into what they turn later.

Also some strange .... ants?

- - - Updated - - -

And last but not least, the stray cat that was always around our apartment:

 

[cgymike]

Great photo sets Corny. The beach life pics are especially good. What kind of camera are you using? What about the nightlife? Anything torrid?

 

[unloadonme]

Your lizards look like this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anolis

Wouldn't like to say which species though. Anolis cristatellus maybe.

The caterpillar is almost certainly Pseudosphinx tetrio which looks like this as an adult:

 

[Corny]

I know that they are Anoles (as I said ), but not which ones. There seem to be a few of them? .. I saw the green one in the rainforest, there will be a pic in the coming thread.

You seem to be right about the caterpillar:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudosphinx_tetrio

Thank you

 

[Corny]

Hmm this looks like the brown Anole, but I never saw that crested tail:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerto_Rican_crested_anole

 

[Corny]

And the last batch for this thread: the iguana.

We stumbled over him on a small path between a park in Viejo San Juan and a residential area. It was sitting calmly on the pavement and posed for me by hardly not moving at all.

PS: my camera is a Canon EOS 500D

 

[Just_Believe18]

Wow! Beautiful pictures of your amazing trip Corny! Really liked the lizard street art, although the views were spectacular. The only thing this thread needs is some high definition pictures of the hot locals you saw.

 

[star-warrior]

Were you out in the hottest part of the day? Everyone is prolly having a siesta, which makes for street scenes that are more enigmatic and mysterious on account of them looking deserted.

The wildlife looks spectacular! I can't help thinking how much those lizard feet look like fatter scaly birds feet with the talons too.

 

[Corny]

Partly, yes. But not all the times. Also there usually weren't too many pedestrians in the side streets. I usually wait for a moment with no people in the pic as they only distract from and obstruct the motive.

I waited quite some time for This shot without any annoying car driving through the pic

 

[swerve]

WOW!!!

Your photography is STUNNING!!!

It AMAZES me how you are able to capture such AWESOME images from the grandest of scales -- to the miniature ant...

I've been to MANY of the islands -- and while they share quite a few similarities -- they are all slightly different...

Its GREAT to hear (and see) that you had a BLAST in Puerto Rico...

Thanks for sharing the photo's -- and I look forward to your other threads...

 

[Corny]

Thanks. I have a Tamron 70-300 travel zoom with a 1:2 telemacro switch. It's far from being a really good lens, but it's really convenient for .. well travel I have cursed it many times, but it's still better then schlepping a whole suitcase around. Yet, when we went to Vieques and Culebra, we travelled very light - so I only had a point and shoot there. There won't be much close ups in that thread

 

[swerve]

^TRUST ME that it is NOT the equipment...

I've had the BEST in my lifetime -- and yet, my photo's have ALWAYS been just AVERAGE...

You have a TALENT -- and THANKS for SHARING it!!!

 

[pat grimshaw]

(Quite a few places in the Old South (on the continent) still use the term Athenaeum. My guess is that it added status to the planters to allude to the ancients and their Classicism....

WE have Athenaeums in my country, also.

Fab pics, Corny!

 

[KaraBulut]

The pidgeons (?) looked different though:

There are rock pigeons in PR and they look a lot like the pigeons found in the rest of the world. I think what is in the picture is a collared dove which is an invasive species.

This bird looks like a blackbird. Someone called them "Django" bird. But we might have misheard it.

It's a common great tailed grackle. Very annoying bird with a call that sounds like a slide whistle.

 

[JayHawk]

Wow. Very nice, I can almost taste the rum and smell the sweet sweat on the warm breeze.....

 

[Corny]

^ Rum! That's something for the next post, but probably not today.

It's a common great tailed grackle. Very annoying bird with a call that sounds like a slide whistle.

To bad, I like the name Django bird. Also the birds somehow came over as "vain" or stuck up .. and seemed to give a performance all the time

 

[geloge]

Stellar pics as always, Corny.

The Atteneo doubles as a museum and a performance hall: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ateneo_Puertorrique%C3%B1o (Quite a few places in the Old South (on the continent) still use the term Athenaeum. My guess is that it added status to the planters to allude to the ancients and their Classicism. Wonder if that is the origins of the Atteneo's naming. Any Puerto Rican scholars here?

Love the iguana.

Ateneo is an archaic spanish word that I think is the equivalent of the word athenaeum, which is a public service organization that is dedicated to learning and education.

If I remember correctly, el Ateneo Puertorriqueño was the original nursing school when PR was still a Spanish colony.

Ateneo is a place where science, arts and or literature groups discuss about their interests. They use to have a place for exhibitions, cultural shows and teaching. The word comes from the greek goddes Athena.


Great pictures.

 

[Falcon16]

Corny, really excellent photography. Your images are well composed, well exposed, and tack sharp. I never would have thought that Tamron tele/macro could perform like that. They look great resized for the web.

Do you shoot raw Corny or are these just pure jpegs? It was a pleasure to view every one of these. Cheers!

 

[m1thousand]

Why do I have the feeling a penis will eventually be photoshopped onto this photo

Thank you for sharing the great photos (though Im not jazzed about the reptilian photos . . but thats just me)