Tag: humacao

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Palmas Del Mar: Paradise or Gringolandia?

When we started looking for a home in Puerto Rico, realtor after realtor recommended that we buy in Palmas del Mar, a massive oceanfront resort development on the southeast coast. The largest planned resort development in the Caribbean, Palmas del Mar bills itself as “Puerto Rico’s #1 vacation destination.” But is it? Not for us.

The many rings of gated security work for some people, but for us they made us feel disconnected from real Puerto Rico. We visited the beach and were underwhelmed, and access to it is extremely limited.

Palmas del Mar started as a vacation spot and evolved to include residential opportunities, and features a golf course, tennis club, athletic club, equestrian area, a forest (Bosque Pterocarpus), marina, school (Palmas Academy), shopping area, hotels, restaurants and more. The residents ride around in golf carts, and their association has regular social events.

So what’s it like? Take a tour and see if it’s your cup of tea. We decided it’s not ours. Lisa calls it Gringolandia.

Links

Info
Palmas Promotional Brochure
Map

Photo Attributions

Alina Santiago, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons – Palmas Marina

Alina Santiago, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons – Palmas

Alina Santiago, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons – Golf course

Bjoertvedt, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons – Houses

Col Nesty Delgado, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons – Palmanova plaza

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Kayaking in the Humacao Nature Reserve

Turtles and ducks and iguanas, oh my!

The Humacao Nature Reserve offers a wonderful kayaking experience, through a creek dodging turtles among the mangroves into a large lagoon. Breathtaking! The lake of course boasts a couple of Puerto Rican flags, since residents’ pride in their island is displayed everywhere you go. Our adventure also offered the chance to see a large variety of birds, turtles, and even a couple of huge iguanas.

The tour guides give you a laminated map so you can follow a specific marked route and learn about the flora and fauna of the region.

Humacao Nature Reserve, also called the Punta Santiago Nature Reserve, is located in the southeastern coast of Puerto Rico, between the municipalities of Humacao and Naguabo. In addition to kayaking, which only cost $15, the reserve has trails for walking, hiking and mountain biking. The birdwatching is spectacular, and you can also go fishing. There are large, clean bathrooms and even showers.

Links

Info: https://www.discoverpuertorico.com/profile/punta-santiago-reserva-natural-de-humacao/7844

Map: https://goo.gl/maps/xyCoWpT1z1mtdoZM8

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Pelican Feeding Time at Palmas del Mar

We wandered down to the coastal area of Palmas del Mar and discovered pelicans having a feeding frenzy on fish in the Atlantic Ocean. It was an amazing sight! Thought we’d share.

Palmas del Mar is a lush golf course/tennis resort development on the southeast end of the island of Puerto Rico. We spent 12 nights there. The beach is largely inaccessible, except by golf cart or walking over to this stretch. There was a lot of sargassum, and it stunk. But the views were gorgeous and clearly the fish — and thus, the seabirds — loved it!

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The Pterocarpus Forest: A Nature Enclave Within a Sprawling Resort

Who would expect to find a beautifully preserved nature preserve in the middle of the largest resort development in Puerto Rico? But that’s what we discovered when we entered the Pterocarpus Forest.

The Pterocarpus Forest nature preserve at Palmas del Mar is a 51-acre swamp forest, one of the largest remaining swamp forests in Puerto Rico. It serves as a habitat for 44 species of flora and 52 species of fauna, and this is a relief to see when elsewhere in Palmas del Mar, trees are being razed to create the latest luxury developments.

This wetland forest is named after the Pterocarpus Officinalis tree (“Dragonsblood Tree”), which has awesome roots that spread out majestically. It can grow more than 65 feet tall.

There’s also a lookout tower and a pond, which provide lively bird, turtle and iguana-watching.

Although Palmas is a private development, the Pterocarpus Forest is open to the public. Just tell the guard at the gate that’s where you are going. They have even been known to give out forest maps. There’s also an app that offers a walking tour of the forest.

Links

Info
Map

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