The other day, as I was searching for new examples of street art, i began to think of the art that I had seen but has since disappeared. Of course, I had thought along these lines before (check out these earlier posts here and here).
When I started photographing and writing about street art, I did not realize I would have an image repository of wall murals that are now gone, for one reason or another. If you’re a regualar reader of this blog, you will have seen some of these before. But I think they are all worth a revisit. I’ll try to arrange them by neighborhood, when I can.
Sagrado Corazon
This mural, on the wall of a three story building, was visible for several years from the platform of the urban train station in Sagrado Corazon. It had faded over the years; it is now gone. I never did figure out the symbolism.
The evocative Woman with Green Face was also near the Sagrado Corazon urban train station. She has long since been painted over.
Domenech
I first noticed this while on the urban train as the train, elevated at that point, rounded a curve near the Domenech station. A few days later, I went back, got off at that station and took this from street level. The mural is still on the wall but it has faded enough to obliterate it.
Avenida Juan Ponce de Leon
The next two were just off Avenida Juan Ponce de Leon, the main street through San Juan, near the intersection with Avenida de Diego. They have since been painted over.
Plaza del Mercado, Santurce
The next four are from the neighborhood around the Plaza del Mercado in Santurce. The house above was on the street leading to the plaza from the south, off Avenida Juan Ponce de Leon. It is rare to see wall murals with red as the dominant color.
These intricate figures were on the bridge pier along Calle Canal, entering the Plaza area from Condado, to the north. They’ve been painted over.
This smiling face greeted visitors to the Plaza as they headed north, along Calle Canal.
Condado
This was not technically in Condado. It was on a side street leading into Condado, from the south. I was and remain intrigued by this work.
Calle Cerra
As I’ve written before, Calle Cerra is a hotbed of wall art. I’ll probably do another post on it later but here are three examples of murals there that have been painted over with new art.
Conclusion
So there are a few examples of wall art that has disappeared. I wonder if copyright protection still pertains to works painted over. I should check that out. Perhaps I can use these and other images in a book to sell to avid tourists pouring off the cruise ships. What do you think – want to send me a few bucks to get me started?
Notes and Sources
The images are all mine. I use a Sony point and shoot digital camera and edit my images with Adobe Lightroom and/or Adobe Photoshop.
Puerto Rico hosts a professional ironman competition every March. The three components – swim, bike, run – all begin and end near my apartment. I wander around with my cameras in hand and try to capture some of the excitement of the day. Here are some of my efforts.
Preparations
It takes three or four days to prepare the course. Traffic barriers have to be put up for the bike race. Inflatable pylons have to be placed to mark the swim course. A paddock has to be constructed to store the bikes.
A worker begins to prepare the ramp by which swimmers will exit the Condado Lagoon and make their way to the paddock to get their bikes and start the bike leg.
The completed ramp awaits the swimmers. The protective tape is presumably to prevent curious tourists from using it.
On Saturday afternoon, a competitor wheels his bike to the paddock. A bike like this has a list price of about $9,000.
More bikes in the paddock. The bikes are assigned places by number; the the athletes will store their running gear by their bikes.
The Start
The event starts Sunday morning. The competitors line up by the times they expect to finish the swim, with the fastest swimmers starting first.
The first cohort of swimmers line up behind the 25 minutes or less sign. Once the event begins, three swimmers will enter the course every five seconds.
After the U.S. and Puerto Rican national anthems, a percussion band serenades the swimmers.
The first group of swimmers await the start.
An athlete anxiously awaits her start. She will swim 1.3 miles, bike for 56 miles, and then run for another 13.1 miles – a total of 70.3 miles.
As you can see, most of the athletes seemed serious, even anxious, before the start.
The Swim
Three swimmers enter the water every five seconds and begin the 1.3 mile swim. They head east and then around the end of the Condado Lagoon. They exit after they pass under the bridge connecting Condado to the Isleta de San Juan, the small island of San Juan.
The swimmers enter the water to the left and head east and then around the east end of the Condado Lagoon. They have to keep the pylons on their right. Volunteers in kayaks and on paddleboats keep an eye on things.
The swimmers pass under a bridge on the way to the ramp. The air and water temperature are both about 80 F.
The Swim-Bike Transition
The swimmers leave the water via the ramp shown earlier, and run about a quarter of a mile to the paddock to don their biking gear and run with their bikes to the start of the bike leg.
Some of the athletes make the swim-bike transition barefoot, others stash a pair of running shows by the ramp.
The athletes enter the paddock, get into their biking gear, and grab their bikes and make their way to the start of the bike leg.
The bikers have to cross the Mount Bike line before they can get get on their bikes and actually start to ride.
The Bike Leg
The riders start in Parc Escambron, in San Juan, and ride to Dorado and back. It is a flat route. They finish at the Dismount line, and then run with their bikes to the paddock, don their running gear, and start the run.
Two riders have just mounted their bikes and are starting the bike leg. The long shadows reveal the early hour; it as about 8 15 AM.
A rider accelerating put of the park.
More riders just starting their bike ride. By this time, the elite athletes are well into the bike leg; these competitors are in it for their personal aggrandizement.
Two more just starting the bike leg.
The fastest riders complete the bike leg in a bit over two hours. I waited for the first riders to return.
An elite rider nearing completion of his bike race.
The riders make their way back into the park, dismount just before the Dismount line, and make their way to the paddock.
There is a tricky S curve just as the riders enter the park.
A short section of the road into the park utilizes these tiles to identify a cross walk. It is good it was a dry day – they are very slippery when wet.
Three elite riders speeding towards the Dismount line.
A rider just at the Dismount line.
The Bike-Run Transition
The athletes run with their bikes to the paddock, change into their running shoes, and start the 13.1 mile run. It is two laps into and out of Old San Juan. The course is hilly,
Three riders just past the Dismount line. The racing bikes identify them as competitive athletes.
Volunteers assist along the way. This one is offering a spray of sunscreen before the run.
The Run
The run,13.1 miles, is two laps into and back from Old San Juan, along a hilly course.
I find the run uninteresting. The runners seem to be in agony, the sun is high and harsh, and I find it difficult to capture a good image. But here are a few.
A runner leaving the paddock as he begins the half-marathon.
The runner to the left is finishing his first lap; the others are just starting theirs.
Results
Matheus Salto Martine of Brazil was the overall winner, with a time of 4:04:46. Javier Figueroa of Puerto Rico was second, at 4:09:33. Kiel Bur of the US was third at 4:11:01.
All in all, it was a beautiful day
The solicitation for the 2025 event is out; click here to see it. If you’re thinking of entering, better start training now. March 16, 2025 will be here before you know it.
Notes
The images are all mine. I use a Sony point and shoot digital camera and an old 35 mm Nikon. I edit the images with Adobe Lightroom and/or Photoshop.
I had occasion to be in San Juan for a week earlier this month. While I spent most of my time working with (or waiting for) workmen to do various tasks in our apartment, I did have time to find new street art. In fact, one of the workmen, knowing my interest in street art, took me on a quick tour of new works in his car. So here are newly discovered works from two parts of the city.
Puerta de Tierra
Calle San Agustin
The walled city of Old San Juan is on a small island, Isleta de San Juan. The walled city once had a gate called Puerta de Tierra, literally gate to the land. The gate in question, once located where the Plaza Colon has since been built, was the walled city’s gate to the rest of the Isleta de San Juan; that part of the island is now known as Puerta de Tierra.
An electric scooter leans against a wall on which a muralist proclaims his love of his neighborhood.
The next four images are from a small square along Calle San Agustin. There is a small kisoco there which sells beer, juices, and empanadillas to patrons sitting at umbrella-shaded tables.
My guide told me the mural depicted a recent Puerto Rican Miss Universe contestant.
I found the next two also on Calle San Agustin, across from a bar I sometimes visit. They are a mini sports hall of fame.
This mural honors Monica Puig and Roberto Clemente. Monica Puig, a professional tennis player, won a Gold Medal at the 2016 Olympics, in the tennis singles event. She was the first Puerto Rican to win a gold. Roberto Clemente was a 21 year Hall of Fame major league baseball player.
Jasmine Camacho Quinn became the second Puerto Rican to win an Olympics gold medal. She won the women’s 100 meter hurdles at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
This colorful mural is in a courtyard just off of Avenida de la Constitucion, a block up from Calle San Agustin.
Calle del Tren
The next four are along the Calle del Tren, the bus lanes into and out of Old San Juan.
This is a huge mural, about five stories tall. I don’t know who the artist is but the mural reminds me of one on the Calle Cerra neighborhood. That mural was of a large rabbit.
This mural is much more modestly sized. I like the green face.
These last two are along the bus lanes one block east of our apartment building.
Calle Cerra
The Calle Cerra neighborhood, in the Santurce neighborhood of San Juan, is noted for its everchanging wall art. I’ve written about it before (click here and here to get caught up). Here are some new murals I found on my recent trip.
The first is on the block between Avenida Ponce de Leon and Avenida Fernandez Juncos. It is a cross from a small Mexican restaurant, one of our favorites.
The others are from a block or two down, south of Avenida Fernandez Juncos.
The above is on a side wall along the sidewalk.
This is by the Puerto Rican artist David Zayas. It replaces an earlier work by the same artist. If I chose to edit this image further, I will remove the louvres. It will take some time but I think it will be worth it.
This is on a wall along the sidewalk, one block east of Calle Cerra.
The two murals above are along the sidewalk.
The last three are along an alley off of lower Calle Cerra.
Notes and Sources
I captured the murals with my digital camera. I edit them with Adobe Lightroom and/or Adobe Photoshop.
Check Wikipedia for information on the three athletes shown in the murals along Calle San Agustin.
Use Wikipedia to find information about the Puerto Rican artist David Zayas.
I’ve written about and shown images of street art, murals on walls, here in San Juan. In this post, I’ll show examples of mosaics, art generated by piecing together ceramic tiles. While not as numerous as wall murals, the mosaics add to the visual tapestry here.
Parc Luis Munoz Rivera
At 27.2 acres, Parc Luis Munoz Rivera is the largest public space in San Juan. It is named for the late nineteenth and early twentieth Puerto Rican statesman. It sits on land that was once San Juan’s first line of defense. A powder and ammunition magazine (El Polvorin de San Geronimo) still exists.
The park was developed in the 1920s, with major restorations in the 1970s and from 2000 to 2004.
The sidewalks along the southern and western edges of the park have extensive ceramic murals. I’m not sure when they were installed, or who the artist was.
A section of the sidewalk along the southern end of Parc Luis Munoz Rivera. Most of the mosaics show flowers and vines.
Here are four more examples of floral-inspired ceramic mosaics.
Here are two examples of animal life as found on the sidewalk along the southern edge of the park. I suspect these represent the ubiquitous Puerto Rican tree frog, the coqui.
Felisa Rincon de Gautier
Felisa Rincon de Gautier served as Mayor of San Juan in the post World War II years, from 1948 to 1968. She was in fact the first woman mayor of any American capital city. Know familiarly as Dona Fela, she started a series of pre-schools known as Las Escuelas Maternales. These became the model for the later Head Start program. In 1952, 1953, and 1954, she chartered planes to bring snow so the children of San Juan could play in it, at least until it melted.
A statue of Felisa Rincon de Gautier, located in a garden along the Paseo de Princesa, just outside the south wall of Old San Juan. She was known for her hair style, large eye glasses, necklaces, and hand held fans.
During 2016 and 2017, San Juan funded a mosaic mural honoring Dona Fela. It is located on the south side of Avenida Luis Munoz Rivera, just west of the park of the same name. The traffic heading into Old San Juan gives some idea of the mural’s scale. Note how the mosaic tiles extend onto and include the sidewalk.
Two images showing the mural under construction.
Note the characteristic eyeglasses, necklace and hand held fans.
The mural includes depictions of the handheld fans favored by Dona Fela.
One section the the mural refers to the Rincon de Gautier museum. It is located in Old San Juan, just inside the San Juan Gate. It is well worth a visit – Dona Fela was a remarkable woman with accomplishments beyond her time as Mayor of San Juan. In fact, when she was buried, in 1994, she was given the honors typically accorded a head of state.
La Casita
La Casita is a small building and associated grounds next to Plaza Darsena in Old San Juan. It now houses a bar specializing in Puerto Rican rums.
In Puerto Rico, each municipality has ceremonial artifacts, flags, coats of arms, etc. The walkways around La Casita have ceramic depictions of the coats of arms of all of the municipalities. Thus, the walkways celebrate the cities and towns throughout the island.
Municipalities (there are 78 of them) represent the second level of government. Each has a mayor and a unicameral legislative body, with all offices up for election every four years. Municipalities with greater than 50,000 residents are incorporated cities; those with a smaller population are incorporated towns.
Villalba
The coat of arms for Villalba, an incorporated town. Villalba is located in the south central mountains, near the city of Ponce. The coat of arms shows, on a green background, a small village, with six homes and a church. A star shines over the village. The border includes five groups of fig leaves.
Hurricane Maria (September 20, 2017) devestated Villalba. One nearby rain gauge measured over 27 inches of rainfall. The winds and rain destroyed the entire electrical system; landslides blocked roads; floods washed the emergency center building away.
Humacao
Humacao, located on the east coast, is named for the Taino chief Jumacao. The first chief to learn Spanish, Jumacao wrote a letter to King Charles I of Spain stating the Spanish Governor was not complying with the existing peace treaty. Impressed, the King ordered the Governor to adhere to the terms of the treaty.
Humacao’s coat of arms was designed in 1975. The gold represents the rising sun; the green the tropical valley of the original settlement.
Vieques
Vieques, the Spanish spelling of a Taino word, lies eight miles off the east coast of Puerto Rico. The island is about 20 miles long (east-west) and 4.5 miles at its widest. The original Taino word meant small land or small island.
Vieques’ coat of arms uses blue and white to represent the sea. A Spanish fort is depicted in the green rhombus.
Aibonito
The mosaic works are about 1.5 ft by 1.5 ft. Unfortunately, the coats of arms in the more heavily trafficked areas suffer damage, as is apparent from Aibonito’s coat of arms. As the damages worsens, plain tiles will replace the coat of arms ..
Condado
I noticed a new mosaic work on the way into Condado, the main tourist area in San Juan. It is on the retaining walls on both sides of the bridge carrying the Baldiority Expressway over PR-2 as it enters central Condado.
The artist, as identified on a plaque describing the work, is Roberto Biaggi Irizarry. The work depicts birds native to Puerto Rico.
The mural depicts a bird (clergigo in Spanish) endemic to Puerto Rico. Note the heavy traffic entering the on ramp to the expressway. This is on the wall to the right of the street entering Condado. The cars also provide a an idea as to the size of the mural.
A Puerto Rican hummingbird, as depicted on the left panel.
This bird is know locally as a San Pedrito (little Saint Peter). It is also known, because of its small size, as a “medio peso” (half dollar) bird.
Old San Juan
Within the last few years, a staircase in Old San Juan was redone with a ceramic mosaic design. The words along the bottom two steps celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the annual Festival de la Calle San Sebastian (Festival of the Street of San Sebastian). But the image on the upper steps calls to mind the story of Saint Sebastian.
According to a story I’ve heard, 50 years ago San Sebastian Street was home to a group of artists. They started a street festival (third weekend in January) to show and sell their art. The festival has grown. It is now the most important festival in San Juan. It typically lasts from Wednesday to Sunday. Seven or eight sound stage throughout the city are home to live music of different types – salsa here, rock there, traditional (bomba, plena) somewhere else. Traffic is not allowed in the city – pedestrians rule the days and nights.
Saint Sebastian (c, AD 255 – c. AD 288) was persecuted by the Roman Emperor Diocletian. According to legend, Sebastian was tied to a post and shot by arrows. He survived, thanks to the efforts of Irene of Rome. After his recovery, he went to Diocletian to warn him of his sins. In response, Diocletian clubbed Sebastian to death. A heart and arrows very often represent San Sebastian.
The ceramic pieces along the wall to the right of the staircase have the names of various sights in Old San Juan. The Mercado was once the main open air market in the city.
I watched with interest as the art work took shape. This is along the wall to the right of the stairs.
Conclusion
So here are most of the ceramic mosaics I’ve seen in San Juan. While few in number, they do add to the visual appeal of the city.
Notes and Sources
The images are mine. I use a Sony mirrorless digital camera. I edit the images with Adobe Lightroom and/or Photoshop.
Click here for a brief description of Parc Luis Munoz Rivera, and here to learn more about the remarkable life of Munoz Rivera.
See the Wikipedia entry here for more information on Felisa Rincon de Gautier’s remarkable life.
It seems each of Puerto Rico’s municipalities has a Wikipedia page. For example, click here to see the page for Humacao.
I learned about the endemic birds of Puerto Rico from the plaque on the left side of the mosaic. Learn more about the artist (Roberto Biaggi Irizarry) here.
This entry provides more information about San Sebastian.
This is a continuation of my previous post. Again, I’ll show new street art I found along Calle Cerra and recall the murals they replaced. When possible, I’ll provide information about the artist.
Ana Marietta
Ana Marietta, also know as Ana Maria Ortiz, is an American muralist, based in Houston, Texas. The mural below, like her other art, captures animal life with exaggerated features. She has murals in London, Miami, Turin, Las Vegas, Hawaii and Kiev, and other places as well. Google her name to learn more.
This mural is above Julieta’s Bar and Restaurant. Note they are advertising Alhambra, a Spanish beer.
The mural above replaced this one by the same artist. The image, taken in 2020, also serves to document the continuing gentrification of the neighborhood.
El Basta
I found El Basta on Instagram but the page wasn’t very informative. A muralist from Santurce, San Juan, he created the wall art below. Mal Caribe translates roughly as bad Caribbean.
Below is a detail of the mural. Note the car in front of the wall. It gives an idea of the scale of the work.
El Basta’s mural replaced the one below. It depicts the disease and pestilence brought to the Caribbean by the European explorers. I wonder if it is by the same muralist.
Rafael Enrique Vega (@rafiquepr)
Originally from Ponce, Rafael Enrique Vega is currently associated with the School of Plastic Arts and Design of Puerto Rico. His mural is just off Avenida Fernando Juncos. Given it’s large size, I’ll show two images of it.
The mural replaced the one below, which I always thought honored a local cleric.
Unknown Artists
I don’t always see, or can’t decipher, signatures on the murals. For example, I see DE CERTOR on the mural below. But I find nothing relevant when I Google it.
The mural above replaced this one.
This mural is farther down the street, off of a parking lot.
It replaced this one. I can read the artist’s signature but I have not yet followed up in it. I like the perspective – note how large the hands seem.
I’ll show one more before and after. This is one a side street, just off of Calle Cerra.
Here is what was on that stretch of wall earlier. While the earlier work was interesting, I for some reason prefer the current mural.
Miscellaneous
Every neighborhood needs delivery trucks. The ones on Calle Cerra are different from other neighborhoods.
And every neighborhood needs a Ferreteria, hardware store. But the one on Calle Cerra is unique.
Notes and Sources
The images are mine. I use a digital point and shoot camera and use Adobe Lightroom and/or Photoshop for editing.
Google any of the artists names for more information about them.
Calle Cerra in the Santurce neighborhood of San Juan is known for its wide range of street art. In this post, I’ll share some of the new art and recall some of the art that’s been painted over. I’ll acknowledge the artists whenever I can.
Danae Brissonnet
I’ve written about this French-Canadian artist before (click here to see an earlier post). She was responsible for this.
This has been painted over, replaced by this.
This is minimally edited. The signature on the upper right (@guillemfontart) identifies the artist as Guillem Font, from Barcelona/Mexico. Google the name – you’ll see interesting work.
While the mural above by Danae Brissonnet is gone, she has a new mural down the street a bit.
This is on the side of a 15 story or so building. Note it contains the same colorful palette and fantastical images as her earlier work. Google her name to see more of her murals.
Other New Works
I’m not sure who the artist is for this one. It replaced one of my earlier favorites.
The imposing raptor on the first story wall of the same building was replaced by the more abstract creation below.
The work is signed by @sofiamaldo. I was unable, in a quick search, to find out much about her.
The new mural below replaced on of my favorites.
I cannot decipher the signature on this one. I have not yet had time to edit this too much. When I do, I’ll remove the wires and objects on the wall. It will be a good project for a rainy day.
This mural replaced the enigmatic one below. This image has been extensively edited.
Thoughts
I don’t know how these murals are commissioned and who decides which artist will be assigned what space.
And I have more. I’ll put together another post soon.
And it is not just walls that are painted. Here is a three story building. Graziani, a restaurant, occupies the first floor.
Notes and Sources
The images are mine. I capture them with a point and shoot digital camera and edit them with Adobe Lightroom and/or Photoshop.
The Puerto Rico Ironman was held in San Juan again this year, on March 25, 2023. About 500 atheletes competed. They began to arrive three or four days earlier, and could be seen running, biking and swimming as they did their final preparations. The event consists of a 1.2 mile swim, a 56 mile bike leg, and finishes with a 13.2 mile run. I live close to the the swim area and the park where the bike and run events begin and end. I’ll share some of my images of the event in this post, as well as a short description of the activities.
Preparations
The preparations begin a few days before the event. The swim course is marked by buoys, the bike storage area is put together, lanes are marked, volunteers are trained.
Buoys in the Condado Lagoon mark the swim course. The swimmers enter the water to the right and swim down and back keeping the buoys to their right.
The swimmers pass under the highway bridge and proceed to the end of the swim course.
Volunteers construct a ramp. The swimmers will leave the water via the ramp and make their way to the bike sorage area where they will begin the bike leg.
Volunteers also construct bike racks. The atheletes will leave their bikes here the night before the event. They’ll get their bikes here after the swim and leave them here after the bike leg as they start the run.
Race officials and volunteers mark runnng lanes with pylons and tape. The course takes the runners into and out of Old San Juan twice.
Race officials place signs at key points. This sign marks the line where riders can mount their bikes and begin the bike leg.
Volunteers, race officials, and onlookers have to eat. A couple of food trucks are brought in to meet that need.
On the Saturday afternoon before the race, the atheletes bring their bikes and running shoes to the bike racks. This is where they transition from the swim to the bike, and then the bike to the run.
The Start
On Sunday morning, the atheletes gather at the swim start. They are grouped in time blocks – the fastest swimmers in the first group, the second fastest in the next, and so on. After some pre-race ceremonies (the Puerto Rican and US anthems, a greeting from the mayor of San Juan), the swim event begins. Three atheletes enter the water every five seconds and begin their swim.
The swim start area before the start.
Note the ankle straps. These contain a chip which records times as the atheletes pass through various check points.
The atheletes strike various poses as they get ready to enter the water.
I caught some of the swimmers in the warm light of the tropical sunrise.
The Swim
I have always had a hard time photographing swimmers. I suppose I could do better with a wet suit, scuba gear, and an underwater camera but that’s not about to happen. So here are some images to give you a feel for the event.
The swimmers go into the water just to the left of this image, with three starting every five seconds. They should keep the pylons to their right as the proceed. It seems some swimmers will need guidance from the volunteers in kayaks along the course.
By the way, the start changed from previous years. Then groups of 40 to 50 swimmers would go onto the water, with groups starting every five minutes. I suspect the new start process eliminates a lot of kicking and clawing in the group starts.
One of the early swim starters.
The swimmers leave the water via the ramp and make their way to the bike paddock. The water in the lagoon is warm, about 78 F.
The Swim-Bike Transition
After leaving the water, the atheletes run about a quarter of a mile to the bike paddock. There they don their biking regalia and proceed to the Mount line to start the bike leg.
Some of the competitors have a pair of running shoes stashed just as they exit the ramp.
Other atheletes run barefoot to the bike paddock.
Another barefoot transitioner.
Once in the bike paddock, the atheletes don their biking gear, grab their bikes, and head to the Mount line. This is one of the early swim finishers.
The Bike Leg
After the swim and the transition, the atheletes race along a flat, 56 mile course to Dorado and back. I watch them as they leave the park and as they return. I find the bike leg the most interesting to photograph so I’ll share several of my images.
Leaving the Park
Jan Flores is just past the Mount line. Note he has his shoes clipped to his pedals – he’ll fasten them as he starts his ride. This US athelete finished in 5 hours and 21 minutes.
These riders are beginning to accelerate as they leave the park.
The bikers transition to city streets as they leave the park. They have to slow down for an ess curve just as they get onto the city streets.
Isabel Cody of the US enters the city streets. She finished in just over 7 hours.
Elizabeth Martinez of Puerto Rico begins the bike leg. She competed in the F 55-59 age group and finished in six hours and 50 minutes.
Michael Garcia of the US is heading for Dorado. He finished in six hours and 50 minutes.
The US athelete Paul Hartman competed in the M 55-59 age group. He finished in just over 8 hours.
The rider on the left is wearing a white band on her right wrist. That identfies her as a member of a relay team, specifically Team Hillsthrills of the USA. They finished in just under six and a half hours. Rider 404 is Daniel Reinheimer of the US, competing in the M 55-59 group. He finished in just over 7 hours.
Returning from Dorado
Afet waiting a bit, I can catch some of the riders coming back into the park as they finish the bike leg.
The riders slow down as the get to the Dismount line. Then they run their bikes to the paddock and get ready for the run.
The Bike Run Transition
Jessica Gozalez of Puerto Rico finishes the bike leg. Competing in the F 40-44 group, she finished in 5:19:44.
Javier Hernandez of Puerto Rico runs barefoot to the bike paddock to prepare to the run. He finished in 5:34.
Nicki Leo (US) and Alfredo Gonzalez (PR) transition to the run. Nicki finished in 5:17:25 (first in her group of F 50-54) while Alfredo came in at 5:54.
Oscar Otero of the US finished in 5:32.
The Run
The atheletes run from the park into and then back from Old San Juan. They repeat the course twice before finishing. So there is a constant stream of runners along the city streets into and out of Old San Juan.
I must say I find the runners hard to photograph. By this time, the sun is high and the lighting is harsh. In addition, they all look like they are in agony. So I’ll share just a few images of the runners.
Victor Torres of Puerto Rico begins the run. He finished in 5:48.
Volunteers assist the runners as they first enter the course.
Anne Jackson of the US begins the run. She finished in 6:20.
This runner is close to finishing the first leg into and out of Old San Juan. In a short distance, he’ll reverse course and start his second leg into the walled city.
Final Thoughts
Although I’ve watched the event for several years now, I don’t understand all the details. For example, it is pretty clear that the timing of the swim event begins when a swimmer enters the water. I did not notice but I suspect there is a chip reader device that records the time when an athelete begins his/her swim. But exactly where does the swim event end? When the simmers go up the ramp? When they reach the bike paddock? At the Mount line as the bike leg begins?
I examined the timings for some of the finishers. The winner, Javier Figueroa of Puerto Rico, finished in a recorded time of 4:09:45. He did the swim in 26:30, the bike in 2:13:37, and the run in 1:25:29. If I add up the times for the indivudual events, they total 4:05:36. I figure the missing 4 minutes were used in the transitions. So the three events are timed discretely, with the times in the transitions added to the total.
I was also curious as to which of the three events determined the race leaders. I scanned the results for the first 20 finishers to see what I could find. Fabian Roman (PR) had the fastest swim of the top 20, at 25:50. Rafael Ramon Franco, also of PR, was slowest, at 37:00. In the bike event, the overall winner, Javier Figueroa, had the fastest time, at 2:13:37, although Aurimas Sabalis of the US was a close second at 2:15:39. Of the top 20 finishers, Diego Rodriguez of PR was slowest at 2:35.
For the run, Javier Figueroa, the overall winner, was again fastest, at 1:25:29, while Aurimas Sabalis was slowest at 1:46:52.
So what does all this mean? The bike and the run are more important that the swim. This makes sense when you think about it – the swim is of the shortest duration and it is more diffcult to build a time advantage in that event. The two longer events allow the eventual winners to dominate and build significant time advantages.
Advice
That leaves me with a final thought, offered as advice to Ironman competitors.
You swim, you get wet. You run, you make sweat. To make Ironman dough Make bike like hell go And run to win, not show.
What do you think?
Notes and Sources
The images are all mine. I use a Sony digital camera and an old Nikon 35 mm film camera. I edit the images with Adobe Lightroom and/or Photoshop.
The normally pristine beaches of Old San Juan and Condado are covered with deposits of brown algae. Crews clean the stuff from the main beaches but one can still see piles of brown algae along the seconday areas.
The first two images are from Parc Escambron, on Isletta de San Juan. The third is from Condado, in front of the Hotel Tryst. I suspect the Condado beaches are raked and cleaned more frequently than the beaches at Parc Escambron.
Source of the Brown Algae?
So where did the brown algae come from? I suspect most people assume it is from near shore, washed up by the surf driven by the seasonal trade winds. I prefer a more convoluted explanation.
There was an unusually strong storm in the tropical Atlantic in early December. In fact, some forecasters thought it might develop into a hurricane. While Atlantic tropical storms in December are not all that rare, a December hurricane would have been truly unusual.
See Notes and Sources
Here is a visible satellite image of Invest 99L, obtained at 10:30 AM, December 6, 2022. As noted above, forecasters thought the disturbance might develop into a tropical storm or even a hurricane.
In the event, Invest 99L stayed a strong but not tropical storm. But the strong low pressure system affected the winds in San Juan. Most of the time, during the winter months, the trade winds are from the east or east north east. However, the counterclockwise flow around the low pressure system generated strong winds from the north that lasted for about a week.
The next several images are from December 9, 2022. I went with friends to Pinones, a beach and restaurant area just east of San Juan. Here are some pictures of the surf that day.
So what does high surf in December have to do with brown algae in February?
The December storm developed near and passed over the Sargasso Sea, an area rich in algae. It is in a relatively quiet part of the Atlantic, between the easterly trade winds to the south and the westerlies to the north. It is a rich breeding for, among other species, European and American eels.
I suspect the December storm dislodged a good bit of brown algae, only now making its way to San Juan’s beaches.
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
I’ve written about brown algae before. Click here to see that post. And, by the way, I’m still looking for investors.
Notes and Sources
Except for the satellite image, the images are mine, captured by a digital camera and edited with Adobe Lightroom and/or Photoshop.
The satellite image of Invest 99L is from the excellent Eye on the Storm blog, written by Bob Henson and Jeff Masters. Click here to see their post about the December 2022 storm.
We can see much of the Port of San Juan from our balcony. I can see cruise ships, a variety of freighters, and the occassional warship enter and leave port.This week, a research vessel was tied up at Pier 14. Research vessels are rare visitors here, at least by my casual observations, so I thought I would find out more about this one.
The R/V Falkor (too)
If nothing else, the R/V Falkor (too) suggests oceanographers are equipped with whimsical senses of humor. You may recall that Falkor was a luckdragon in the 1984 movie The NeverEnding Story. He was large (43 feet long) and graceful. Falkor was covered by albino/light colored fur, with pinkish scales along his back. As far as his personality, he was wise, optimistic, dignified and friendly. Click here for more information about this luck dragon. And if you’re really excited about Falkor, be aware that stuffed versions of him are available at Amazon.
And why is the ship named Falkor (too)? Simple. She is the second research vessel so named. Why would a whimsical oceanographer do something common, like Falkor II?
The ship began life as the MV Polar Queen, which was used, among other things, to help construct off-shore wind turbines.
See Notes and Sources for attributions.
As you can see, the Polar Queen has a large open deck at the rear of the ship, and a substantial hoist mechanism. I suspect the hoist will be used to deploy instrument packages and the open deck will house various laboratories.
The Schmidt Ocean Institute purchased the Polar Queen from the Norwegian shipping company GC Rieber Shipping ASA in 2021. She was, during 2022, refitted into her research vessel configuration at Vigo, Spain. She sailed to San Juan in anticipation of her first research voyage next month.
The Falkor (too)is about 365 feet long with a beam of 66 feet. The rear deck has an area of about 10,000 square feet. She had, before her reconfiguration, 110 berths. Some of those have been converted to laboratory space.
The RV Falkor (too) in San Juan
The Falkor (too) is here preparing for her first research voyage, scheduled for next month. She’ll carry a team of investigators to study vents along the mid-Atlantic Ridge. More on that later.
I first noticed the R/V Falkor (too) in early February. In the image above, she is docked at Pier 14 and is taking on fuel from a fleet of tanker trucks. The box truck at the head of the queue, according to the signage on it, supplies oils and lubricants to industrial customers.
The ship left port for a few days and came back. She took on more supplies and left again. According to the website Marinetraffic, she is currently off the northwest coast of Puerto Rico, near Aguadilla. The website reports she is in a Restricted Manoeuvrability state. I wonder if she is testing some of her deployable instruments.
The R/V Falkor (too) leaving port on February 15. Note the prominent bulbous bow. I was curious about those and dedicated an earlier post to that arcane topic. Click here to refresh your memory.
The Schmidt Ocean Institute
The Schmidt Ocean Institute (SOI) owns the R/V Falkor (too). The SOI was established in 2009 as a 503(c) non-operating foundation. The founders, Eric Schmidt and Wendy Schmidt, met while in graduate school at the University of California, Berkley. Eric Schmidt later worked for Google, becoming CEO in 2001. I don’t know where the Schmidt’s gained their interest in oceanography.
The mission of the SOI is as follows:
We combine advanced science with state-of-the-art technology to achieve lasting results in ocean research, to catalyze sharing of the information, and to communicate this knowledge to audiences around the world. We foster a deeper understanding of our environment.
See Notes and Sources
The SOI sponsors oceanographic expeditions on their vessel, with free ship time for investigators and expert technical help ranging from managing the instruments (including submersibles) and data management. Investigators commit to sharing their data, including raw data, to the oceanographic community.
First Research Voyage
As I noted above, the R/V Falkor (too) will begin its first research voage next month, in March 2023. Here is a map of the proposed trip, scheduled for March 3 – April 10, 2023.
See Notes and Sources.
As can be seen, the Falkor (too) will leave San Juan and head east south east to the mid-Atlantic Ridge complex. There it will investigate vents under the leadership of Principal Investigator Dr. David Butterfield from the NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory – University of Washington.
There are, to my limited knowledge, two main types of vents. So called “black smokers” occur when hot magna meets cold sea water. The drop in temperature causes preciptitates to form, rich in sulfides, especially iron sulfide. Here is an image of one black smoker.
See Notes and Sources
Black smokers, first discovered off the Galapogos Islands in 1977, create an environment rich in up to then unknown organisms, such as three foot tubeworms, shrimps, etc. Click here for more information on these life forms.
But the Falkor (too) is looking for a different type of vent, vents devoid of the life forms found around black smokers. The water from these vents runs clear through carbonate structures. It is thought their chemistry mimics conditions of the early Earth and could therefore provide insight into the evolution of life here, as well as on other planets.
See Notes and Sources
Final Thoughts
I find it intriguing that the search for clues about early life are occurring at the ocean bottom as well as the surface of Mars. (Click here for a Mars exploration update). We sure live in exciting times.
Notes and Sources
The pictures of the R/V Falkor (too) are mine, taken with a digital camera and edited with Adobe Lightroom and/or Photoshop.
The image of the Polar Queen, the SOI mission statement, and the map of the upcoming expedition are from the SOI website. Check that out here.
I used Wikipedia to find information about the Schmidts.
I got the image of the black smoker from this site. Check there for more information on vents in general.
I got the image of the carbonate vents here. The R/V Falkor (too) will be exploring in the same general region, i.e., the so-called Lost City vent region.
Two ships from the navy of the Dominican Republic were here just before Thanksgiving. This was apparently a courtesy call. It was easy to spot the young midshipmen (and women), dressed in their crisp white uniforms, in the bars close to the piers in Old San Juan.
One ship, the P 301, the AlmiranteDidiez Burgos, is the flagship of the navy. She was originally the United States Coast Guard Buttonwood, an ocean going buoy tender. The Buttonwood, commissioned in 1943, saw service in the Pacific (Guadalcanal, New Guinea, the Philippines and Australia, among other places). The vessel was transferred to the Dominican Republic in 2001. She is now used for transport, humanitarian assistance and training.
The sailing ship, a three masted barquentine, is the Juan Bautista Cambiaso. Originally built in Bulgaria as the Royal Helana, she was acquired by the Dominican Republic in 2018. She is quite small, with a length of 54 meters (about 175 feet) and a beam of 8 meters (26 feet). She can carry up to 37 midshipmen for multiday cruises.
The ships were attractive at night, with bright lights along the deck and in the rigging.
The Royal Navy
The Dominican Navy was here for three nights. Shortly after they left, a ship from the Royal Nay came into port.
This was a very different port call. The ship, the P223, the HMS Medway, docked not in Old San Juan but rather along the Pan American Pier, towards the San Juan Marina.
The Medway is an off-shore patrol vessel. Launched on August 23, 2017, and commissioned on September 19, 2019, she is about 200 feet long with a beam of 43 feet. She displaces 2,000 tons and is armed with a 30 mm gun, four machine guns, and two miniguns.
Her first assignment was to escort a Russian cruiser through the English Channel. In January, 2020, she was assigned to the Royal Navy’s Atlantic Patrol Task (North), which is based in the Caribbean. She performs disaster relief duties as necessary and tracks and intercepts illicit trafficking.
In October 2022, the Medway, working with the United States Coast Guard, seized cocaine worth an estimated 24 million pounds sterling, captured three drug runners, and destroyed their boat. The image below was taken during that encounter.
Perhaps the Medway was here so her officers and crew could work with Coast Guard officers and sailors to continue collaborative efforts against illicit drug trafficking.
