On Saturday, we drove to the west side of the Island to visit the Aricebo Observatory, home to the world's largest satellite receiver dish. The observatory is in the middle of karst country, eroded limestone formations shaped like haystacks. This landscape was perfect to build the receiver. A sinkhole depression was they perfect size, and they didn't need to do any digging. The large dish reflects signals into another receiver that is suspended above, and the signals travel through fiber optic cables to a lab on the other side of the hill. One of the main projects is the search for intelligent life elsewhere in outer space, but several other important discoveries have come from the observatory. I knew my engineer dad would think it was really cool, but we were all impressed. The dish was was also featured in a James Bond movie. That's right... its Goldeneye!
 |
| Goldeneye! |
 |
| My mom and me being a little silly |
We stopped in Old San Juan on the way back from Arecibo. It was the frist time I had seen the city in the daylight. The colonial Spanish architecture is really pretty. My mom said that's how she imagined streets in Europe. There are also two old forts on the north coast. We walked around Castillo de San Cristobal. The views of the ocean were beautiful. I was amazed by the size of the fort. It seemed like you could easily get lost below ground! After getting a pizza from Pirilos, this great Italian place, we walked to Castillo San Felipe del Morro. It was a breezy evening, and the park was filled with kids flying kites. We watched the sun set behind the fort. The coast of Old San Juan was stunning at night. It was a great end to the day.
 |
| Old San Juan as seen from San Crisobal |
 |
| El Morro soon after sunset |
 |
| Old San Juan at dusk |
No comments:
Post a Comment