The western coastal valley region of Puerto Rico is home to the charming seaside city of Aguada. Officially founded in 1526, it has great historical significance as port for ships traveling from South America to Spain. Many rivers, including the Río Cañas, Río Culebra, Río Culebrinas, Río Grande, Río Guayabo, and Río Ingenio flow through its territory into the Mona Passage to the Atlantic Ocean.
The city has seen nearly continuous population increases since its founding. Some of this has been attributed to the desertions of crew members and soldiers from foreign merchant ships traveling to other colonies. It is said that the hospitality of the locals and the plentiful food available prompted many to hide until the ships traveled on, with as many as thousand people coming from a single fleet.
It is also believed that Christopher Columbus landed in the area in 1493 during his second voyage to the Americas. In a picturesque plaza called La Cruz de Colón, a monument in the shape of a white cross marks the place where it is believed Columbus disembarked onto Puerto Rican soil for the first time. The town is also the home of the San Francisco de Asis Church, widely considered one of the loveliest religious edifices built in Puerto Rico.
Aguada is well-known for the many celebratory festivals held here throughout the year. One of the most popular is the October patron saint festival in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi. This festival sees locals and visitors enjoying amusement rides, games, parades, live entertainment and delicious regional foods. Other popular festivals include the January Three Kings Festival dedicated to children, the June Beach Festival, and the May Festival de Cabras de Raza, which features competitions and exhibitions of different goat breeds.
The most notable touristic attractions of the city are its beaches, of which there are ten in the area. The most popular beaches are Pico de Piedra Beach and Playa Espinar, but all of them have distinct features that make them attractive to adventurous travelers. The road to Pico de Piedra beach, the PR-115 road, has dozens of different restaurants and food trailers serving traditional Puerto Rican cuisine and cold drinks right on the oceanfront.
Other notable attractions include Central Coloso, one of the oldest sugar cane processing plants in Puerto Rico, and the Museo de Aguada, a museum housed in a former railroad station building that has an interesting array of early Puerto Rican relics on display. Visitors can also experience the Espinar Hermitage Ruins, the ruins of an old church structure enclosed within a new church building.
For another unique experience, visitors can see Puerto Rico's first Earthships, hurricane-resistant buildings sustainably constructed out of natural and recycled materials. The New Mexico-based nonprofit Biotecture Planet Earth runs the site, called Villabonuco, as an education and community center. Other notable structures in the area include the Puente de Coloso bridge, an 85-ft-long bridge over the Culebrinas River built in 1928, and a Mayan-style pyramid located off of the PR-411 road that will eventually serve as a mausoleum for its builder and his wife.
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