Rincon, Puerto Rico  2006

El Faro Lighthouse

El Faro

The 90-foot El Faro is a working lighthouse, and the major landmark on the Rincon coast. 

It sits in the middle of Rincon's surfing beach strip, and has Domes Beach on the right and Maria's Beach on the left.

After being destroyed by a tidal wave four years 1918, El Faro was rebuilt four year later, and today includes a lovely little park, gift shop, fast food restaurant, picnic area, benches, and a small maritime museum. 

Today the park is popular as a gathering spot, and for watching sunsets, and, in the winter, for watching dolphins and whales.

History

The El Faro lighthouse at Punta Higuero (Jiguero) was built 1892 when Spain controlled Puerto prior to the Spanish-American War (1898)

An earthquake and tsunami in 1918 destroyed the El Faro lighthouse, along with the Point Borinquen lighthouse at nearby Aquadilla.

El Faro was rebuilt as a 90-foot high cement tower, and was first lit in 1922. Automated in 1933, it today uses an unstaffed 26,000-candlepower rotating beacon.

El Faro Park

El Faro Park at Punta Higuero in Rincon is small but well kept and very pretty.

While much of the surfing coast of Rincon is dominated by tourists, the park is probably equally popular with local residents.

The nuclear dome is just visible between the two palms to the left of the flag poles at the far side of the park.

Bougainvilleas at El Faro

Bougainvilleas flourish all around the El Faro, and are most bountiful at the sea edge.

We met at El Faro Park several times when I got back from beach walking. There are seats and shade, and we could buy a bottle of water.

El Faro is still operational. It is unstaffed and is closed to the public.

El Faro at Sundown

El Faro guiding ship through the entrance from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mona Passage to the Caribbean.

The Mona Passage strait separates the islands of Hispaniola and Puerto Rico, and is one of the most difficult passages encountered in the Caribbean.

"[The passage] is fraught with tidal currents of strange twists and turns that are created by those two big islands on both sides of it, and by sand banks that extend out for many miles from both coasts." -Wikipedia