Plantation Club North Course, Dorado /Frazier Nivens
North April-2005, By:Travel and Sports Staff
Experience the North Shore
Arecibo, Dorado
In the North, just outside of San Juan, are the towns of Dorado (a golfer’s dream), Toa Alta (home of the musician Tomás “Masso” Rivera), Toa Baja (Balneario Punta Salinas), Vega Alta (Vega Alta Forest), Vega Baja (Reserva Natural Laguna Tortuguero), Manatí (the Athens of Puerto Rico) and Barceloneta (with the Cambalache Forest mountain bike trails). Farther away, the northwestern towns of Camuy, Hatillo and Arecibo offer prime tourist attractions, such as the Parque de las Cavernas del Río Camuy, the largest radio telescope in the world in Arecibo.
Dorado
Everyone knows the legend of El Dorado, the city of gold. Well, for golfers at least, you have arrived at the real thing. Four of the best golf courses in the world may be found here at the Hyatt. Robert Trent Jones, Sr., designed all of these courses, and they are considered to be among the top 25 courses he produced in his illustrious career. The first major resort area in Puerto Rico, and for that matter most of the Caribbean, is the area that includes these golf courses and what is now the Hyatt resort to the west of town. More recently Chi Chi Rodríguez (the famous Puerto Rican golfer) redesigned the newly reopened Dorado del Mar.
For non-golfers, the name Dorado may have come from the Dorado family that lived at the mouth of the Río La Plata in the 1500’s. However it was named, San Antonio de Dorado was established as a town by the decree of the governor of Puerto Rico, Don Santiago de Méndez Vigo, in 1842. On the Plaza de Recreo de Dorado, you will find a remarkable statue showing 3 life-sized figures: Spanish, African and Taíno. This is the Monumento a las Raíces, sculpted by Salvador Rivera Cardona (of Dorado). Other points of interest include the newly established Museo de Arte e Historia de Dorado. The three exhibition halls of the Museo document the history of Dorado including a display of Taíno artifacts. Inside the Santuario del Cristo de la Reconciliación stands a 25-foot statue of Christ, created by another well-known Puerto Rican sculptor, Sonny Rodríguez. You might also want to stop by the former home of the artist Marcos Alegría and visit what is now the Museo Marcos J. Alegría, to view a portion of his life’s work.
Arecibo
Founded in 1515, Arecibo has the largest land mass of any municipality in Puerto Rico. The Río Grande de Arecibo is the major river that runs into the sea just east of the town and west of the lighthouse. Arecibo also goes by the name “Villa del Capitán Correa” in honor of the captain that repelled a 1702 British invasion.
Points of historical interest include the City Hall building (constructed in 1866 - restored in 1978) and the lighthouse (built by the Spanish in 1898). The lighthouse is still in use and has been expanded to include a new recreational facility with a restaurant, museum, playground and beach. But, without a doubt, the most famous point of interest in Arecibo is the world’s largest radio telescope. There is an observation deck right at the edge of the telescope and a new hands-on exhibit covering some interstellar science.
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