Caribbean Cruise - Maybe Not Trivia Quiz

Answer: Puerto Rico

It is Puerto Rico. "Puerto rico" in Spanish would translate into "rich port" in English. There were times in the island's history that, indeed, its natural resources allowed it to enjoy that moniker but during the late part of the 20th century and the early part of the 21st century natural disasters were rather unkind to Puerto Rico. Yet, it remained a very popular tourist destination and choice of many of the cruise ships as a point of departure for a wide variety of excursions.

Answer: Caribbean Sea

Geographically speaking, Puerto Rico was an archipelago and a part of the Greater Antilles within the Caribbean Sea. San Juan Bay measured 3.5 miles (or, 5.6 km) in length and was the island's busiest harbor during the early part of the 21st century. In addition to Puerto Rico, other island "lands" included in the Greater Antilles were Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, and the Cayman Islands.

Answer: Castillo San Cristóbal

Castillo San Cristóbal was a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a part of the U.S. National Register of Historic Places and a San Juan National Historic Site during the early part of the 21st century. The fort was built by Spanish settlers as a land defense for those invading from other countries - particularly the English and the Dutch.

The fort was said to have been designed by an Irishman, Thomas O'Daly. O'Daly worked for the Spanish - who were "enemies of the English" - in contempt for the rule of Great Britain over Ireland.

Answer: United States Coast Guard

On its own website the U.S. Coast Guard described Base San Juan as "... the single DCMS touch point for the support of Coast Guard operations within Puerto Rico, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with our operational partners to ensure the delivery of professional, responsive and cost-effective services to the American public." The base was "... responsible for all Coast Guard missions throughout the Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands region." (I learned DCMS is the abbreviation for Deputy Commandant for Mission Support when used within the U.S. Coast Guard.) It certainly was a beautiful landmark and I was able to get some photos of some of their boats, too.

Answer: Tropical monsoon climate

The climate of Puerto Rico has been classified as one of a tropical rainforest. The temperatures are constantly in the "warm to hot" range there; with an annual average temperature for the island of (about) 82˚ F (or, 28˚ C). The average yearly precipitation is 66 in (1,676 mm).

As desirable as that may appear, hurricanes, cyclones, earthquakes and other natural calamities have befallen Puerto Rico. Soil erosion is a major environmental concern for the island(s).

Answer: Hurricane Maria

Hurricanes are not uncommon in the Caribbean Sea. Many who inhabit the area in and around Puerto Rico are well equipped for the possibly that a hurricane could make landfall and do extensive damage. Yet, very few could have predicted the devastation that resulted from Hurricane Maria in September of 2017.

In addition to the description given in the question, it was the most intense tropical cyclone worldwide in 2017 and the deadliest storm of the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season. Even worse for the area of Puerto Rico, only two weeks earlier Hurricane Irma - another category 5 storm - had caused widespread destruction there.

Many areas/people were still attempting to recover from the first storm when the second hit.

Answer: San Juan Bautista

Yes, if history is correct Columbus named the island San Juan Bautista and described the port where he landed in its harbor as a "rich port" (or, puerto rico in Spanish). As far as the Europeans who had sponsored the voyages of Columbus knew the island was "San Juan" and the port-city was "Puerto Rico".

As the settlement grew in importance for the Spaniards - particularly as a military outpost - the names of the port-city and the island were often confused and/or switched. Some historians attribute the "switch" to Spanish explorer, Juan Ponce de León. De León is the same explorer historically significant for his exploration(s) of (what would become) Florida (in the USA) and the islands of the Caribbean; he may have been a part of Columbus' second voyage to the "new world".

Answer: It is the only tropical forest within the U.S. National Forest system

Hidden within the interior of the island of Puerto Rico, the El Yunque Caribbean National Forest is the only tropical forest within the U.S. National Forest system. There is no shortage of unique plants and animals within El Yunque. While sightings of mammals may be rare there are more than enough birds, reptiles and insects to make any outing there fascinating. One advertisement for the forest writes that the park can boast of more than 240 species of trees with more than 20 of those endemic to only Puerto Rico.

It remains very high on my wish list of places to visit!

Answer: The name is derived from the sound of the frog's vocalization(s)

The mating call of (some species) the coquí is said to sound like its name. (Close English pronunciation would be: co-kee). It was very common to see likenesses of the frog in Puerto Rico - almost every souvenir I found had an image of the coquí on it. Recognizing those frogs were inhabitants of the island long before humans were there, the natives are said to proudly say, "Soy de aqui, como el coquí", which translates into English as "I'm from here, like the coquí."

Answer: First democratically elected governor of Puerto Rico

José Luis Alberto Muñoz Marín was the first democratically elected governor of Puerto Rico. His contributions as a politician and statesman were recognized and honored by many - even beyond Puerto Rico. It is said that under his tenure there were economic, political and social reforms unlike any other time in the island's (modern) history. Marín was born in 1898 and lived until the age of 82 (in 1980).

He served as Governor between 1949 and 1965. His daughter, Victoria, became the first woman to seek the governorship of Puerto Rico (in 1992).

She did not win that election and retired from politics soon thereafter.