Parque de Bombas, Ponce, Puerto Rico Doesn't Suck, Kind of Funish
If you're ever in Ponce, Puerto Rico and you hit the old downtown area, you'll find it almost impossible to miss the Parque de Bombas, which is the age-old firehouse which has been converted to a free museum run by the city. It's an odd spectacle, but at the all-time low price of "free" it's worth almost every penny for the journey.
It's not so much a "must-see" place as a "can't miss" sort. It's right off the town plaza by maybe a half-block, you'll see it from at least two-blocks away, it's free, and it's got the city tourist council right in the lobby.
You'll have the opportunity to enjoy a couple different old-timey attractions on the ground floor, none of which are indigenous to the region nor particularly tourist-proofed. Upstairs, which is quite a hike for a man of my stature, you'll find many glass cases full of things of potential interest to you, but absolutely no interest to your kids who only want to go back downstairs to tamper further with the exhibits that haven't yet been appropriately tamper-proofed.
It's still a "can't miss" attraction even if just based on its unsightly and unmistakable appearance, so pop in for a spell, especially since, as a free attraction, the value is there.
There's also a hole in the ground inside the Parque de Bombas which I called a wishing well. In there you can cast your dimes and nickels and it all goes to some charity explained in needless detaila Espanola, which is really true to the local charity I imagine it ultimately benefits.
Once you've finished poking around the place, thrown your nickles and dimes in the wish that you were elsewhere, you can head across the street to a large, street-value (though not tourist-priced) tourist garbage goody hole. They've got pictures, mugs, shot-glasses (not quite true to the local heritage but, then again, neither are the framed photos of Ponce de Leon), and another gaggle of textiles of the same non-traditional sort.
Above - It's a fine, odd, fantastical place, and a free museum for you to wander into as you will, in Ponce, Puerto Rico.
Above - Once inside, there's even more to see, though remarkably little, and even less of it is child-proof... believe me.
If you're ever in Ponce, Puerto Rico and you hit the old downtown area, you'll find it almost impossible to miss the Parque de Bombas, which is the age-old firehouse which has been converted to a free museum run by the city. It's an odd spectacle, but at the all-time low price of "free" it's worth almost every penny for the journey.
