Interesting Facts about Puerto Rico

[00:00:00] Foreign. [00:00:06] Hello everyone. Welcome back to Mallory's Weird World Adventures, the podcast. I'm your host, Mallory and I'm here to show you just how weird this world of ours really is. [00:00:16] Today. I am excited to come to you from Puerto Rico. [00:00:21] I've actually never been to Puerto Rico before, so I'm really excited to be here. I only came in today and it's my first time so I don't have many experiences experiences here yet. But I will say hanging out in the villas where I am at over by the Wyndham properties in the golf club, it's really nice just listening to the Kokis and hearing all of the animals and creatures make sounds. So I'm really enjoying my time here and I will I guess have more to report to you soon. [00:00:53] But I figured since I'm here, what better time is there to talk about some interesting facts in Puerto Rico for this week's podcast. [00:01:02] Before I do that, if you haven't tuned into the podcast before then, please visit MallorySadventures.com M A L O R I E S Adventures.com to learn all about the Mallory's Adventures brand and to see at least 4 new articles come out a day on unusual topics, weird history, strange place places, fun cultural facts, all the fun things we celebrate here at Weird World Adventures. And be sure to check out Weird World Adventures on Amazon Prime. Season one is out now and season two will be out here by the end of the month. It is in its final stages of completion and we are just getting all those last deliverables out so we can launch on Amazon prime and Roku. [00:01:54] We have some great episodes there, so be sure to stay tuned to that. [00:01:58] And now I'm going to come at you with some very interesting and unusual facts about Puerto Rico. [00:02:08] So let's talk about weird stuff in Puerto Rico first. [00:02:14] Puerto Rico has the world's brightest bioluminescent bay called Mosquito Bay. [00:02:27] It's the only place that has a tropical rainforest in the United States called Aliunque. [00:02:35] It boasts the largest rum distillery with Casa Bacardi and it possesses the largest cave network in the Americas. [00:02:45] Is pretty exciting. [00:02:46] Its unique identity includes competing as a separate country in the Olympics and also in the Miss Universe pageant. [00:02:57] And it has native koki frogs that seem to fall from the sky. [00:03:02] And it has a lot of historical significance of the Taino people who gave us words like hammock and hurricane. So there's a lot of wonderful things that have come out of Puerto Rico. [00:03:13] So let's talk first about the bioluminescent bays. [00:03:18] Three of the world's five bioluminescent bays are here in Puerto Rico, with Mosquito Bay being the brightest one. [00:03:29] El Yunque is the only tropical rainforest in the US forest system and is known for heavy rains. Obviously, it's a rainforest. And the koki frogs, speaking of the frogs, during heavy rain, tiny frogs and Al Yunque can be dislodged and fall with the rain and something to look out for if you're out in the rain. So if you're a passerby, make sure you keep an eye out for those falling frogs. [00:03:58] Puerto Rico is home to the deepest point in the Atlantic Ocean, the Puerto Rico Trench. [00:04:06] And it was nicknamed the Galapagos of the Caribbean due to its unique wildlife. [00:04:13] So other interesting things about Puerto Rico. Do you know which famous alcoholic beverage was founded here in Puerto Rico? [00:04:22] What came from here? [00:04:25] The pina colada. So if you like pina coladas and getting lost in the rain, this is your spot. Make sure you come to Puerto Rico because this is the place to be. [00:04:38] And as mentioned, if you do get caught in the rain, those tiny native frogs, the kokis, their sound is iconic because they say coqui koki. [00:04:47] They will fall down in the rain onto people, which is fun and amusing. And of course, also just finding the cookie frogs, they are very iconic to hear is exciting. [00:05:00] The Taino legacy. The original inhabitants, the Taino, gave English words like hurricane and hammock, as we mentioned. And if you go into San Juan in the cathedral, you can see the remains of Ponce de Leon, the famous explorer. [00:05:14] Really exciting. I'm gonna have to do that on the way out. [00:05:19] As he mentioned, it's home to the world's largest rum distillery. Casa Bacardi has the largest cave network and it used to have the largest telescope at one time. It hosted the world's largest single dish radio telescope in Arcebillo, has the largest milk producer per square kilometer in the world, which is pretty cool. So there's a lot of really interesting and weird things in Puerto Rico. [00:05:48] I said I have just a small amount of time here because there are already a large list of things that I would like to see here. [00:05:56] So some more basic, less weird facts about Puerto Rico before we go, just so if you don't know, Puerto Rico is not a country. [00:06:04] It stands as a Commonwealth of the United States, conferring American citizenship upon its residents. [00:06:14] El Yunque, as we mentioned, is the only rainforest in America's forest system known for its lush foliage, diverse wildlife and mystical ambiance. [00:06:27] We've talked about the rain frogs the bioluminescent beaches. [00:06:32] Puerto Rico also has its very own abyss known as the Trench, which we mentioned too. Diving into the depths of the Atlantic Ocean, the Puerto Rico Trench plunges of the deepest part of this vast body of water. Its mysterious abyss holds secrets yet to be fully explored, adding an element of intrigue to the island's geographical marvels. [00:06:54] This is yet another one of these fun facts about Puerto Rico that shows just how much space this nation takes up. [00:07:03] We talked about Casa Bacardi, the largest rum distillery. [00:07:09] We talked about Puerto Rico having the largest cave network in the Americas. [00:07:17] Plaza Las Americas in Puerto Rico is the largest Caribbean shopping center. [00:07:23] So if you like shopping, Puerto Rico is also the place for you. [00:07:27] Plaza Las Americas stands as the largest shopping center in the Caribbean. Nestled in San Juan, Puerto Rico, this huge complex spans an immensive space, offering an unparalleled shopping experience. [00:07:43] Las Plazas invites visitors to indulge in a shopping extravaganza. With its vast array of stores, from high end luxury boutiques to popular household names, the center also serves as a cultural hub, hosting events, art exhibits, and a diverse range of dining options and nightlife. [00:08:03] I mentioned that Puerto Rico is the birthplace of the incredible iconic pina Colada. [00:08:10] It looks like that's our last fact here. [00:08:15] Lots of similar facts, but all in all, I'm really excited to be here. It's not often I spend a lot of time in the Caribbean and this is truly a unique and wild, bizarre place to be. Now, if you don't mind me, I'm going to hit up Atlas Obscura to find some of the bizarre and unusual places that exist in Puerto Rico to tell you more about just how weird Puerto Rico really is in our weird world. I hope my quick podcast episode today was able to be informative on some of the unusual and interesting things about the history of Puerto Rico and I will have more for you soon as I get to explore its wonders. [00:09:00] As I mentioned, I just came in late tonight, so we'll see how things go. Already though, I'm very much enjoying the atmosphere you're here, but I'll have more for you soon. [00:09:12] Thank you so much for tuning in today guys. I know it was a quick episode, but I very much appreciate it. Please stay tuned for the release of Weird World Adventures Season 2 on Amazon prime, which will be out very soon. [00:09:25] And until next time, everybody stay weird.