Due to space limitations, this field trip is now closed to new registrations.
Field Trip Meeting Handout
Join us for a wonderful opportunity to see the karst of Puerto Rico and to continue our conversations. As we all know, sometimes the most important and interesting conversations happen on a hike or in a cave!
This field trip will give you a chance to see the Puerto Rico karst. The trip will be two days long, with an overnight stop in the Arecibo-Aguadilla region, and will highlight some of Puerto Rico’s most spectacular karst settings. The trip will return to San Juan at approximately 6 pm on Monday, February 1.
The field trip leaders will be Dr. Tom Miller and Dr. Ingrid Padilla from the Univ. Puerto Rico Mayagüez and project PROTECT. For our trip, we’ll be visiting the northern karst belt as well as the central mountains. Our major stops will include Cueva Ventana, the Arecibo Observatory (for a private VIP tour), and Camuy Cave Park. In addition to those stops, we’ll make some shorter stops to see springs, research sites, and to enjoy the lovely karst scenery Puerto Rico has to offer.
The field trip includes the following:
- Transportation from the Condado Plaza Hotel and returning to the San Juan airport
- Entrance fees to parks
- Two lunches
- Hotel (shared room) for Sunday night
- Dinner at the hotel Sunday night
- The field trip guide
Field Trip Description & What To Bring: The trip includes some moderate hiking (about 1/2 hour round trip) and walking so light boots or stout shoes are recommended. Weather in Puerto Rico in January should be warm, dry and sunny at lower elevations, with a breath of coolness in the hills. There is a small chance of a light rain in the afternoons. Although we will be traveling in a vehicle, or inside caves or shaded forest, a hat, sunglasses, protective clothing and/or sun block are recommended. Although shorts and short sleeve shirts are probably sufficient, a pair of “zipleg” pants would be better. The caves are dry, warm and ample in size: for Cueva Ventana a light of at least 80 lumens is required; gloves and a helmet are optional.
Register for the field with on the main conference registration page.
We plan to arrive back in San Juan Monday evening at 6 pm. If you need accommodations near the airport, a close and relatively inexpensive option is the airport hotel (http://www.airporthotelpr.com/). The Condado Plaza Hilton (conference hotel) will honor conference rates for 3 days before and after the conference. Even if you do not attend the conference, you may participate in the field trip (space permitting).
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- Production well cased through a cave. Photo from Tom Miller.
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- Dr. Tom Miller and guests visit a spring in a landfill along the northern coast.
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- Dr. Ingrid Padilla and students visit a spring that has a USGS gauge.
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- The radio telescope at the Arecibo Observatory located amidst the karst mountains of central PR. We’ll be doing a VIP tour of the facility. (Photo: www.naic.edu/general/)
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- A window to the Rio Camuy from inside the cave..
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- Production well cased through a cave – and some serious turbidity. Photo from Tom Miller.
