Welcome to my Puerto Rico and El Yunque photo exhibit. Where everyday is an adventure.

I am trying to photograph and document all the ancient petroglyphs in Puerto Rico before they are lost to time. And they are going fast. If you have knowledge of any petroglyphs other than the obvious ones in the parks and the ones seen on this site, please e mail location to me: ltmtnele [sign for at] yahoo.com.

Petroglyphs are ancient rock carvings. What they actually mean is anyone's guess. They can be found by running your fingers over the surface of the boulders and feeling for the depressions. Sometimes you can see them if the shadows are just right; other times they can be right in front of --but yet, invisible. One I know of, I can only see faint impressions in the vertical rock face overlooking a pool when I am treading water in the pool. But when I get to the rock face itself (I have to hang over the cliff with a rope) I cannot find it.
Petroglyphs are normally found around water. The old timers allege that when the Fajardo yacht club was developed, thousands of them were destroyed. What we see now are just the ones that have survived. To find the petroglyphs, look around pools of water. Another good place to look is a section of land between two small streams. It has been said that the indigenous Indians thought that water was magical.

Overall view of the glyphs from the opposite side of the river.

Petroglyphs are easier to spot wet than dry. This is what they look like after a rain. They are hardest to spot dry and during the midday with the sun overhead--easier to spot in late evening because of the shadows. If the glyph looks white or black, it has been marked so that it can be seen.

The origional happy face. It has been said that the Taino indians were a happy race. If we are to judge them from this petroglyph, that, may indeed, be true.

Here we have a common stick figure: two arms and two legs. Perhaps a feather coming off the head--but that is one wierd looking head.