Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Puerto Rico, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Puerto Rico and the surrounding area.

• Weather ...
  • Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
  • The National Weather Service forecast for Puerto Rico

• Astronomy & Satellites ...
  • Whether using binoculars, a small telescope or the naked-eye, the Heavens-Above website can help you to find your way around the night-time sky. In addition to detailed sky charts, their website will help you find planets, asteriods, comets, satellites and their tracks across the sky.
  • To give accurate results, Heavens-Above requires the latitude and longitude of your location. As a starting point, when we link to Heavens-Above, we pass this GPS location for Puerto Rico:
  • 26.649503, -98.345569
  • Once you're on the Heavens-Above website, you can improve its accuracy by giving a more precise longitude and latitude as your actual position.
  • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Puerto Rico

• Bird Watching ...
  • We enjoy finding new spots for bird watching and we use the eBird website for local sighting reports and to help identify hotspots.
  • The eBird website is organized on a county-by-county basis. We have selected Hidalgo County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Hidalgo County
  • Since Puerto Rico is near Starr County and also Brooks County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Starr County
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Brooks County

• Waymarking ...
  • Looking for somewhere out of the ordinary? Find a unique place and want to share it with others? Then it's time to visit Waymarking.com:
  • Open the Waymark.com report for Puerto Rico

Curious and Interesting Names Near Puerto Rico ...

As we travel, we always see a community with a name that gives pause. While there are names which are interesting or familiar, some catch our attention or strike our fancy. We always wonder about such a name. If time permits and the community is not too far, we'll usually try to make a side-trip.

• Carol
  (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
  • Carol is located in Hidalgo County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carol
  • Carol has also been known as:
  • Carol Colonia
• Citrus City
  (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
  • Citrus City is located in Hidalgo County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Citrus City
• Cottonwood
  (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Cottonwood is located in Hidalgo County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottonwood
  • Cottonwood has also been known as:
  • Cottonwood Colonia
• Hartland
  (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Hartland is located in Brooks County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
• Inspiration Point
  (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
  • Inspiration Point is located in Hidalgo County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inspiration Point
  • Inspiration Point has also been known as:
  • Inspiration Point Colonia
• Lull
  (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
  • Lull is located in Hidalgo County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lull
• McCook
  (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • McCook is located in Hidalgo County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCook
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for McCook <1>
• Red Gate
  (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Red Gate is located in Hidalgo County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Gate
• River Bend
  (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
  • River Bend is located in Hidalgo County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Bend
  • River Bend has also been known as:
  • River Bend Colonia
• Sandy Ridge
  (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
  • Sandy Ridge is located in Hidalgo County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Ridge
  • Sandy Ridge has also been known as:
  • Sandy Ridge Colonia
• Seminary Village
  (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Seminary Village is located in Hidalgo County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seminary Village
  • Seminary Village has also been known as:
  • Seminary Village Colonia
• Spring Gardens
  (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
  • Spring Gardens is located in Hidalgo County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Gardens
  • Spring Gardens has also been known as:
  • Spring Gardens Colonia

How Far From Puerto Rico to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Puerto Rico to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Puerto Rico and extending to:

• Edinburg, which is the Seat of Hidalgo County, lies 26 miles [41.8 km]<2> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Puerto Rico to Edinburg, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just about two full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just over a day.
• Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 252 miles [405.6 km] to the north (N). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 10 days and walking would take 15 days.
• The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,492 miles [2,401.1 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take most of three days, a buggy would take 59 days and walking would take 85 days.
• The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,368 miles [11,857.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
• The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,088 miles [13,016.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,963 miles [9,596.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'