"To go, or not to go. ." that was
the question I was asking myself that day. Earlier, the tour to Arecibo was not available and I faced
the dilemma of whether I should push thru- or not, with the plan to visit the facility all by myself. But then, after
all I was already in Puerto Rico with no full guarantee of ever coming back to this island-state (unless
'somebody' provides me with a stronger 'reason' to. . .), and the fact that rumors were ripe that sooner or later, the
facility may no longer be around due to budgetary constraints. . . so the decision to go there won the day. . . and making
arrangement for a personal trip was duly accomplished in collaboration with a local self-styled tour operator-cum
driver who gladly offered me his services- as he has never been there himself.
The drive to Arecibo was a relatively long one- almost 3 hours from the capital
of San Juan, to get to the facility- the Arecibo Observatory- the largest such single radio telescope
in the world.
As we started the drive up the winding mountain road, our trip was more threatened
by the dark clouds looming from the distance. No sooner as we slowly approached the facility entrance came the heavy
rains- so heavy that the driver can hardly see the road. . . nevertheless, we got there and had a photo of me taken against
the background sign that says: "Arecibo Observatory / National Astronomy and Ionospheric Center / Operated by Cornell
University under Contract with the National Science Foundation". . .
As visitors get in, you'll be ushered to a theater where you'd be viewing a 30-minute
film about what the facility is really all about. . . including how the cooks get to start their job at early dawn to prepare
breakfast; round-the-clock technicians doing their fares; and so forth. . . all in all it was about "life" as how they live
it everyday up that mountain.
I also met with the Store Manager, Andrew M. Ortiz, and his pretty-looking assistant
at the Gift Shop. . .
After the film showing, we proceeded out to experience the breath-taking view of
the 1,000-foot diameter "dish" that was some 300 feet below us. . . it was quite an impressive sight, to say the least.
