Puerto Rico, Day 5 - WZNT

This day was spent hiking in the El Yunque National Forest.  We hiked it last year too, but never made it to the top before running out of daylight.  Last year's hike was also dry unlike this time when it rained non-stop.  I had never experienced rain so hard and so unrelenting.  The drops hurt when they hit your face and our little ponchos eventually became useless as every square inch of our bodies were soaked clear through.  I guess it's to be expected in a tropical rainforest.

Near the top is a small structure where we ate lunch and "dried off."  We took a paved service road back down which was much shorter than the trail up but not nearly as scenic.

"Zeta 93" WZNT is a Spanish Tropical station in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico, Day 4 - WUPR

Today we drove to Utuado in the mountainous, west-central part of Puerto Rico. 

We hiked with a group through the woods of Caguana Indian Ceremonial Park, up and down steep, muddy paths and through water before finally reaching the top of a hill.

After further hiking we came upon....

an ancient cave with petroglyphs carved in the rock by Taino Indians long before Columbus "discovered" this part of the world.  Click the picture bigger to see what looks like a monkey head on my shoulder.

After more hiking we came upon upon a giant crack in the hills where we went cave tubing.

I wonder how many bats are flying around in here.....?

After about 4 hours our Utuado adventure was over.  Very tiring and very fun!

1530 AM WUPR is a Spanish News/Talk station licensed to (W) Utuado, Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico, Day 3 - WMDD

The following day was spent almost entirely bumming around on Caracas Beach on the southern coast of Vieques.  While there, I made the mistake of trying to retrieve a boy's inflatable ball which had gotten away from him and was in deep water.  I started swimming towards it but the breeze kept blowing it further out and down the shoreline.  I finally realized that I didn't want to drown attempting to save a stupid $2.00 ball and returned to shore empty handed and completely out of breath.  Other than almost dying, it was a really relaxing day!

That night we took we took some kayaks to Mosquito Bay and explored the world's brightest bioluminescent body of water.  This bio-bay is full of microscopic organisms which glow in the water when touched.  It was amazing to see a million lights around the kayak, appearing with every stroke of the oar.  When you cupped some water and let it fall it was like watching stars drip out of your hands.  It was really trippy and cool!  Adding to the beauty was a clear, almost moonless sky and pitch darkness which brought out every star imaginable above us.  Pictures didn't come out unfortunately, but we did manage to get a shot of a fish that jumped onto my wife's lap which she then threw to the tour guide.

1480 AM WMDD airs a Spanish Tropical format located in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, easily within listening range of Isla de Vieques which lies about 8 miles to the east.

Puerto Rico, Day 1 & 2 - WIVV

We traveled back to Puerto Rico last spring but I'm only now going through all the pictures and remembering what a great trip it was.

After arriving in San Juan and spending the night at my mother-in-law's, we then took a small propeller plane to the island of Vieques.  The flight was only about 10 minutes long and allowed us to avoid a long and often unreliable ferry ride.

We rented a car and drove into town to a really nice guest house called Casa de Amistad.

Later we took a short drive to El Fortin Conde de Mirasol, a Spanish fort built in 1845 to defend the island against European and South American enemies.  The structure was restored in 1991 and now houses the Vieques Museum of Art and the Vieques Historic Archives.

It was lunchtime so we drove to Esperanza on the south side of the island for some eats and a beer.

On the way back we stopped at Sun Bay beach.

WIVV (West Indies Voice of Victory) is a Religious station licensed to Vieques, Puerto Rico.  It became the first full-time Christian radio station in the Caribbean when they went on the air in 1956.

Antenne Austria

Austria was the last European country to allow private radio stations, finally ending the state radio monopoly in the mid-to-late 1990s.  Antenne are a group of regional stations throughout the country playing a mix of contemporary music and oldies.

Happy KGNU Year!

KGNU AM is an independent, non-commercial, community radio station in Denver, Colorado.  KGNU-FM, licensed to Boulder, went on the air in 1978 while the 1390 AM frequency started in 2004.

Market #1s - San Jose - KBAY

Formerly known as KFAT, "94.5 The Bay" KBAY is an Adult Contemporary station licensed to Gilroy, California.  They were the top-rated station in the San Jose market according to the latest Arbitrons.

WSSA

WSSA (W South Side Atlanta) was a Country station licensed to Morrow, Georgia.  1570 AM is currently WIGO and plays Gospel music.
Bobby C. Hanson aka Ludlow Porch was a humorist and radio host for over 35 years as well as an author of multiple books.  Ludlow's entrance into radio came via a 1972 article in Sports Illustrated which profiled him as a master of trivia.  This led to an appearance on Atlanta's WSB which was heard by the management of WRNG radio who invited him to visit.  He ended up working there for 10 years.  At one point his show was simulcast on a few dozen stations across the south. Ludlow Porch was inducted into the Georgia Radio Hall of Fame in 2007 and passed away in 2011.

WNRN

WNRN (W New Rock Now) is a non-commercial Modern Rock station broadcasting at 91.9 FM in Charlottesville, Virginia.  They are also heard on seven other frequencies in the north/central part of the state.  Specialty shows include Goth, Jam Bands, Bluegrass, Rap, Ska and Acoustic music in the morning.  WNRN went on the air in 1996.

WKRY

"Key 93" WKRY was an Easy Listening station in Key West, Florida from 1985 to 1999.  93.5 FM is currently an Oldies station with the call letters WKEY.  Fausto's Food Palace is a local grocery store which has operated in Key West since 1926.

Radio Sticker of the Day - Motion Radio

Yesterday I received a packet of stickers from Ricky in Jakarta, Indonesia.  Decals from Germany, Canada, Netherlands, New Zealand and the United States were included as well as my first ever radio stickers from Indonesia.  Thanks Ricky!  Your decals are in the mail.

A stickshift knob sticker from "Motion 97.5", a Hot AC/Contemporary Hit station broadcasting in Indonesia's capital city of Jakarta.  They play a 50/50 mix of Indonesian and foreign artists. 

KCCN AM

Honolulu's KCCN carried a Hawaiian music format from 1966 to 2003.  The giant, tiki-themed sticker at the top measures a whopping 15 inches long and probably dates to the mid-1970s.  "No-Ka-Oi" translates to "The Best."  1420 AM is currently KKEA, an ESPN radio affiliate, while the Hawaiian format lives on at KCCN-FM.

Merry Christmas!

KJQN went on the air in 1983 with a Modern Rock format licensed to Ogden, Utah.  At that time they were located at 95.5 FM and at least partially simulcast on KJQN 1490 AM.  In 1990 the station mascot became Bessie the Cow aka the "Milk Beast" (a little tough to see in the above sticker but she shows up better below.)  The station vehicle was a black and white painted moving truck which gave out tens of thousands of Cream o' Weber dairy products at live remotes.

KJQN eventually moved to 103.1 FM licensed to Coalville, Utah and simulcast on 105.1 and 100.7 FM.  In 2005 Bessie permanently went out to pasture when they flipped to Adult Hits as "Jack FM." This past June they switched again to "World Class Talk" KLO.