San Juan

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- At the home of Maria Rodriguez, 27, a housewife with four children, the plants are dead, the washing machine is idle and the driveway is dirty.She gets water from civil defense trucks that, on most days, stop by to fill up the large drums and assorted buckets that now sit permanently by her front door. She does laundry with a washboard in a nearby brook. And she forages for bottled water in supermarkets.High on the mountains in Caguas, a city of 134,000 people 17 miles south of San Juan, the residents of Barrio Beatriz drew not a drop of water from their faucets for a month and a half, and only a trickle for a few hours this week.

I booked lunch at Giovanna's Cafe my first day in San Juan, Puerto Rico, planning to meet with chef Giovanna Huyke. Called "the Julia Child of Puerto Rico," she reputedly has revolutionized Puerto Rican cuisine.When fresh yucca chips with a fragrant garlic sauce called ajilimojili (a-he-lee-mo-he-lee) were served, I knew I was in for something special -- but not an interview with Giovanna Huyke, it turned out. No, the pioneer of the new Caribbean cuisine was in bed with a slipped disk and had sent her mother.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Coppin State (2-1) secured fifth place in the San Juan Shootout with an 80-62 blowout of American University of Puerto Rico yesterday.Sidney Goodman led the Eagles with 23 points and six rebounds. Stephen Stewart added 17 points on 6-for-12 shooting. Rafael Novas led American with 16.Coppin dominated early and led at the half, 44-26.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Stephen Stewart scored 22 points and Sidney Goodman added 20 to pace Coppin State to an 86-77 victory over the University of Pacific yesterday in the San Juan Shootout at Eugenia Guerra Pavilion.The Eagles will play American University of Puerto Rico, which defeated Wright State, 68-61, for fifth place in the eight-team field.Keith Carmichael scored 13 of his 17 points in the first half to help the Eagles take a 51-23 halftime lead. Pacific rallied in the second half, as Michael Jackson scored 19 of his game-high 23 points.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Coppin State rallied from an 11-point deficit late in the second half but came up short, losing, 57-55, to Washington State in the first round of the San Juan Shootout yesterday.Stephen Stewart hit one of two free throws with 1:49 remaining to cap a 10-2 Coppin run, cutting Washington State's lead to 55-52. Isaac Fontaine hit a free throw with 11 seconds left and Mark Hendrickson added another to put the Cougars up, 57-52.Sidney Goodman's three-pointer with three seconds left cut it to 57-55, but Washington State's Tony Harris ran out the clock.

During the long winter months, those of us who live in th colder climes feel a natural craving for sunshine and warmth. I'm among the fortunate Northerners who are able, most winters, to escape for a short period to some tropical isle. But my personality doesn't permit extended lazing at a beach resort. After a day or two of that, I'm ready to do some exploring.While recently visiting Puerto Rico for the first time in many years, I found myself transported not only to a wonderfully warm and sunny place but to a different time as well.

Duty Free International Inc. has gained a long-desired foothold in the Caribbean by signing an agreement with Aeroboutiques de Puerto Rico to buy lease rights for six duty-free and one newsstand-gift store at the San Juan International Airport.The transaction, which is expected to bring $10 million in additional annual revenue to Duty Free, comes just months after the Ridgefield, Conn.-based company completed a major acquisition on the U.S.-Mexican border.Duty Free, which has a large presence in Glen Burnie, did not announce a purchase price for the Caribbean business, but spokeswoman Dyan Cutro said "it's not a big chunk of money."

It's been said that Puerto Rico celebrates nearly twice as many holidays a year as its stateside neighbors. But of all the festive activities that take place on this subtropical island in the eastern Caribbean, none are welcomed with more gusto than those surrounding the Christmas season.Festivities last much longer than in mainland cities to the north, although not everyone agrees on just when they actually begin. For some, Dec. 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, marks their official opening, while others contend that the ball gets rolling as early as Thanksgiving.

I could almost feel the spirits of an ancient tribe whispering in the rushes as I softly pushed through the thick undergrowth. Ahead, a faint path wound among the red boulders and up the steep, sandy slope to the cliff face. The ripple of the river and the sighing of the breeze faded to silence as I climbed into the echoing, open cave of sandstone, 30 feet high and 100 feet long. Low adobe walls rose in memorial their creators who lived and died here nearly a thousand years ago.I had found the home of the Anasazi.