City showcase: Providencia
Back to our regular schedule (or lack thereof), and today it's turn to showcase the wealthiest neighbourhood in the Anclaje metropolitan area, sitting across the bay: Providencia.
General information
City name: Providencia
Date of foundation: somewhere in the 1900s
Population: ≈80,000 people
Size: 16 sq km.
Land area: about a quarter
Average income: §90k/person/year (!)
Geographical location and weather
Providencia, occupying the eastern half of its namesake island, is remote even by Bonitean standards — standing on the far side of an island, across the bay, lacking a good mooring place. Surrounded by all sides, it does benefit from the cooling effect of the ocean —but beyond the ocean, there's hills on all sides, so Providencia doesn't see the constant sea breeze of Cuerno de Águila or Finisterra. In consequence, summer houses and beaches were located in the latter two, while Providencia languished, relatively ignored by Boniteans.
Its weather is similar to the entire South Bay basin —mediterranean in nature, with dry winters and mild, wet winters. Its exposed location does result in a bit more rain and slightly milder summers, particularly on the northern side.
Is the area around the Providencia Resort Hotel the wettest part of Isla Bonita? It certainly is up there
On the other hand, being surrounded by mountains on all sides, Providencia sees very little of the cold fronts that occasionally hit other, more exposed areas of Isla Bonita. It has never recorded snow, not even in altitude. On the other hand, the lack of ventilation can result in air pollution, both from the soon-to-be-decommissioned Bahía Medusa airport to its north and from its own endogenous sources, especially around downtown.
Air pollution, here represented in yellow, is often conflated with the June gloom fog — though the fog is at its strongest in early summer, and not particulary strong in Providencia, while pollution peaks in winter
History
Providencia's fortunes begun to change with the advent of railways. The Anclaje and Southwest railway company devised a scheme that is now familiar to those following the history of railways: acquire plenty of cheap, un(der)developed land, develop some of it themselves (mostly with railway infrastructure) and then resell it to prospective homeowners. And so they went about it —extending their line from Pueblo Simón eastwards, along the rocky shores, over a long bridge, through a tunnel, and into the relatively flat ground to the south. It was an ambitious project, and even with the backing of hoteliers (the Providencia Resort Hotel was built right next to the railway tunnel, overlooking Anclaje and Bahía Medusa across the bay), it nearly bankrupted the company.
Composite image of Providencia island, looking north. Providencia occupies the eastern half, while the western half has already been covered
The first part of the city, built on the previously mentioned flatlands, featured diagonal streets and parks, and was relatively popular with certain segments of homeowners and day trippers. Nevertheless, it wasn't the resounding success A&SW was expecting, so the Sim government was forced to step in.
Winterton station, A&SW terminus and the oldest part of town
The government acquired wholesale from A&SW about 8 hectares of swampy ground and quickly set about developing it around a newly-constructed military base. Providencia Military Base provided a reason for some 10,000 original residents to move into the aptly-named Military quartier, featuring single-family housing in a particular pattern, like stems radiating from Main Ave. The government also extended the avenue into a short, 2-lane coastal highway back to Pueblo Simón and forced A&SW to accept a few ferry terminals scattered around the coast. The railway company, far too impoverished to push back, quietly acquiesced.
The Military quartier, with jacarandas in full bloom
Having nowhere else to grow, the city finally started building upwards, on top of the Providencia hill massif. First came the development around Utopian Square, perched right next to the downtown area and connected with funiculars.
The area around Utopian square has some of the few high-rise buildings in the highland area
One of the few ways up is through the winding Military Road climb
The latest developments have taken place close to the Pueblo Simón city limits, around the highest part of Providencia Hill. This is also the most modest part of town, though of course, Providencia is still, by far, the wealthiest city in the Anclaje Metropolitan Area.
Attractions and Transportation
As a railway town, the easiest, quickest way to reach Providencia is… by ferry. The main ferry terminal, with both water taxi and RORO services, is located a few blocks away from Winterton train station, at the end of Providencia Avenue, in the middle of the Providencia Boardwalk, which features scenic sights of South Bay to the north, Nehuentué Island to the east, and the South Channel to the south.
There are bus services all over the island starting from here
North of the Ferry Terminal you can find Providencia beach, the only beach in town. It's bookended by two seaside food courts and the famous Providencia Resort Hotel, but otherwise sits next to some of the most expensive residential real estate in the archipelago.
You can try the famous Bonitean Bonito fish stew and then take a nap by the seaside
South of the main ferry terminal, on the other hand, sits the Providencia Pier, jutting out into the ocean. You can walk alongside the boardwalk to get here, but there's also another pier terminal some 300 meters to the south.
One of the best fishing spots in town
Of course, Providencia can also be reached by rail — and some would argue it's the best way to reach town, since it uses the 1.2 km-long Puente del Agua, one of the longest in the archipelago, and certainly the most scenic.
The city to one side, the tall hills to the other, and water beneath you
You can choose to get off at Estación del Agua, right at the end of the bridge —also the starting point of the aforementioned boardwalk, and less than 100 meters from the Puente del Agua Tourist Trap Museum, or you can continue on to Winterton station, across the hill.
The Providencia Firefighters have to rescue about 5 drunken tourists falling off the station and into the water, each year
Winterton station is an attraction on its own, being the second building in its current location and sitting just across the street from Winterton funicular. This cable car used to lead to the Providencia casino, but pushback from the community has resulted in the casino being closed and demolished. The Providencia shopping district, still carved within the rock of the Providencia hill, is still available —and climbing its many stairs, a very good leg exercise!
Here's where you make up for that extra serving of Bonitean Bonito fish stew
Nowadays, Providencia has been fully integrated into the Anclaje Metropolitan area, so you can also choose to take the bus (which comes through the north, using an underrated route).
Many people think the highway bridge pales in comparison to its railway counterpart, but this bridge offers good views of the less spoiled South Island
Finally, locals prefer to commute using the Anclaje Metro, which actually reaches the island by means of Subway Line 4, which crosses the island from north to south. There's three stations in the city: Ferry Terminal, Winterton and Maripuerto. This last one links the transportation network to Providencia Seaport, which features local flights to nearby islands, and also another RORO ferry terminal.
Maripuerto terminal is a reasonably busy station, mostly for farside commuters trying to get into the Anclaje or Interior downtowns
There'll be no second part for Providencia, on account of it being a smaller city overall, and having less attractions. I can only write so many times "come visit the beach!", after all. Next time, we'll go back up north for the fastest-growing city in the metro area, Bahía Herradura!
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