My Solo-Rican Adventure: An Existential Journey

Ever since I turned 16, my car has been a symbol of my independence.  It gives me a freedom that I have sorely missed in Puerto Rico.  I decided to rent a car and take a drive around the island on my own.  I hadn't seen the west coast yes, so I planned a drive through the central mountains, up the west coast, and back across the north.

Seth dropped me off to pick up my Jeep Wrangler on Saturday morning.  I left Rio Grande around 9 am and drove about an hour and a half to the Coamo hot springs.  Here, geothermal water is the source for two pools that where geriatric locals made the majority of the clientele.  I soaked the warm water of one of the pool feeling the cool mountain breeze around my shoulders.  I felt relaxed and detoxified.  After about 20 minutes, I was ready to get on my way.

Coamo Hotsprings nestled in the Central Mountains

Unlike the cloudy north coast, the sun shined brightly on the south side of the island.  Before leaving Coamo, I removed the roof panels from the top of the Wrangler.  With the sun on my shoulders, I drove a long the south shore through the dry forest to Cabo Rojo on the south west corner of the island.  I had read that I would have to park my car and walk about half an hour to the beach and lighthouse.  But I just kept driving as far as the road would let me and ended up parking right at the coast! I followed a trail up to the lighthouse on the hill.  The bright blue-green water of the Caribbean Sea lapped against the limestone cliffs.  I couldn't resist taking a dip in the water when I hiked down.

The Cabo Rojo lighthouse 

Playa Sucia in Cabo Rojo

On my drive out of the park, I stopped at the visitor center.  Two artisans and a conservation worker were inside and I chatted with them for a while.  The tipped me off to a bar in Rincon, where I was headed next.  After taking a few pictures of the salt flats, I pointed the Wrangler north and continued on my journey.

Clouds had been moving towards the west, and the rain started just as approached Rincon.  I pulled over at a gas station to reattach the roof panels.  I was a little bummed, but it would be getting dark soon anyway.  I found the bar that the people in Cabo Rojo recommended.  It was actually an open air bar in the Villa Cofresi resort.  I ordered coconut shrimp to snack on and a "Pirate Special": Coconut water, rum, and a little cinnamon served inside the coconut!  It was the perfect Caribbean drink.  I enjoyed my  treats and watched the storm from my beachfront stool at the bar.  I let my drink settle and finished my shrimp then drove through the rest of the adorable little surf community, stopping to take pictures of the lighthouse and beautiful coastline.

The bar at Villa Cofresi

Snack time!!!

It was almost 6 pm when I departed for my last destination in Isabela.  The sun was setting, and I wondered if I would have enough light to find El Pozo de Jacinto.  Along a rocky coast is an eroded blow hole.  Local legend says that a cattle herder named Jacinto lost his favorite cow down this hole.  He went in after the cow and both died.  If you yell into the hole in spanish "Give me the cow," water will rush in and push the straight up and out.


Curvaceous roads led me to the coast in Isabela.  I parked at a resort and ran down to the beach.  I was too far.  I doubled back and parked at a campground.  The sun had set and only a little twilight was left.  I jogged down the beach and scaled the craggy landform.  Waves crashed against the side of the rock.  I don't know why I was so determined to find it.  Its just a hole in the ground.  But I was.  I needed to find it and yell into it.  Finally, there it was.  A giant hole open to the ocean.  With no one around me I screamed at it, "¡Da me la vacaaaaa!!"  The waves may not have been strong enough that night to return the cow.  But at that moment, I felt like I was exactly where I needed to be in my life.  No more, no less.

Sloped side of the rocky coastline.  This sign told me I probably shouldn't go up there...  but I did anyway.

Waves struggle to return the cow from El Pozo de Jacinto

I celebrated with dinner at Sonia Rican, a beach front restaurant that was featured on No Reservations.  I claimed a stool at the bar facing the beach and ordered an iconic Puerto Rican dish... Shrimp stuffed mofongo.  I washed my food down with a Medalla while the waves crashed on the shore behind me. Anthony Bourdain was right; food tastes better when you aren't wearing shoes.

My delicious celebratory dinner

It was the perfect end to my trip.  I drove back to El Verde in the dark feeling rejuvenated and ready to take on the final stretch of my time in Puerto Rico.

Mom and Dad Visit Puerto Rico: Part 4

Monday was my last day with my parents and probably my favorite day of the whole weekend.  We read about a nature reserve on the south side of the island called Bahía de Jobos (insert brief uncontrollable laugher ;) )  The bay is part of the National Estuarine Research Reserve System that includes sites all over the United States.  It includes an extensive mangrove forest, and I was so excited to explore them.  We drove around the east coast to get there.  My parents got a taste of the poorly marked, narrow mountain roads that are all too common in Puerto Rico.  After a few wrong turns and back tracking, we finally found the reserve in Aguirre.

There were only a few short trails at the reserve.  Record rainfall had flooded most of the trails last year, and the reserve was in the process of rebuilding them.  Still, the open trails made me feel like a kid in a candy store.  They followed the coastlines to backwater canals, all lined with mangroves.  I geeked our telling my parents about the different adaptations of the various species.  New kayaking trails were also being built around the bay.  I was disappointed that they weren't open yet.  Kayaking though the mangroves would have been a blast!

Red mangroves on a canal in Bahía de Jobos

One of the guides in the visitor center told us to check out the trails on the other side of the bay.  The trails are at a campground that was closed due to budget cuts, but they are still in good condition.  A large part of the trail is a boardwalk that winds though the mangrove swamp.  And the mud flats were loaded with tiny crabs that burrow in the ground.  As we walked past, we could hear their little feet scurry across the leaves back to their holes.  Mangrove ecosystems are so fascinating to me.  They were the inspiration for my senior thesis, and hopefully I'll work in a mangrove swamp someday.

A large stand of Black mangroves

Tiny crabs living in the mangrove roots

Late in the afternoon, we drove back through the central mountains.  We ate dinner at El Verde BBQ at the bottom of the hill to the field station.  Our meal was delicious.  It was a wonderful end to our weekend together.  My parents were leaving Tuesday morning, so they drove me back to the field station and said our goodbyes.  It was so wonderful to show my them the island where I have lived for three months.  I'm so happy that I got to share a few adventures with the people who have always supported my endless wanderlust.