Adventures in Puerto Rico
In case you missed it... Hubs is working in Puerto Rico, so I spent my summer off of school living in Puerto Rico.
We were living in Dorado which is on the northern coastline of Puerto Rico, about 30 minutes outside of San Juan and the SJU Airport. Although Dorado is located on the coast, it is pretty centrally located which makes traveling pretty easy so hop in your car and GO! Traveling around Puerto Rico is pretty intense at times. Driving etiquette seems pretty foreign to the locals so be ready to get cut off by drivers not following any of the speed limits or go from 70mph to 10mph because a horse casually walking in the middle of the road. A lot of the road signs are down and haven't been replaced because of the hurricane, and I don't see them being put up any time soon. BUT aside from that, your GPS should work great and you're guaranteed to have an amazing time when you DO reach your destination; keep your head up and soak in the beautiful views of mountains, beaches, and colorful houses along the roads.
Y'all, I would need to spend a year living in Puerto Rico to fulfill all of the adventures that P.R. offers but below will be some of the exploring that we did...
The Heart of Puerto Rico. Old San Juan reminds me a lot of the French Quarter in New Orleans but with cobble stone streets and no foul odor. Old San Juan is a barrio if San Juan, located on the Isleta de San Juan. It’s the oldest settlement in Puerto Rico. Old San Juan is SUPER touristy, being that it is the place where all the cruise boats dock, but none the less, you will find great things to do. Mark and I ventured along the cobble stone streets going in and out of the local souvenir shops and then made our way to the two forts located off of the water. The two forts are Castillo San Cristobal and Castillo San Felipe del Morro and are located about a mile walk away from each other. These forts are so rich in history and also offer gorgeous views of the ocean and of the city. Make sure to buy a kite from the local vendor in front of el Morro and take advantage of the ocean breeze.
Be prepared to do lots of walking, there is not much street parking and you WILL get a parking ticket for parking illegally (believe me, we are short $75 after making that mistake) but there is a parking lot that charged me $3 for the day located south of Old San Juan at La Puntilla. Don't forget to stay hydrated with a Piragua a Puerto Rican snowball!
So everyone talks about going to The 7 Seas beach in Fajardo, it was pretty and all but SUPER crowded with the locals. I love doing the what the locals do, they know the area best, but we weren't sure that this was ALL that Fajardo had to offer. While dining at the local dine, we asked our waitress what her favorite beach around town was, without hesitation she answered, "Playa Escondido" which translates to "Hidden Beach". She then went on to tell us that it wouldn't be an easy trip there. To get to Playa Escondido we had to walk through the 7 Seas' shore of the beach until we found the hidden trail, once we found the hidden trail, we had to hike about 25 minutes, weaving and ducking through a forest until the beach was finally exposed. WOW! The beach was definitely worth the sweat and mosquito bites. Playa Escondido was a flat beach with golden sand. There were a handful of people were there but this huge strip of beach made it feel as though you had the beach all to yourself! The water had a lot of sand bars so you could really go deep into the ocean.
Writing this gives me flashbacks on the day that I thought I was going to die in Puerto Rico. I decided to take a solo rode trip about one hour and 45 minutes away to go see a very cool Taino museum of the mountain people of Jayuya. This museum is said to have many ancient artifacts an petroglyphs inside. The journey towards El Cemi isn't the friendliest, it's actually terrifying, you have to drive about 40 miles up a mountain. Not so bad... now let me add that the lanes are barely enough space for one car but two cars are supposed to fit, just straight sharp turns all the way up, and locals flying around the bend. I literally death gripped the steering wheel the entire way. When I finally got to El Cemi, I kissed the ground and thanked my Sweet Jesus for letting me make it up in one piece. As I walked up to the museum, I thought that it was pretty weird that no one else was around. WELL, come to find out, the museum was closed. I'm not sure if it was just closed during that time or that day, but there were NO signs of life. I wanted to cry.... all of that drive for nothing! The thought of immediately getting back into the car to make that horrific drive back down was so sad. As I started my journey back down the mountain, it started to thunderstorm!!!!!
***Do not take this journey alone - but DO try and go see El Cemi!
Go to C.O.P.I in Piñones and rent a bike ASAP! The Corporación Piñones Se Integra (COPI) is a community-based non-profit organization. COPI is committed to finding alternatives to the existing social problems that deteriorate Piñones in order to improve the quality of life of residents, families, and visitors.
For $10 I rented a bike and biked down the boardwalk along the breathtaking coast of the Piñones. (Disclaimer: Post Hurricane Maria, a lot of the boardwalk is still damage, so use caution and be careful of the missing wood beams and blocked trails.) I rode my bike out about 2 miles before I had to turn around because I was in the woods and there were lots of knocked down tree limbs. Despite all of the devastation it was still a great ride and it was nice to be able to hop off of your bike and go into the water. I will say that one of the beaches on the trail was heavily visited and like many of the beaches around P.R., unfortunately, very full of trash. It is very sad to say and see, a lot of the locals don't pick up after themselves. What made things a little better is when I biked away from that beach to another beach and that one was completely clean and completely deserted! I am excited to come back and revisit the Piñones again one day and hopefully see the town and boardwalk restored.
I like to do a lot of research on the places that I want to visit and I like to see all of the Instagram pictures that people post of the place where I am going to see. So I found these awesome pools surrounded by granite rocks, similar to those that I saw at the Baths at Virgin Gorda in the BVIs, so I thought whoa this place is a must! We traveled about an hour away to Utuado and the drive there was spectacular. Massive mountains were cut to allow for an interstate to be driven through them, just pure beauty surrounding us. We finally reach our destination of Rio Pellejes and we see the river but none of the massive rocks and pools. We decided to pull into the gas station and ask for directions and a local told us that he would bring us there, but he didn't recommend getting in the water because it is very dangerous. We followed him to the location and there was an old electrical wire that was rigged to assist you in walking down the side of the cliff to get you to the rocks.... there it was, the pools that I'd seen all over the internet. It was really pretty, and the rocks were massive boulders that looked unreal. The guy who brought us there told us that the water is usually black and that he was shocked it looked so clean.... come to find out, this was the local dumping station that carried the town's run-off!!!! He was wondering why we'd want to see this dump! We cracked up laughing the whole ride home. This location does make for cool pictures thought! (PS: People actually do go swimming in this run-off pool!)
Drive to mile marker 3.0km and park on the side of the road which is on the side of the cliff, walk to mile marker 3.1km, that is where the trail to the fort starts. We hiked about 25 minutes through the dry forest of Guanica which really lives up to its name. It is a hard, hot, trail so pack extra water. Trust me guys, this hike is worth it. When you reach the top of the trail there is an amazing fort that is surprisingly in great condition, other than the ridiculous amounts of graffiti tagged all along the fort. The Fort is located in the highest part of the mount that faces the bay of Guánica by the East, within the Forest Reserve of the Dry Forest, and from its roof you can enjoy a spectacular view of Guánica Bay. The original fort was built of wood by the Spaniards long before the American invasion, it was a strategic place of surveillance of the coast of possible attacks by pirates and corsairs. The fort that we observe today was built in 1898 by the US Army after the invasion of Guanica .
This nature reserve is one of the coolest things I've ever seen. There are 1,294 acres of salt pits in the town of Cabo Rojo. As soon as you get out of your car at these salt pits, you can instantly taste the salt in the air and your eyes start to burn. These salt pits are pretty neat. There is so much salt in the water that you barely even see water. It looks like ice skating rinks but instead of ice, it is all salt! The technique that they do is flood these pits and allow the wind and sun evaporate the water. This leaves very salty water behind. Salt crystals form and fall to the bottom of the pit. Once there is enough salt built up, they drain the pits of water and then scrape and scoop salt crystals out using heavy machinery. This salt is then distributed and exported for all of our salt goods. This attraction is free and there is a welcome center located in Cabo Rojo that will give you all the history about the salt pits.
I will be posting more of my adventures in Puerto Rico soon!
We were living in Dorado which is on the northern coastline of Puerto Rico, about 30 minutes outside of San Juan and the SJU Airport. Although Dorado is located on the coast, it is pretty centrally located which makes traveling pretty easy so hop in your car and GO! Traveling around Puerto Rico is pretty intense at times. Driving etiquette seems pretty foreign to the locals so be ready to get cut off by drivers not following any of the speed limits or go from 70mph to 10mph because a horse casually walking in the middle of the road. A lot of the road signs are down and haven't been replaced because of the hurricane, and I don't see them being put up any time soon. BUT aside from that, your GPS should work great and you're guaranteed to have an amazing time when you DO reach your destination; keep your head up and soak in the beautiful views of mountains, beaches, and colorful houses along the roads.
Y'all, I would need to spend a year living in Puerto Rico to fulfill all of the adventures that P.R. offers but below will be some of the exploring that we did...
Old San Juan - San Juan
La Cueva de Indio - Arecibo
We took a rainy ride to Arecibo in the Northern part of Puerto Rico to explore La Cueva del Indio. La Cueva del Indio is said to contain the largest number of petroglyphs found along the coastal zone. In 1992, the Planning Board of Puerto Rico designated Cueva del Indio as a Natural Reserve. When we got there we were greeted by a very vibrant man who welcomed us, yelled at us for wearing sandals, and told us we weren't going to make it hiking up and down the rocks into the cave because the ladder got blown out during Hurricane Maria. (We love a good challenge!) Entrance fee was $5 a person to go exploring the area and let me tell you that is was worth EVERY penny! The man at the entrance told us to continue hiking past the cave, that we wouldn't be disappointed by the views that would be waiting for us.
The rocks were pretty intense and sharp but we made it up the cave and then climbed down into the main part of the cave. IT WAS BEAUTIFUL, despite the rainy weather,beautiful views of the turquoise waves crashing on to the the different layers of rocks and I found a hole in the cave where I climbed into and got to see all of the different layers of the rock. Please do not attempt to climb into the hole if you're much bigger than me, I'm not responsible for you getting suck in there. After exploring the cave, we took the local's advice of continuing our hike past the cave, through a bunch of greenery. What was exposed after that hike was a private oasis with two natural pools. One was being used by locals who didn't look like they were o.k. with our company, and the other natural pool was filled with sea urchins.... LOTS of unfriendly sea urchins.
***On your drive to and through Arecibo you will without a doubt run into the massive, 350ft Christopher Columbus statue. This statue was donated to Puerto Rico in 2016 after being denied by almost every state in the continental U.S. We couldn't figure out how to get into the area with the statue but we were able to snap a good picture!
Playa Escondido - Fajardo
So everyone talks about going to The 7 Seas beach in Fajardo, it was pretty and all but SUPER crowded with the locals. I love doing the what the locals do, they know the area best, but we weren't sure that this was ALL that Fajardo had to offer. While dining at the local dine, we asked our waitress what her favorite beach around town was, without hesitation she answered, "Playa Escondido" which translates to "Hidden Beach". She then went on to tell us that it wouldn't be an easy trip there. To get to Playa Escondido we had to walk through the 7 Seas' shore of the beach until we found the hidden trail, once we found the hidden trail, we had to hike about 25 minutes, weaving and ducking through a forest until the beach was finally exposed. WOW! The beach was definitely worth the sweat and mosquito bites. Playa Escondido was a flat beach with golden sand. There were a handful of people were there but this huge strip of beach made it feel as though you had the beach all to yourself! The water had a lot of sand bars so you could really go deep into the ocean. 
El Cemi - Jayuya
Writing this gives me flashbacks on the day that I thought I was going to die in Puerto Rico. I decided to take a solo rode trip about one hour and 45 minutes away to go see a very cool Taino museum of the mountain people of Jayuya. This museum is said to have many ancient artifacts an petroglyphs inside. The journey towards El Cemi isn't the friendliest, it's actually terrifying, you have to drive about 40 miles up a mountain. Not so bad... now let me add that the lanes are barely enough space for one car but two cars are supposed to fit, just straight sharp turns all the way up, and locals flying around the bend. I literally death gripped the steering wheel the entire way. When I finally got to El Cemi, I kissed the ground and thanked my Sweet Jesus for letting me make it up in one piece. As I walked up to the museum, I thought that it was pretty weird that no one else was around. WELL, come to find out, the museum was closed. I'm not sure if it was just closed during that time or that day, but there were NO signs of life. I wanted to cry.... all of that drive for nothing! The thought of immediately getting back into the car to make that horrific drive back down was so sad. As I started my journey back down the mountain, it started to thunderstorm!!!!!***Do not take this journey alone - but DO try and go see El Cemi!
Piñones - Loiza
Go to C.O.P.I in Piñones and rent a bike ASAP! The Corporación Piñones Se Integra (COPI) is a community-based non-profit organization. COPI is committed to finding alternatives to the existing social problems that deteriorate Piñones in order to improve the quality of life of residents, families, and visitors.
For $10 I rented a bike and biked down the boardwalk along the breathtaking coast of the Piñones. (Disclaimer: Post Hurricane Maria, a lot of the boardwalk is still damage, so use caution and be careful of the missing wood beams and blocked trails.) I rode my bike out about 2 miles before I had to turn around because I was in the woods and there were lots of knocked down tree limbs. Despite all of the devastation it was still a great ride and it was nice to be able to hop off of your bike and go into the water. I will say that one of the beaches on the trail was heavily visited and like many of the beaches around P.R., unfortunately, very full of trash. It is very sad to say and see, a lot of the locals don't pick up after themselves. What made things a little better is when I biked away from that beach to another beach and that one was completely clean and completely deserted! I am excited to come back and revisit the Piñones again one day and hopefully see the town and boardwalk restored.Charco los Morones - Utuado
I like to do a lot of research on the places that I want to visit and I like to see all of the Instagram pictures that people post of the place where I am going to see. So I found these awesome pools surrounded by granite rocks, similar to those that I saw at the Baths at Virgin Gorda in the BVIs, so I thought whoa this place is a must! We traveled about an hour away to Utuado and the drive there was spectacular. Massive mountains were cut to allow for an interstate to be driven through them, just pure beauty surrounding us. We finally reach our destination of Rio Pellejes and we see the river but none of the massive rocks and pools. We decided to pull into the gas station and ask for directions and a local told us that he would bring us there, but he didn't recommend getting in the water because it is very dangerous. We followed him to the location and there was an old electrical wire that was rigged to assist you in walking down the side of the cliff to get you to the rocks.... there it was, the pools that I'd seen all over the internet. It was really pretty, and the rocks were massive boulders that looked unreal. The guy who brought us there told us that the water is usually black and that he was shocked it looked so clean.... come to find out, this was the local dumping station that carried the town's run-off!!!! He was wondering why we'd want to see this dump! We cracked up laughing the whole ride home. This location does make for cool pictures thought! (PS: People actually do go swimming in this run-off pool!)Dry Forest to Fuerte Capron - Guanica
Drive to mile marker 3.0km and park on the side of the road which is on the side of the cliff, walk to mile marker 3.1km, that is where the trail to the fort starts. We hiked about 25 minutes through the dry forest of Guanica which really lives up to its name. It is a hard, hot, trail so pack extra water. Trust me guys, this hike is worth it. When you reach the top of the trail there is an amazing fort that is surprisingly in great condition, other than the ridiculous amounts of graffiti tagged all along the fort. The Fort is located in the highest part of the mount that faces the bay of Guánica by the East, within the Forest Reserve of the Dry Forest, and from its roof you can enjoy a spectacular view of Guánica Bay. The original fort was built of wood by the Spaniards long before the American invasion, it was a strategic place of surveillance of the coast of possible attacks by pirates and corsairs. The fort that we observe today was built in 1898 by the US Army after the invasion of Guanica .Salinas de Cabo Rojo - Cabo Rojo
This nature reserve is one of the coolest things I've ever seen. There are 1,294 acres of salt pits in the town of Cabo Rojo. As soon as you get out of your car at these salt pits, you can instantly taste the salt in the air and your eyes start to burn. These salt pits are pretty neat. There is so much salt in the water that you barely even see water. It looks like ice skating rinks but instead of ice, it is all salt! The technique that they do is flood these pits and allow the wind and sun evaporate the water. This leaves very salty water behind. Salt crystals form and fall to the bottom of the pit. Once there is enough salt built up, they drain the pits of water and then scrape and scoop salt crystals out using heavy machinery. This salt is then distributed and exported for all of our salt goods. This attraction is free and there is a welcome center located in Cabo Rojo that will give you all the history about the salt pits. 
I will be posting more of my adventures in Puerto Rico soon!
xoxo, Fabi
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