Puerto Rico '08 - Day 4

11.20.08

Rise and shine! DING-DING-DING-DING-DING!

Road Trip!

We woke up early to meet Manuel, our guide for the day, at 0830. All six of us piled into a van and began our cross country journey towards the rain forest, El Yunque (The Anvil). Manuel gave us a very detailed narration of Old San Juan, San Juan proper, and the out-lying towns as we passed them. A quick stop at a small beach which, we were told, contains sand from the Sahara desert that was brought there via hurricane. I can't help but imagine Morgan Freeman narrating a documentary on the subject.

A single grain of sand lifted by the ocean-bound African winds
is deposited in a growing storm just off the coast that crosses
the vast Atlantic Ocean. That tiny silicon particle with all it's
brothers and sisters is gently dropped on the northern shores of
Puerto Rico where it rests until it is collected by the butt crack
of some unsuspecting tourista who has come to enjoy the sunny
snorkeling haven that is the commonwealth known as the Rich Port.

Our journey took us eastward along the northern coast overlooking the ocean. We made a brief detour through the town of Loiza to visit an open-faced cave named Maria de la Cruz. Some Taino indian remains were discovered inside years ago. Definitely an exciting anthropological find. While we were there, we noticed that there was petrified firewood scattered along the cave floor. Due to the cave's secluded location, it has unfortunately become a sanctum for local drug users. Used syringes and paraphernalia can also be found along the cave floor. Luckily, I didn't contract hepatitis during my vacation... this time.

As we continued on our road trip, our guide was kind enough to acknowledge several points of interest along the way. Such as the Wal-Mart and Home Depot. If you haven't seen a Home Depot in Puerto Rico, it looks like the ones in the States except theirs has a lot of white guys hanging out front looking for construction jobs.

Onward to The Anvil

We finally arrived at El Portal Rain Forest Center (Prohibido Fumar).

Joe's Travel Tip: "Prohibido Fumar" means "If you see an ashtray, then
go ahead and toast a lung. We just can't legally tell you that it's ok to smoke here."

A video presentation in the welcome center discussed the damage that Hurricane Hugo caused to the rain forest. I bought some french fries and some ice cream, took a piss, and I was ready to exercise my mad hiking skills... ok, walking on a path skills. We were taken by van to La Mina trail where we were greeted by a large sign warning us against rabid mongooses... mongeese... no, it's mongooses. Hey, if it's foaming at the mouth, I don't care how you pronounce it.

I believe that if you simply walk the trail, then you can be done in 30 min to an hour. But you will want to take your time. It's a beautiful scene. La Mina trail follows a mountain river. The babbling of the currents along with the chirp of the coqui reminds me of background noise recordings I had heard as a kid in places like the Pink Palace in Memphis or Cumberland Science Center in Nashville. Even with the occasional hiker passing by on the trail, it is an extremely relaxing sound. We took our time walking the trail. Lauren and Joshua were even able to find a coqui under some woodland debris. It's the loudest tiny thing you'll ever see. We then happened upon La Mina Falls, a large waterfall with a natural pool at the bottom that you are welcome to take a dip in (wear your swim trunks, there's nowhere to change, just be wary that the "junk net" in your water shorts can cause some chaffing).



From La Mina Falls, we continued up the trail for some time until we encountered our guide, Manuel. You've heard of the Crocodile Hunter? Manuel is the Coqui Hunter. He had one of the minute frogs captured in a sandwich bag for us to see. He also informed us of a type of tree we had passed several times along the trail known as candlewood. The name comes from the sap that oozes from it. The sap looks and smells like candle wax and also burns much the same. It is believed that natives to the island used the sap to make torches. Neat, huh?

A few minutes later and we were at the end of the trail. Manuel then drove us down to Yokahu Tower, a large lookout tower built on the side of the mountain. You can enjoy quite a view from the top while you catch your breath from climbing EIGHT THOUSAND STAIRS! Nice view though. The weather was fantastic. There couldn't have been a more perfect ending to the day. OH WAIT! There was. Joshua received a phone call that the weather or tide conditions or shrimp migration was a reason for canceling our trip Friday to the Bioluminescent Bay in Vieques. But there was a trip we could get in on that night if we made it to Puerto Del Rey by 1600 hrs. Manuel was very accommodating and took us over for a couple bucks a head.




Small World

Puerto Del Rey is a large marina on the east side of Puerto Rico. Manuel dropped us off at the East Island Excursions platform where we signed up and paid for the coolest experience of my trip. A catamaran ride to Vieques (large island to the east) and all the rum you can drink. Rum and coke, rum punch, pina colada, rum in a cup, you name it. Our guide and bartender for the evening was Levi, a transplant from warm, exotic... Nashville? Really? I like Nashville, but I can't blame him for moving to Puerto Rico. So Levi got us moderately sauced on the 30-minute boat ride to Vieques. That catamaran can book ass across the water; I would recommend a lot of Dramamine if you get sea sick.


We dock and catch a couple shuttle buses to a restaurant. Good food, but nothing I couldn't get back home. I changed into my swim trunks and everyone got onto what looked like the Partridge Family bus, if the Partridge Family were cast in Texas Chainsaw Massacre. You may want to down any left over Dramamine you have because the "road" to the Bio Bay feels more like the earthquake ride at MGM Studios.



We get to the bay and load into an electric powered pontoon boat. Why electric?



[History Lesson] The first European explorers to the island were frightened by the eerie glow produced by the bioluminescent dinofagellates in the bay so they dropped large boulders at the mouth of the bay hoping to seal it off and dry it up. What they unintentionally did was produce an enclosed biosystem in which Mother Nature's nightlights were able to flourish. Today, the bay is environmentally protected and fuel-powered engines are greatly discouraged. [/History Lesson]

*photo by C. Eric Scott

The moon had not yet risen so the star lit night was a perfect condition for our little tour. As the boat captain trawled us around, he told us about the role that the surrounding mangrove trees played in the localized ecosystem and how they provide for a much higher salt content in the bay's water. The bioluminescent dinoflagellates (I'm just going to call them glow germs from here on out) are single celled organisms that produce an iridescent glow as they are disturbed in the water. A boat's wake, kayak paddle, or even fish darting from the pontoon will cause them to light up with a bluish-green aura. It's pretty damn cool. We anchor far off shore and el capitan asks who wants to go swimming. Doc, Joshua, and myself were the first in the water. Safety first. We polished off at least a bottle of rum between us on the ride over so everyone wears a floaty belt. The high salt content of the water helps you float as well. It was quite an experience to see the water around you light up every time you move. Even as you lift your hand from the water, a lilliputian fireworks display cascades down your arm. The temperature of the bay was perfect, and being so far from any major source of light pollution, you never would have known there were so many stars. We got to swim around a while, but all good things must come to an end. Everyone climbed back onto the pontoon and made for shore. Once back on the House of 1000 Corpses bus, a local gentleman thought it would be funny to come on board with a small rubber shark that he said he just caught in the bay. ha. What's that, Levi? It was a real shark?! They could have told us that BEFORE we got into the water. It turned out to be a small (two feet) black tip shark. They rarely bother people... I think... it was worth it anyways.