San Juan and Northern Puerto Rico

My interpretation of Northern Puerto Rico...


We all have a drive to be marooned on an Island paradise. In part because of our drive for exploration and thrill seeking and, because we all enjoy a glimpse of something beautiful. I arrived in Puerto Rico with preconceived notions about the island but, those were soon quelled with the actuality of my circumstance. You see the thing is, I was wrong. So wrong in fact that I was blown away by the sprawling city that stood before me. At first glance I noticed the city's high-rises. In the next moment I took in the vast number of people who were going through the motions of day-to-day life within the city. These things combined to shatter any thought that I might have had prior to engaging the city proper. The hustle and bustle of the people and, the grinding of streetcars along the increasingly bumpy roads as you near the edges of the city aided to this end. From atop my hotel, El Portal, I saw before me a vast metroplex filled with people from every nation, race and, creed. The essence of the city had set it's gaze upon me. This was San Juan. Street-side: Buildings of all shapes and sizes surrounded the expanse before me filled with everything from “Da' Tanning Salon” to sports bars. Booze, bars and, bikinis were abound, swirling about as if the God's had smiled upon this poor boy from Oklahoma. Dropped in the melting pot of the Caribbean I set out to find something new and exciting. Growing feelings of guilt were looming over me, for I had fled the Oklahoma blizzard of '09 and left my friends and family in the drifts. As the day darkened and the moon grew I set out to find what I was searching for. A bar. I needed to understand what it meant to breath San Juan, to feel it. Indeed this was the place to, with all certainty, find it. Having never been to San Juan, I decided to go to smaller place, a likely spot where locals take the edge off of their daily routine. A watering-hole as we say back home. A dive bar. A brisk walk and a cigarette later I arrived at my destination. The neon lights were like the smiles of old familiar friends. The air was thick and permeated by smoke. I had arrived. The bouncer was a large man of about six-foot-three. He smiled and was clearly happy to meet a tourist. And no doubt, I was one. He greeted me and opened the door. I placed my order for the local special, Medalla light, a beer brewed here in Puerto Rico and not sold in the states. I enjoyed the fullness combined with a brush of something lighter. I strolled outside where I noticed the bouncer patting the locals down for weapons before they could enter. A luxury that escaped me however. I sat in a corner observing the locals in their natural habitat pondering what it meant to be a native of this beautiful Island. Of course this meant more than just observations of my first night in paradise but, I felt as though this was as good of a place as any to start my theories about this gargantuan sentiment. I found myself sitting next to a beautiful brown eyed woman with long black hair and decided to endeavor to ask her name. It was Luicia, I tried my hardest not to seem intimidated. It paid off well. She told me of local spots that I had to see (which included the rainforest that we would be touring in the next few days.) I can still see her visage. Lectures and tours followed the next few days as I tried to piece together all that I was being presented with. The lifeblood of Puerto Rico, the island of enchantment. When you arrive in a foreign place you will always be overwhelmed in the beginning. Indeed I was, I was operating two full hours ahead of my life back home and wasn't looking back despite the lack of sleep. Everyday was a whirlwind of tours and guides and, I was trying my hardest to keep up. I visited around 4-5 places everyday. This was no regular vacation, this was knee deep in the vast expanse of 100x35 miles of Puerto Rican culture and sights. A true Grand Tour of Puerto Rico. The day of El Yunque finally arrived, the rainforest, the only one in the U.S. Trees and plants of all kinds surrounded me. This was unlike anything I had ever imagined. I had seen photos of rainforests before but to breath the air, to feel the dirt beneath your toes was surreal. These are the moments we live for, to be in the wild and commune with nature. As I traced the path with my feet I felt the spirit of the place. I saw glimpses of the ancient Tianos hunting and gathering upon their sacred mountain. Ghostly visages of their villages occupying areas among the trees as though they were apart of the rainforest itself. The path through El Yunque was narrow and slick and I lost my footing several times. The trees were like giant people crowded together in harmony and, the only sign of humans was the path that laid before me. I pressed on throughout the wonderment of this place in awe of all that I saw and soon it was in upon me, the waterfall. I approached the titanic waterfall slowly as a hunter stalking it's prey, afraid the majesty of it would escape into the compacted forest that surrounded it. The sound of water smashing upon the rocks was as loud as a south-bound train and was as beautiful a thing as I had ever seen. The water that cascaded down the moss-covered rocks was as cold as ice and pure. I lingered in this place for about a half hour documenting everything I saw with notes and photos, afraid that I might never see this place again. These are the sights that everyone must see, the sites that must be preserved for future generations. As shepherds of the Earth it is our solemn duty to do so. It is the single unifying quality of us all. In Buddhism they teach their followers to “be mindful” which basically translates to this: You must pay attention to how your actions affect the world around you. From this we can learn many things about ourselves and our environment. When I stepped off the plane I was a wholly different man from who I am today now that I have experienced this awesome place. My time spent in the northern landscape of Puerto Rico was enlightening to me. I will never be the same. From my understandings of local culture and the places where they drown their sorrows to the divine surroundings of El Yunque I feel more complete as a human being living on the third rock from the Sun.