Our drive from the East side of the Island to the West was only supposed to take about 3.5 hours, that left us plenty of time for stops and exploring along the way from Fajardo to Rincon.
On the short list of things to do/ stops to make were:
- Guavate: A visit to the Pork Highway
- Guanicia: The Puerto Rican Dry Forest
- Cabo Rojo: Visit The Lighthouse
- Cabo Rojo: Explore The Salt Flats
One thing we learned very quickly during our trip to Puerto Rico was to expect the unexpected and be ready for your plans to change at any time for no apparent or explicable reason.
We actually only made it to 2 out of 4 of the stops from the list above. We missed out on the pork highway, because according to locals our timing was off- apparently the weekends are the time to visit when the pig roasts turn the town into a giant block party, so we opted out so we could spend more time at other locations.
The lighthouse was another story all together- as we followed the signs and headed down the road to the site, we were greeted by no less than 5 police cars blocking the road. We asked around to see if anyone knew what was going on and how long it make take for the road block to clear but no one seemed to know the answer, so with sad faces ( we really wanted to see this one) we rolled on down the road.
Guinacia was our first official stop on our road trip West, and we weren’t really sure what to expect, since there wasn’t a whole lot of information on the area. Quite a few locals had suggested we make the stop, so we did, and we weren’t sorry.
It’s hard to imagine that on an island that is only 100 miles long and 35 miles wide that there would be such a huge variety of eco-systems but there are, and our list to the dry forest really drove that idea home. Complete with traditional dessert like conditions, loads of cacti and oddly enough two random manatees popping up along the shoreline, this was a magical if not swelteringly hot stop to remember.
On our way to the lighthouse we drove right past the Pink Salt Flats of Cabo Rojo. We had heard about these before, but no one really seemed to think they were all that interesting, because every time we asked anyone they would shrug their shoulders and say, “eh”. Well let us be the first to say, if you have the chance you need to stop. First off, their pink. Thats cool. Secondly, they’re beautiful!
A stop here won’t take you more than 15-20 minutes and costs you $0.00 dollars. It’s worth stopping, wandering out on the barriers between the flats, and snapping some beautiful photos.
Since we couldn’t get to the lighthouse we had to turn tail and head back for the main road that would take us to Rincon. In the end it all worked out, we made it to town with just enough time to catch an epic West Coast sunset.
Been to any of the places we missed? Tell us about it! Share your thoughts, and photos in the comments section!
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