El Yunque
Tired after the lengthy accommodation search and hours of driving on the day before, I decided to have “a beach break”. Close to Hyatt Place Manati hotel, there was a beach called Mar Chiquita that in Spanish means ‘a small sea’.
It is a sheltered cove surrounded by jarred rocks. A narrow passage between rocks connects the cove with the Atlantic Ocean. Online photos show that the cove is almost a perfect semicircle in shape.
It also says in online reviews that water in the cove is calm which is confirmed by photos of people sitting in it like in a bathtub. While I was in Puerto Rico the ocean was stormy all the time. The waves rushed with a roar into the cove through the passage in the rocks. The wild beauty of these waves was enchanting but they made swimming impossible. I got into the water anyway and stayed close to the shore. Only a few followed my example. The locals sat comfortably under umbrellas, with food and drinks, blasting loud music from the speakers that they brought with them in the cars.
I walked all over the surrounding rocks although my flip flops made it difficult. Sandals would be more appropriate footwear. In some place, I took off my shoes and went barefoot fearing that the flip flops could slip and I’d tumble down the rocks.
I had one more day in Puerto Rico and went to see Los Tubos Natural Reserve. I studied the map at the entrance and chose a short loop for a walk.
At first, I followed a wide road. There were no signs of any kind in the reserve. Basically, it was a jungle area with nothing but thick vegetation. I turned into a side trail at the fork thinking that it was time to circle back to the entrance.
The trail kept winding between the trees going left and right. After an hour of walking, I had no idea where I was. The navigator on the phone showed my position in the middle of a green area. When I asked it to guide me back to the parking lot the navigator told me that I was going in the opposite direction.
Sometimes, I heard the noise that sounded like passing cars and rejoiced believing that I was close to the main road. However, the parking lot was nowhere to be seen. I came to more forks in the reserve; I tried walking one of the paths without success, then returned to the intersection and tried the other path with similar results. Seeing that I was not getting back, I imagined how people would find my bleached bones years later because I was going in circles in the reserve and could not find the way out.
After that, I gave up, turned off the useless navigator and retraced my steps back. Perhaps, it was a longer path than to continue going forward but I was glad to return safely to my car. Just before the parking lot, I took a wrong turn and unexpectedly found myself on a cliff overlooking the ocean.
Having had enough of natural reserves, I got into the car and drove until I saw a place to have lunch. From there, I continued along the beach until I found a cozy place to relax for the rest of the afternoon. No more adventures!
This was the end of my January trip. Next day, I drove to the airport, returned the car without a scratch and sighed with relief. I spent 6 days in Dominicana and 7 days in Puerto Rico instead of Cuba. Oh well, perhaps, I will go to Cuba next time!
