SATURDAY, we grabbed Sydney’s car keys again and headed up into the central mountains, the gorgeous hills that have been taunting me from the boat for weeks. Every morning and evening, the sun sets them aglow, dramatic shadows in the valleys deepening as the ridges reflect the amber light of sunrise/sunset. I’ve been itching to get up there and explore, and Saturday’s adventure was no disappointment.
As we turned left from the coast and began climbing the hills, the view transitioned from long, straight stretches bordered by agricultural fields lined with stately, old trees to switchbacks and striking views from on a narrow lane clinging precariously to the side of densely-forested mountains. I was big on the “Oh S*#t” handle and imaginary brake most of the day, but Philip’s an excellent driver (which is why he was driving), and we didn’t die.
Our first rather surprising sight was Lago Patillas, a small lake nestled in the tropical forest that looks for all the world like it should be in the Lake District (where Philip is from). Ok, so it’s not exactly the same, but still — ODD. Beautiful, but odd.
After more winding and twisting and stunning views, we found our way to Carite forest, where we planned to hike. Apparently, Puerto Ricans aren’t big hikers, so there aren’t many hiking paths in the forests. We managed to find one of the few, and it was paved, and about a mile round-trip. But it was a nice stroll through the forest under a gentle rain to a small waterfall and pool. Not too dramatic after the waterfalls of Dominica and Grenada, but pretty nonetheless.
Having worked up our appetite with a couple hours in the car and a brief stroll, we stopped just outside the Carite forest in Guavate, home of the famous Puerto Rican lechoneras roadside cafeterias — pork-a-rias! Lining the road through town are dozens of cafeterias featuring whole suckling pigs slow-roasted for 6-8 hours on spits over fires.
We looked for the place with the longest line and allowed the people in front of us to tell us what and how to order, and ended up with a huge pile of the most amazing melt-in-your-mouth roast pork with cracklin’, rice and peas, plantains and a local delicacy called a pastele (a Christmas thing, I think) which is mashed plantain and ground pork steamed in a paper wrapper, and actually sounds a LOT better than it tastes. Not sure if it’s always this way, but the one we tried was greasy and oddly sour. The rest of the meal, however, was divine. I should say, meals, because for $20 we had enough for two very large lunches and two very large dinners!
We heaved our stuffed bodies back in the car and made our way further into the mountains, headed for Aibonito and the Mirador Piedra Degetau, a scenic overlook that is supposed to have the best panorama of the island, with views of the ocean both north and south. Of course, it was totally overcast when we got there, so we enjoyed some nice views of clouds. A
There were a few stunning views as we made our way down out of the mountains, but this was the point at which the theme of the trip became, “Puerto Rico needs more scenic overlooks!” On a twisty, turny forest road with no shoulders, on which people nevertheless drive like bats out of hell, you don’t want to just stop your car for a gawk. Pull-outs are needed. And — frustratingly — there were none.
We made it back to the boat before sunset, and although I’d planned to save the pork leftovers for the next day’s lunch in an attempt to somewhat approximate a balanced diet, they didn’t make it to Sunday. Because we are big piggies.
