Today we explored yet another beautiful ecosystem of Puerto Rico: The Dry Forest. The Dry Forest is located in Guanica, which is about three hours away from where we are staying in Loiza. The group gathered bright and early at 7am and after nestling into our second home (the guagua) we set off on our journey. The drive was scenic, as we had to pass by cities as well as the mountains in order to get to the forest. I enjoyed looking at the different towns and cities of Puerto Rico and their different architectural designs. Although we spend a lot of time traveling, I never get tired of looking at the palm trees and the outline of the beautiful mountain range. Despite the road feeling especially bumpy on this trip, we all took the opportunity to refresh ourselves with a nap; indeed, even Maria was seen snoozing in the front seat. After a few hours though, the majority of us woke up and a few of us realized that a pit stop was in order. You know what they say, when nature calls… Emmanuel, our wonderfully patient driver, pulled the bus into a Church’s Chicken parking lot and we all hopped out to use los servicios sanitarios (the bathrooms). Although there are several American fast food restaurants present in Puerto Rico, seeing that there were Church’s Chickens was especially tickling to me, because their food is bomb! I excitedly snapped a few pictures and joined my classmates inside. It was interesting to see how the restaurant’s menu was similar and different than those that I have been to in the States. There were (of course) different chicken options available but there were a few entrees specific to Puerto Rico. Due to my sensitive stomach and the knowledge of a still-long bus ride, I decided against ordering food but a few of my classmates ordered Chicken Bites, or Mallorca (a Puerto Rican bread) smothered with Nutella. After purchasing our treats we continued on our trek.
After more sleeping, and a game of “Heads Up” we arrived at our destination to find the gate locked. Many of us were thinking, “We drove 3 hours just for it to be closed?!” We were discouraged, but determined to make the best of it. Luckily, we found a man walking along the road and he kindly pointed us in the direction of the true entrance, and finally we were in the forest! The trail that we hiked was called Fuerte and is about 5 kilometers, or 3 miles, each way. Our destination was Fort Capron, which we were told is a small tower built during Colonial times by the Spaniards. The walk through the Dry Forest was much easier for me than walking through El Yunque; I was afraid of the slippery rocks and also of sliding down the hills in El Yunque. Although the trail was quite pebbly, our group came out of the hike unscathed; therefore, I would say it was a pleasant walk indeed. Although there was not a ton of variety in the plants that we saw, the thin trees and abundant foliage was still a nice view. I enjoyed walking in the shade of the trees and seeing termite nests. When the trees were not providing shade, the sun was unrelenting and I was glad that I packed an extra water bottle. After about an hour, we arrived at Fort Capron. The view definitely made the hike worth it!
Atop of the fort, the Caribbean Sea provided us with a cooling breeze. After 20 minutes, we bid adieu to the fort and took another 45-minute long, hill-filled hike back to the bus. The most exciting moment of our return hike was seeing a cute caterpillar. After admiring his stripes and cute orange face, we tiptoed away making sure not to squish him under our walking shoes.
When we finally passed through the gate indicating that we had reached the end of the trail, we all felt energized from our long hike, and were definitely ready to relax on our three hour ride back home. The Dry Forest provided me with another perspective of diversity, and I can see how all of these different ecosystems combine together to make a complete picture of the interesting, and versatile island that is Puerto Rico.