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Puerto Rico: Beyond the Beach
BY JOSEPH JACKSON
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Exiting the caves through the back of the mountain, we reached the home of Jorge and Denise Perez, isolated deep in Barrio Caguana. Theirs was a truly self-sufficient household, complete with solar energy, spring water, compost toilets, and a small organic farm. We had been hiking through forests, rivers, and caves for hours, which made the delicious home-grown vegetarian lunch served by the Perez family all the more enjoyable. I admired Jorge and Denise, both raised in urban environments, for their courage to settle in this incredibly remote forest, and was extremely impressed at how they had managed to create such a comfortable home.
During the next 30 minutes, the entire group managed to rappel 60 feet down the vertical face of a cliff overlooking the river, which we then ziplined 220 feet across, flying about 50 feet above the river itself. A short hike back to our van and our Tanamá River experience was complete.
We may have been extreme adventurers during the day, but by night we were nothing less than pampered. When we reached Jayuya, we snaked up the narrow streets to our hotel, Hacienda Casa Taina. Jayuya is a small mountain town, back-dropped by the “Tres Picachos” at 3,952 feet above sea level, and the Cerra Puntas, the tallest peak in Puerto Rico at 4,398 feet. Upon our arrival, the summits were covered in a thin tablecloth of cloud.
Within the vicinity of Jayuya are various historical sites of interest. We stopped at the Cemi Museum, which focuses on archaeological artifacts of the Taíno Indians. It is named after the Cemí, a small triangular amulet sacred to the Taínos. Central Puerto Rico seemed to be the island’s fountain of history, since all of its earliest remembrances flowed from here, particularly concerning the Tainos. Aside from Jayuya, there are several very historically significant towns scattered throughout these mountains. Thousands of petroglyphs can be found in caves and on rocks in this mountainous region. Just a few hundred yards away from the museum is located Casa Canales, a historic house typical of the 19th century mountain coffee plantations. This was also the spot where an attempted Revolution, known as the Jayuya Uprising, took place; on October 30th, 1950, Blanca Canales Torresola led the nationalist revolt against the United States, declaring the Republic of Puerto Rico.
Though most Puerto Ricans fall into either the New Progressive (pro-statehood) or Popular Democratic (pro-commonwealth) parties, there remain those pushing for independence. The Puerto Rican Independence Party has strong historical ties to this region. We happened to meet several individuals on our trip who expressed their political feelings with surprising fervor. With all the benefits belonging to Puerto Ricans under the status quo, I and others wondered, why would anyone want independence?
In answer to my questions, I was informed that although they control their own internal affairs, the United States still controls interstate trade, foreign relations and commerce, air, land and sea, immigration and emigration, jurisdictions and legal procedures, all armed forces, constitutionality of laws, declaration of war, agriculture, mining and minerals, highways, and communications. Puerto Ricans neither have voting representation in Congress nor the presidential elections. However, as U.S. citizens, Puerto Ricans are still subject to military service and most federal laws. For some, this situation may seem beyond the pale, but being Puerto Rican entails much more than sitting out the presidential elections. As my friend Hector testified, the benefits are numerous and widely enjoyed. Being officially a part of the world’s military and economic superpower is not such a bad deal. And as many know, Puerto Rico does have its own Olympic Team and competes in the Miss Universe Pageant as an independent nation. In fact, this year Puerto Rico’s own Zuleyka Rivera took the crown.
Taxes are another case in point. I paid for three items from fast-food restaurant Wendy’s 99-cent menu in San Juan with exactly three dollars. I was taxed just a penny per dollar! Not so bad at all. While residents of Puerto Rico pay U.S. federal payroll taxes, they are free from federal income tax. Puerto Ricans also pay Social Security taxes, which, of course, make them eligible for Social Security benefits upon retirement. And while many Caribbean dwellers have resorted to using makeshift rafts, Puerto Ricans don’t even need a passport to make the trip to the States. Not that the rafters necessarily used them either, of course, but my point is that amidst the cons of commonwealth, there are definitely a good number of pros. And Puerto Ricans themselves see their status favorably; in the last plebiscite held in 1998, a mere 2.5% voted for independence.
Our final day of adventure was spent exploring the Toro Negro Forest, set on the rooftop of Puerto Rico. After a hike through lush flora, sampling various citrus and other fruits along the way, we reached the Quebrada Rosa, a tributary of the Toro Negro. This stream races down the steep slope from the island’s second tallest peak, Cerro Rosa. Since it flows in a protected watershed, the stream is clear and unspoiled. This was where the real adventure would begin.
We spent the next hours “stair-casing,” or walking upstream, climbing waterfalls and wading through natural pools. The water was slightly cooler than in the pools of El Yunque, and the setting as a whole was far wilder and completely untouched. We often took time to stop and jump into the beautiful deep pools. As Rogui received a natural massage from a small waterfall, I envied his job. He and Raymond not only made this trip often with adventure travelers, but they would come here to explore further in their own free time. After scaling a particularly steep section of the river, we cut back into the forest, and without a real trail we bushwalked down to our zip-lining destination. Soon we had all enjoyed yet another flight, this time about 50 feet above the Quebrada Rosa.
A few minutes down an impressive road of intense switchbacks, and we reached Ciales, another historic mountain town. Here at Puerto Rico’s continental divide, we had yet another delicious local meal in a small café beside a gas station. Raymond and Roqui certainly knew how to treat us to the real deal when in came to authentic meals. Once again well fed, and still pumping with excitement after our incredible Toro Negro hike, our eyes were glued to the windows as we wound through the forested mountains until we returned to Jayuya.
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