Gone are the swaying palms and virulent vines of the coastal north, and the great pathos and bamboo jungles of the mountainous center; the south of Puerto Rico is all about brown hills, salt mines and cacti.
Being a Caribbean island, Puerto Rico naturally has four coasts; and being a tropical island, one could justifiably imagine a paradisaical homogeneity to the climate on each of these coasts. But this would be a great (but understandable) mistake, and one best corrected by driving over the central mountains from San Juan to the southern coast.
Driving from Casa Clara Vista (in Bayamon, in the north) to Ponce (in the south) is a hair less than two hours; but what a two hours it is, as you climb through six clime-zones and such a change of scenery it will literally shock you in its severity.
The drive itself is an adventure. Autopista 52 is a marvel of engineering that manages to laugh at a grade many engineers would prefer to cry over. The steady climb, banking from left to right to minimize the wear and tear on transmission and engine, guides you ever upward and southward towards the Caribbean through a constantly changing landscape.
One of the highlights of this drive (and a great place to rest your white, clenched knuckles) is the Jibaro Memorial, a testament to the rugged pioneer families who left the coast for the hostile and isolated interior. You can also see the Cerro Las Tetas, two mountains that (as the name might imply-- even when read in Spanish by an English speaker) resemble two breasts (albeit slightly asymmetrical ones-- but I'm no expert on this subject) which paradoxically serve as an interesting backdrop to a statue featuring a nursing mother and a protective father.
Shortly after leaving the monument, you will have a few more twists and turns, and then-- suddenly-- almost without warning-- you will begin your descent. After another rather grand sweep of the highway, you will suddenly find yourself in a clime more like New Mexico than what you thought of as Puerto Rico. Brown hills and a scattering of scrub brush and cacti punctuate your roadsides now as you roll into Salinas.
If you decide to drive to this week's City of the Week, San Germán you can opt for either the northern or the southern route. Although your knuckles may be a tad more sore going the southern route, I would greatly encourage it.
Of course you can always go one way and come home the other. Such is the joy of living on an island with four coasts.
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