I Don’t Really Love Piñones
My (all cash) Uber driver had a good laugh when he picked me up from Piñones Beach. “Who told you to go there?” he asked. “Waitress,” I said. “I can imagine what you must’ve thought,” he said. “Well, a few feet in front of me a little rat was picking his way through chunks of reinforced concrete. When he got up to the sidewalk, he made a break for the restaurants across the street.” My driver was extremely amused by this.
From where the rat emerged.
Don’t go to Piñones Early
I got there at 9:30 and nothing was open. So I hunkered down on some broken slabs of concrete on this tiny beach area that looked as if it had been slapped around a few times. There was some trash and a few crabs were running around.
I heard movement behind me and hoped they were firing up the grill and turning on the coffee maker. But, they weren’t. So, I moved on.
I was greeted by this, and others like it, as I slowly made my way up the hill to the restaurants.
A restaurant opened at around 11:00. There was no coffee. Okay, fine. I had an empanada (not bad), a coke, and an orange, oily thing with a little bit of beef in it.
All is not Lost
The Atlantic Ocean and its coast made up for the beauty that humans failed to provide. In fact, there is a wooden boardwalk that takes you along the coast and through thick forests with rare trees. I watched two large, black sea birds float in the wind for half an hour. They remained in one place floating above me. It must’ve felt good to do that. It felt good just watching them. I floated with them.
I didn’t walk the almost seven miles of boardwalk. Some areas were too secluded so I turned back. There were also not many people there at all. The only people I encountered were a man and his pit bull.
Getting back to Old San Juan
I walked to the restaurant and inquired about getting a taxi. “Taxi no come here.” said the woman. Well, that sucks. What do you mean taxis don’t come here? I thought. I was desperate. What was I going to do? Hitchhike? I noticed a teenager standing there with her phone. A teenager and a phone can do anything. I told her I needed a taxi or an Uber. She said she could get me a cash Uber which was perfect.
2 Comments
Rico · January 10, 2022 at 7:02 pm
Having grown up in San Juan I can attest to the unreliable electrical service. More than once did my poor family have to throw out a full wild boar carcass that we had stored in our freezer due to these failures. My hard-working father, Manuel, would then have to venture back into the jungle for another of these delicious beasts. (They make a fine sausage.) He could not afford to buy more boar on a cobbler’s wage.
Complaints, or requests for compensation from local government for our losses were always met the response, “No refunds for those from East San Juan.”
Great Blog!
Rico
Moe · January 10, 2022 at 11:42 pm
Thank you for that interesting story, Rico. Wild boars have always been one of my favorite topics of conversation. However, I’m not sure what you mean by “those from East San Juan” unless it’s what I think you mean. If that’s the case, we’ll leave it for another blog.