Last weekend I had the unbelievable opportunity of going to the southwestern part of Puerto Rico. Being born and raised in the metropolitan area has limited my interaction with other towns in Puerto Rico. In fact, this road trip was literally my first time in the west side of the island, which is embarrassing coming from the fact that Puerto Rico is barely 100x35 miles squared. However, although it’s a small island, Puerto Rico is distinguished by its magnificent beaches, tropical forests and unbelievable sights.
I started off the day at five in the morning, when a small group of my best friends called me. We had been planning a road trip for a few weeks now; therefore, this was the perfect opportunity for me to visit somewhere completely new and explore it from a tourist point-of-view. My friends got home, picked me up, and we started our road trip towards Cabo Rojo. On our way there, we had the opportunity of admiring the beautiful and breathtaking Puerto Rican countryside; at this point, I was starting to notice the lack of landscapes in the metropolitan area. It took us about two tedious hours to arrive to our destination: Playa Sucia in Cabo Rojo.
Playa Sucia is one of the best beaches in –not only Puerto Rico– but the Caribbean as well. The beach is located at the southwesternmost point of the island, and it’s surrounded by salt flats, hidden caves, limestone cliffs, natural bridges, and exotic fauna. The name of the beach is directly translated to “dirty” in English, which is ironic and somewhat misleading. Playa Sucia has gorgeous teal waters, gentle waves, and warm, white sands. Visitors can enjoy these unmatched Caribbean sights, and escape the busy and distracting modern-day disturbances from the city.
One of the best features of this beach is mainly the fact that there aren’t any oceanfront hotels, bars, restaurants or houses. My friends and I felt in complete bliss, this beach is purely heaven on Earth. Fortunately, we arrived to Playa Sucia very early, around 9am, and the beach was completely quiet and uncrowded, so my friends and I settled in a shady, cozy spot to spend the day. Although we had planned to hike and explore the hidden caves, natural bridges, and rock formations, we stayed in our comfortable spot the whole day, just talking, admiring the view, and overall being lazy. We also dipped into the crystal-clear waters, which was very relaxing.
On top the limestone cliffs, we could enjoy a spectacular view of the Caribbean Sea uniting with the Atlantic Ocean. Unfortunately, my friends and I didn’t get a chance of visiting the famously-known Los Morrillos Lighthouse because it was getting pretty dark by the time we decided to leave. However, the road trip was definitely worth it, my friends and I felt as if we had left Puerto Rico and we were being tourists in a whole new place. I strongly believe you don’t need to travel to other countries to be a tourist, people can simply travel and explore locally, and still enjoy the overall experience as I did.
I have gone to many places in Puerto Rico and I still have missing many others. Although Puerto Rico is not as big as other countries, still have many distinctive places that are really gorgeous.
ReplyDeletePlaya Sucia is definitely one of my favorite beaches from Puerto Rico! Clear blue water, white sands, amazing view and grear company is the best combo! Kudos for doing your first road trip.
ReplyDeleteIm in love with Playa Sucia beach, is really beautiful, its a shame that I can't visit more often. I can see you had a great time.
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