I have been planning a road trip to the sister island of Culebra, Puerto Rico for a while now. A forecast of bad weather changes the riding route. So, the new plan is to take my motorcycle “La Negrita” to do the ice vending machine route. Polarmatic Ice Vending Machines is a business I started around four years ago. It consists of five automatic ice vending machines located around the island. Today, I am going to mix some business with a lot of pleasure, an easy thing to do in Puerto Rico.
My Sunday ride starts a the Polarmatic Unit in Bayamon, PR. It is located at the Shell Gas Station in the Lomas Verdes Avenue, Bayamón, PR. This spot is not a costal town so activity is low on Sundays, as well as the Carolina Unit at the Sanchez Vilella Avenue, my second stop.
I jump on Route 66 to Eastern Puerto Rico. A smooth ride with a nice view of El Yunque National Forest, my next stop.
El Yunque is the only Rainforest registered in the US National Parks. It’s only 3,500 feet on its highest peak, but the forest is real natural beauty. You can spend countless hours walking around its trails, even taking a dip in their natural falls. Riding up the mountain, I can appreciate the dense flora of the place. As I go up, temperature starts to cool down. Water and cascades are abundant. Riding to the top of the mountain its just a 15-20 minutes ride. Hurricane Maria squashed this natural treasure, creating a lot of land slides and damaging a lot of trees in the area. As a result, my ascent only last until the the first waterfall, La Coca. Nature is bouncing back, but it will be at least 2-3 months until the park could be fully operational again.
Coming down road 191 I can appreciate jaw draping views of Luquillo Beach, Fajardo and our sister islands of Icacos and Palomino.
I follow route #3 to the town of Fajardo to make the next stop at the Polarmatic Ice Machine, Villa Marina Shopping Center. This town is located in the Eastern Coast of Puerto Rico and has a variety of smaller islands and cays close to shore. Cayo Icacos, Palomino and Palominito are the most populars among locals. Water taxi services are available for a day visit to any of these cays, departing from Las Croabas Park, Fajardo
I am riding, relaxing on my way to the unit and, all of the sudden, a car right in front of me who runs a red light!!! I slam the brakes and try skip the guy through the back. He sees me and stops in the middle of the road. I quickly reroute the bike and pass in front of him. As I drive by him I yelled “CAAAAAABRÓN!!!!!!” from the top of my longs. Thank God I am doing only 30-35 MPH. This is the Post-Maria Effect. There are a lot of traffic lights that are not working. After a quick check up at the Polarmatic Unit at Villa Marina Shopping Center, I continue the journey to Las Croabas Passive Park. It is a popular spot for families to spent quality time together. Water sports and restaurants are some of the amenities to enjoy It is A lot of locals there to use the public boat ramp available.
I jump on “La Negrita” to continue my route. Two stray dogs follow me out of the park, protecting their space. The noise of the motorcycle seems to catch their attention. One of them comes really close to the bike, but I don’t make a big issue. I just watch him expecting he will loose interest and lets me go. WRONG!!! The son of a bitch bites me, and bites me hard. He grabs my Converse sneaker and shakes it like a maraca!!! Thankfully he lets me live but not before he gets a good kick on the head. The bite goes through my sneaker and my sock, but not through my skin.
I start my ride back to San Juan taking the same route coming in, Route 3. I take a short 10 miles ride to my next stop, “Los Kioskos de Luquillo”, Luquillo Beach PR. The place is packed, like every Sunday. Los Kioskos de Luquillo consist in 40 different small restaurants with a diverse variety of food and cocktails to choose from. It is consider the top culinary destination of Puerto Rico, right next to the Luquillo Public Beach, Top 5 Beaches of Puerto Rico.
I continue my way back to San Juan, via Route 187, from Rio Grande to Piñones, another beach and gathering for Puertorricans. This road is a panoramic scenic rout that connects with the northern shore of the island. In some points of the route, the road goes right through the sand, 40-50 feet away from the water. I have picked up a couple of bikers along the way. We make a stop at El Rancho Alegre, one of the many restaurants of the Piñones tourist sector located in the town of Loiza, PR.
As fellow bikers we start sharing riding experiences, including my recent one with the dog. Coincidentally, one of the bikers had the same experience with the same black bitch that bit me, weeks past. Seems like she is the guardian of Las Croabas, or the hater of bikers!
Unwinding the Eastern side of the Puerto Rico, I am ready for my last stop, La Placita de Santurce in San Juan. Another popular gathering for fine cuisine and cocktails. It’s a farmers market surrounded with nice restaurants and bars. A good place to decompress from a good day of riding and smoke a fine cigar. “Esto es Puerto Rico!”
Another day in paradise.
(hit cursor on Polarmatic Tour on to to see the google maps route)
