Day 8 - The Southwest corner

Got started early (08:30) after making a picnic lunch to take along. We caravaned south to the Morrillos Peninsula at the southwest tip of the island. Parked and some of us walked the mile or so to the lighthouse of Cabo Rojo. You used to be able to drive much closer to the point but not too long ago a 24-year-old American was filming himself on one of the cliffs on TikTok and fell to his death. The area has been closed to cars since then. (Not sure how that is connected but that’s the story.) The lighthouse sits on a high limestone hill and gives breathtaking views of the Caribbean Sea to the south and west. The surrounding area is a salt flat and nature preserve. There are guided walks from the HQ of the reserve through the flats (we didn’t take any). To the east of the lighthouse is a beautiful, secluded beach (“Dirty Beach”) hailed as the best beach on the island. I didn’t get down to it but it looked just about perfect with a wide, crescent, white beach inside a sheltered bay. I walked back along the coast path through the eroded limestone formations.

We drove up to the town of Cabo Rojo to Combate Beach. This is a flat white-sand beach with shade trees along it. It was busy (even on a Thursday) and we set up a bit of a camp and had our lunch there. Some of us went swimming and walking along the beach. We drove up along the coast through Cabo Rojo and into Boqueron then continued to Mayaguez. The route hugged the shore, passing through small communities without much demarcation between them – just a continuous string of houses. There is no beach along this stretch – just water coming right up to the houses or businesses at the shore. The effects of H. Maria don’t seem to be as bad in this area but maybe I just didn’t see them.

Back at the condo, we took a break then headed into town. The girls went to the local, weekly market to see what they could find while the guys (and Lori, who wasn’t interested in crafts) went to the Rincon lighthouse hoping to watch the surfers. As predicted, the surf was way up. The wind was blowing against the 20-foot waves whipping spume over them as they crashed and foamed. Whereas Tuesday we saw dozens of surfers trying the small (5 to 10-foot) waves, today we saw only a handful trying to ride the big ones. The surfers weren’t up near the lighthouse, except for a few brave souls; they were further south nearer Step Beach. Took some pics and a couple videos of the pounding surf and the riders. The girls reported that the market was small but they picked up a few souvenirs.

We coordinated via phone with the other car and agreed to meet for dinner at Cowboys Restaurant – billed as the best BBQ in Rincon. This place is up in the hills to the east of downtown. This turned out to be a great eatery, somewhat less expensive than the places along the shore that we’d been to the past three days. We all had great meals. Back at the condo, we discussed what to do tomorrow. There seems to be only marginal interest in another car trip to Ponce. We’ll see.Read more