Heart of the Island; Mind of the Mountain

The heartbeat of northeastern Puerto Rico can be found pulsing in the veins of its natives, as they are the lifeline from which the city evolves.

Their colorful, modest homes are embedded into the lush mountainside. Gone is any semblance of urban life as curbside fruit stands and farmer's markets line the streets. The almost eighty-percent humidity in the air seemed to gain density as a very tangible moisture accompanied the breeze, making breathing more difficult than what my Midwestern body was used to. I was experiencing air directly from El Yunque rainforest in all of its splendor.

Nestled within the Luquillo Mountains, El Yunque remains untainted by modernization. The chaste peaks house the brain of the region where remnants of rich, ancestral DNA flow through its spine. The muscles of the city flex involuntarily, pulsing a subliminal message to all on the island to wander up the mountain for clarity and resolve. The locals emphatically urged me to make the climb. I had my heart set on the beach, but the heart of the city said otherwise. I traded my beach bag full of sunscreen and towels for a backpack full of water and bug repellant.

The air became crisp as I began my ascent. I jumped as lizards slithered by and birds darted from tree to tree, carefree and seemingly unbothered by my presence. I tried my hardest to reciprocate.

I trekked anxiously through serpentine trails past rocky rivers high above the trees. A huge waterfall appeared, and a never-ending cascade of water poured into the pool below where tourists had gathered.

I didn’t want to get in.

But as I looked around, I appreciated the fact that people from all walks of life and varying social cachets had simultaneously shed their inhibitions in exchange for this moment. We were strangers, but the exhilaration of the climb and the tranquility of the water united us.

I inhaled, closed my eyes, and stepped in.

Any initial trepidation I felt immediately evaporated into the mist, and the water hypnotically soothed my soul. I exhaled what felt like years of apprehension as the water buoyed me for the next hour.

Northeastern Puerto Rico is alive and deliberate. The heart pulls in wanderers, then pumps them directly to the brain to be transformed. El Yunque returns you to the heart of the city mirroring the outlook of the locals, ready to see the island as the natives do.

Next time, El Yunque won’t have to beckon for me. I’ve connected to the mind of the island; I will just go.