Please explore our partners and locations where worked on the island:
ISLA Language Institute
Historical Park María de la Cruz in Loíza
Luis Muñoz Marín Foundation
University of Puerto Rico—Río Piedras
The W School
Monte Guilarte State Forest/Department of Natural Resources in Adjuntas
El Yunque
Luquillo
Municipality of Ponce
Fajardo
Centro de Resiliencia en la Communidad—San Salvador, Caguas
ISLA Language Institute
ISLA Language School was an integral part of this trip in every way. During the first week, we all took Spanish classes for three hours in small groups organized by skill level, and all students stayed with local families. Only about 15-20% of Puerto Ricans are fluent in English, so I wanted to ensure that all participants had some kind of Spanish instruction, and the ability to at least respond, no se, no entiendo, come se dice…However, we quickly found that people we would consider fluent in English still harbored insecurities about their own language, just as we harbored insecurities about our Spanish. When I reached out to ISLA, I learned that they could help me with the entire planning of the trip, from transportation and tours to booking hotels and service partners. In all, ISLA arranged 10 out of the 14 days we were on the island. They coordinated our service work in San Juan and San Salvador.
Historical Park María de la Cruz in Loíza
A short drive from San Juan is Loíza, the beachy center of Afro-Caribbean culture in Puerto Rico. The María de la Cruz Cave contained evidence of early inhabitants of the island (pre-Colombian peoples from 3000-1000 BC), and the cavern features thousands of bees and their hives. The park features bomba music and dance lessons, turban wrapping lessons, and a small museum focused on Puerto Rican and specifically Loíza history, such as the vejigante folkloric character (paintings of vejigante masks below) .
The drive to/from Loiza and San Juan goes through Piñones, a beachfront oasis of natural barriers that create calm, warm pools for swimming, splashing, and floating and dozens and dozens of kiosks selling fried deliciousness. Alcapurrias, a delicious fritter made of yucca or taro and plantains filled with meat or crab and deep-fried, are a specialty in this area (also popular are bacalaítos, pasteles, and empandillas), and there’s also lots of dulce de coco, agua de coco, and an array of Puerto Rican, Caribbean, and African-inspired foods.
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Luis Muñoz Marín Foundation
Luis Muñoz Marín was the first elected governor of Puerto Rico, and his foundation preserves his home and Puerto Rican history and culture, including the natural biodiversity of the island. The Foundation’s 12-acre cultural garden preserves and propagates plants native to Puerto Rico and the Caribbean, featuring some plants that are extinct in the wild. The island lost about 60% of trees and canopy due to María, with an estimated 1 in 5 trees eventually dying due to hurricane damage. The evidence of that loss is clear in the cultural gardens, and emphasizes the need for the Foundation’s ecological work. The amazing view of San Juan and the sea seen above did not exist before María. It was a solid wall of green.
While at the Foundation, we worked placing mulch around existing trees and shrubs along side some University of Puerto Rico students, and we were rewarded with delicious ripe mangos fresh off a tree. While we worked outside, another large group of volunteers, clad in white cotton gloves and using soft brushes, worked through papers, photos, and other historical materials, cleaning them and/or preparing them for preservation.
University Of Puerto Rico–Río Piedres
The University of Puerto Rico system has 11 campuses, and Río Piedras in San Juan is the largest. The UPR system is a high research university, granting Ph.D.s 36 different disciplines. Nearly all the Spanish instructors at ISLA graduated from UPR–RP. We visited the university’s Museum of History, Art, and Anthropology. Though it was in between exhibits, we did see and learn about El Velorio by Francisco Oller, and we learned a bit about indigenous populations on the island.
Río Piedras itself has suffered the fate of many inner-city neighborhoods around the world—people move toward suburbs, large malls replace smaller shops, and once popular areas become a bit desolate. We visited the farmer’s market for lunch and sampled (and bought) some delicious fruit including mamey, passion fruit (parcha), sour sop (guananaba), and mangos.
The W School
The W School is a pre-school/elementary school based on Waldorf pedagogy. Waldorf is holistic education that integrates creativity, intellectual rigor, practicality, and the broader community. The school’s focus is sustainability, which is integrated into every aspect, from the class lessons and activities to the school garden. The multi-acre property once housed a soap factory; some of the former buildings eventually will be incorporated into the school once time and funds permit. The school has about a quarter of the students it had before María. Cecile Amor, the director of the school, noted that the school’s buildings were barely impacted by María, which she has taken as a positive sign for the school and its future.
Monte Guilarte State Forest/Department of Natural Resources in Adjuntas
Monte Guilarte State Forest in Adjuntas is one of the highest peaks in Puerto Rico, and the state forest here—like nearly everywhere else—has been slow to recover to its pre-María state. Natural areas are not priorities after natural disasters, and Adjuntas itself is impoverished, with 60% of citizens below the poverty line, so there’s not a lot of resources. We worked with DNR employees, including a biologist and engineer, on camper cabins that are rented out. The tops of some of the cabins can be seen below.
On the drive up from our lodging to the work site, we passed beautiful river pools and mini waterfalls; many rivers begin in these mountains. Adjuntas is known by many nicknames, including la tierra de los lagos or “land of lakes” because of the water holes throughout the mountains. Many Puerto Ricans spend hot afternoons at these rivers and pools, cooling off and relaxing.
Adjuntas is one of the coldest spots on the island, so every February, they hold Festival del Frío with artists, entertainment, exhibits, and more.
El Yunque
El Yunque is the only tropical rainforest within the U.S. National Forest system. The rainforest is still recovering from María; a majority of the trails are still closed, and though the forest is once again lush and green, much of the canopy has been destroyed completely or otherwise thinned and changed, altering the overall look and makeup of the forest.
Luquillo
Luquillo Beach is considered one of the most beautiful and calm beaches in Puerto Rico. The soft sand is in a crescent, with palms and the rainforest along the edge. The turquoise water is incredibly calm, perfect for floating. Families make a day of it, bringing coolers, small grills, umbrellas, and of course music.
Municipality of Ponce
Ponce es Ponce y lo demas es parking.
~Ponce is Ponce and the rest is parking.
Ponce’s official unofficial motto demonstrates Ponceños’ pride in their city.
Ponce, named after Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, is the second largest city in Puerto Rico and sits on the southwestern coast. Plaza las Delicias has been the center of Ponce since the 17thcentury—and this is where we worked in city, painting the cement walls around the garden beds and fountains.
La Guancha Boardwalk on the Caribbean Sea has a range of kiosks (and is still recovering from María). The beach here has a lot of shells, coral, and rocks and shallow, warm water.
As a thank you for our work, the mayor’s office bought us a delicious lunch (and we ate in the Hall of Mayors!) and gave each of us an enamel pin of the Ponce flag/crest. This was unexpected, but we were often surprised by generosity and kindness.
Fajardo
Fajardo is east of San Juan and home to one of the island’s bio-bays, Laguna Grande. We kayaked the mangrove to Laguna Grande.
Centro de Resiliencia en la Comunidad—San Salvador, Caguas
Centro de Resiliencia en la Comunidad is the heart of the Comunidad Organizada de San Salvador, serving about 800 families (over 3,000 people). It is self-sufficient, using solar panels, water cisterns and filtering systems.
It teaches sustainable agriculture; we had a delicious lunch prepared by Leslie Ann Fonseca, president of the community center, which contained chicken, vegetables, beans, and fruits grown at the center or locally. The goal of the Center is to promote self-sufficiency and sustainability for the community not only to ensure safety and survival when the next hurricane hits but also to create a self-sustaining, cooperative community.
STEP Puerto Rico 2019 