PASSING THROUGH LOIZA

Loiza was around 16 miles from Pinones or about 30 minutes drive. Loiza's inhabitants were predominantly black. They all spoke spanish. Back in the 16th century, African slaves were sent to mine in a nearby gold deposit. When the gold digging ended, most of the Africans became cane-cutters and they resided at Loiza till today. The African heritage was apparent when we drove passed a house that had a little green shed with colorful carnival masks hanging on the front walls of the shed and other African ornaments and statues. Jessica demanded me to stop to check it out.

The masks we saw were made out of coconut shells painted with colorful glossy paint. There were sharp curving horns that stuck out along the tops of the masks giving them a menacing but colorful look. A dark skinned man with a kind face and a deep voice greeted us and welcomed us. He told us that he was a member of a folklore African band called Hermanos Ayala who has a CD titled "Bomba De Loiza." He informed us that there was a parade taking place later that day and that his band will be playing as well right where we were standing. We promised we would stop by after visiting the Rain Forest. Little did we know that we were in for a memorable experience. Read on.....We left for the Rain Forest shortly after.

On the way to El Yunque, we passed through residential areas where streets were lively, filled with the locals that spend much time outside their homes. We ran into free roaming roasters and hens. There were many stray dogs as well. Some would bark and chased after us in the car. When we stopped to take a picture of some strays taking a nap, the dogs awaken, sniffing the air and starred at us for a second before lowering their heads and carried on with their nap knowing that there weren't any danger. There were kids walking and playing in the streets with their friends with smiles on their faces. Some were on their bikes and some were playing soccer in the middle of the street.

There were also many adult natives that just looked at us with a welcoming yet puzzled look in their faces wondering if we were lost. Some were just standing telling and receiving jokes and some were repairing their cars outside their homes.

So far that day we haven't seen a westerner in sight and we wonder if we were that adventurous. I would like to think so. Anyway, we continued to pull off the road into any streets that we thought was cool. Purely instinctual decisions. Those are the best. We would pass through churches, schools, basketball courts that had a big semicircle metal shed over the court and yet it was outdoors. It was empty but I could just imagine a game going on with a crowd under the shed cheering on the game at night. I wish I live here so I could see what a day at school was like for students here in Loiza.

Jessica had the camera ready and took many shots of the neighborhoods and nearby businesses. There was a picture of a cage filled with live crabs that reminded me of Fear Factor and how sometimes contestants are challenged with being in a cage filled with snakes or insects for a long period of time. I can't imagine being trapped in that cage with those crabs. I have a feeling that wouldn't be too safe nor pleasant. Okay... seriously now, the first thing that ran through my head was seafood and crab meat.

The other wild thing we saw was a monster truck version of a bright yellow older model camaro that stood eight feet off the ground sitting on the side of the street outside a mechanic shop.


We were finally sitting at a light getting ready to drive through the gateway to the mountain of El Yunque. Up ahead, we were in for some windy and hilly roads. I hope our little suzuki will make it.......Here we go!

NEXT: RAINFOREST AND ITS WATERFALLS.