I imagined Puerto Rico as a corner of paradise that has recently experienced hell. Maria and Irma, these two soft names do not reflect the violence of the synonymous hurricanes that ravaged the Caribbean last autumn, leaving behind terror, chaos and destruction. Puerto Rico did not escape and so I wondered whether it was sensible to go there, less than 6 months after these tragic events.
I have always believed in the ability of nature and humans to recover. I told myself that going to the island was a way to participate in a return to normal. And so my mind was made up to go to the “Caribbean Hawai’i”, so called for its vaulting bathymetry which interrupts the deep Atlantic swells. With Raf Filippi and Manu Morel as trip companions, I knew I had little chance of getting bored. And then there was the legend of the Pina Colada’s origin on the island, were we not obliged research this claim with utmost expedience?
