The next day I find Manu and Raf, tired by their journey but still committed to make the most of the promising surf report. We drive out west, and since we are such ‘seasoned travellers’ decide we don’t need the GPS. Well, we took about thirty wrong turns in the winding roads and chaotic traffic leaving San Juan. The good mood and laughter still pervade, but we would prefer to arrive before dark, just to taste the ocean on the first day. The scenes that pass before us are far from the postcard idyll. Brutal construction works, shopping malls, big American cars; I am always amazed by the capacity of human beings to destroy everything in their path and spoil beautiful natural landscapes with huge concrete reinforcements. The destruction caused by the passage of hurricanes Irma and Maria does not help. Torn roofs, decimated electric poles, car wrecks, even some boats and planes are strewn along the roads. The unleashing of raw elemental power is plain to see. When we chat with the locals we realise the trauma they still live with. Most thought that their final hour had come, it must have been terrifying. Fortunately as we near the region of Isabella, nature feels gradually restored. To our surprise some trees, particularly coconut trees, have weathered the storms well. They bent, but did not break. Nature is strong in Puerto Rico. The vegetation is lush and alive with birds of all kinds, amphibians, reptiles, pelicans, and especially, the magnificent iguanas which make an impression on Manu and Raf.
