Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Getting There & Away
Públicos gather at the parking structure two blocks southeast of the plaza. Local services to
neighboring towns including Patillas and Salinas cost $3 and longer hauls to San Juan or
Ponce are about $8. Coming by car, you can't miss town - it's at the junction of Hwy 3 and
the Hwy 53 toll road.
Bahía de Jobos
Hwy 3, the slow route, along the south coast, has a worthy highlight in the sprawling
Reserva Nacional de Investigación Estuarina de Bahía de Jobos, which has hiking trails,
and a labyrinth of mangrove canals. The marshy reserve borders a nearly abandoned sugar
town, Aguirre, which makes a compelling detour.
Sights & Activities
Reserva Nacional de Investigación
Estuarina de Bahía de Jobos
NATURE RESERVE
Bursting with wildlife and rarely visited, the National Estuarine Research Reserve at Bahía
de Jobos is an enormous protected mangrove bay, one of the largest and least visited
patches of coastal wilderness in Puerto Rico. The Bahía de Jobos covers almost 3000 acres
of brackish water, including associated coastal wetlands and 15 offshore mangrove cays
known as Los Cayos Caribes. West of the research reserve, the Reserva Forestal Aguirre
adds even more undeveloped coastal land to this wilderness. Though the low-lying man-
grove marsh won't impress like the immediate, overwhelming natural beauty of El Yunque
or Guánica or with miles of hiking trails, it's an excellent place for bird-watching and those
seeking wilderness isolation.
Start at the reserve's
lab & visitors center ( 787-864-0105; Hwy 705 Km 2.3;
7:30am-noon & 1-4pm Mon-Fri, 9am-noon & 1-3pm Sat & Sun)
. This is one of
the largest and best educational nature centers on the island, with displays on conserva-
tion work and the surrounding reefs and wildlife. In addition to the menagerie of brown
pelicans, great blue herons, black-crowned night herons, snowy egrets, ospreys, peregrine
falcons and American oyster catchers, this is probably the best place to see manatees (sea
cows) in Puerto Rico. Well over 100 feed here (best seen early in the morning) and play
free, untroubled by humans. There are also dolphins and hawksbill sea turtles in the area.
