Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
You can go on a superb short hike along the
JagueyesForestInterpretiveTrail
, which
twists around mangroves, wetlands and salt flats for about 30 minutes, with bilingual signs
posted along the way. The path is mostly on an elevated boardwalk and can be reached
from the visitors center by driving west on Rte 3, then turning left at Km 154.6. This is also
right near our favorite lunch spot on the coast, La Casa de Los Pastelillos (
Click here
).
The mangrove channels also make an excellent kayaking route, and rangers are working
on developing a route with docks and posted signs. However, without nearby kayak rentals,
this is only appealing to a handful of locals.
Aguirre
GHOST TOWN
Crumbling monuments to the sugar industry are evident everywhere in the southeast, but
there's no more heartbreaking reminder of departed 'King Sugar' than sleepy Aguirre,
which borders the Bahía de Jobos and is so far off the beaten path that it doesn't appear
on many tourist maps. The moldering sugar town was booming in the early 20th century,
complete with a mill, company stores, hospital, theater, hotel, bowling alley, social club,
golf course, marina, executive homes and narrow-gauge railroad. This was the planned
private community of the Central Aguirre sugar company, and at its height (around 1960)
it processed 12,500 tons of sugarcane per day. Declining prices for sugar, foreign compet-
ition and escalating production costs drove the company under in 1990 and Aguirre be-
came a virtual ghost town. The rusting train tracks remain, as does a weedy
golf course
( 787-853-4052; Rte 705 Km 1.6; tee fee $20-25 weekdays, $30-35 weekends;
7am-6pm Tue-Sun)
.
Getting There & Away
The only way to visit the Reserva Nacional de Investigación Estuarina de Bahía de Jobos
and Aguirre is by car. Take Hwy 705 south from Hwy 3. Watch for the barely visible sign
pointing to 'Historic Aguirre.'
Playa Salinas
Salinas proper, the town at the center of the south coast's agricultural economy, lies about
a mile north of the coast and a mile south of the highway. Even though it's the birthplace
of baseball legends Roberto and Sandy Alomar and a pair of Miss Universe queens, the
town itself isn't so easy on the eyes; like many other small cities in the region, it has never
replaced the sugar-based economy.
