Central Mountains - Puerto Rico - page 434

to dark-roast espresso. The gourmet blends served here are some of the best brews you'll
taste anywhere. Rustically packaged beans are sold on-site and there's a small museum.
True gourmands can also buy green coffee beans here, to try their hand at roasting.
Casa Museo Canales MUSEUM
( 828-4094; Rte 144 Km 9.3; adult/child $1/0.50; noon-4pm Sat & Sun) Nearer
to the town center, in a small park in the barrio of Coabey, this reconstructed 19th-cen-
tury coffee finca (rural smallholding) with quintessential criollo features once belonged
to Jayuya's first major, Rosario Canales. Rosario spawned two famous offspring. His son,
Nemesio, is recognized as a great Puerto Rican poet, playwright and political activist who
pushed for legal rights for women, while his daughter, Blanca Canales Torresola, became
a notorious figure in the Puerto Rican nationalist movement when she led an independence
revolt against the American-backed authorities in Jayuya in 1950. The house displays tra-
ditional antiques and has a pleasant atmosphere, nestled in the shadow of the surrounding
mountains.
Museo del Cemí MUSEUM
( 828-1241;Rte144Km9.2;adult/child$1/0.50; 9:30-4pmMon-Fri,to3pmSat
& Sun) Across the park, this is housed in what is perhaps the oddest building on the is-
land. Designed by Río Piedras architect, Efrén Badia Cabrera, the weird fish-like structure
is supposed to represent a gigantic cemí or native talisman. The exhibits inside are made
up mostly of Taíno artifacts - including a espátula vomita, a tool Taíno used to make them-
selves puke before they took hallucinogenic drugs - and photos of local petroglyphs.
La Piedra Escrita PETROGLYPH
(Rte144Km7.3) Supposedly one of the island's best-preserved native petroglyphs carved
on a large rock in the middle of the Río Saliente. Forming a natural bathing pool, it has be-
come a popular stopping-off point for curious (and hot) travelers. There's a small car park
and restaurant nearby.
Sleeping & Eating
There are few very basic restaurants in town, though several panaderías (bakeries) serve
sandwiches.