The Sweetest Land

Charco Azul and Cuevas Arenales in Vega Baja

Located in the north coast and Karst region of Puerto Rico. Known as "La Ciudad del Melao Melao", melao means cane syrup. This city can't be any sweeter than it is. The beautiful landscapes and sights around this place are incredible. The half-egg shaped limestone mountains decorate Vega Baja.

Charco Azul and Cuevas Arenales is a must-go place. Although it seems like not many people know about it, when I visited this place, it was crowded on a Thursday, which seemed surprising to see so many locals. Many of the people I talked with there were either residents of this town or surroundings, and many people visiting for the first time, like myself.

As I walked with my buddy to the main spot, I saw some young people walking down the river and I asked what they were doing. They told me they were going to the caves. We decided to go with them, as we thought those were the caves we were looking for. I didn't know we signed up for an extreme adventure.

Walking down, when we reach the mouth of the cave, with a small stream of water coming in, we face a gorgeous limestone cave. As we go in, we had to walk over the rocks, holding the wall next to us. I thought we were going along with the stream, which seemed not very safe but no, we went inside a hole in the wall, total darkness.

At least we had flashlights and never encountered any scary animals. We crawled inside an extremely exciting pathway, to a second room. We had to walk and swim inside this path, and getting out from that path was super scary. The special thing about this cave is that is not slippery, as these limestone rocks were very dry and porous. I had to climb down the wall about 10 feet, scared of falling. At least these people made it first and waited for me down there.

We reached the end to find a beautiful tiny waterfall at the exit of this cave. It was pristine. Then, we continued walking along the river to explore a second cave! In this case, I felt safe but no less excited. We were swimming for about 5-6 minutes in total darkness again. Wonderful experience. By the end of this cave, we found a gorgeous swimming hole with spots to do cliff jumps.

I must say, there are other paths to reach this last place, through a trail that locals have made after many visits. I'm quite sure not many people have done this extreme adventure in this part of the river because the main gross of visitors go to the famous "Charco Azul" and pass this other area without notice. The main place is quite easy to reach through the road, but if you want to do something extreme like visiting these caves, I tell you is like one of those items in your bucket list.

Charco Azul is a natural spring with limestone formations surrounding it. This magical place is perfect for all kind of visitors. Always making sure to take the right precautions. Perfect for sightseeing, cliff jumping, swimming or just relaxing while you see an spectacle of cliff jumpers (beginners and some pros) with a big dose of adrenaline.

Check out the past posts and learn more about this beautiful island! For more info, feel free to contact us.

Check out this video on Youtube: Charco Azul
Is only about the famous part, Charco Azul, hopefully I can get a GoPro next time and show you the first caves.