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Taíno Coquí LbNA #63909

Owner:Wisconsin Hiker
Plant date:Jan 1, 2013
Location:
City:Rio Grande
County:Puerto Rico
State:Puerto Rico
Boxes:1
Found by: Not yet found!
Last found:N/A
Last edited:May 15, 2016
Last checked/found: 1-JAN-13

Location: LE EUQNUY park

Distance: ~1.6 miles round trip, approximately 650 ft elevation gain

Terrain: Moderately steep, but easy to walk on a textured concrete & rock surface through the rain forest

Coquí frogs are cultural symbols in Puerto Rico, well known for the “ko-kee” call made by the common coquí. 16 distinct species can be found on the island and each of them has a unique type of call somewhat different from the others. The coquí is a tiny tree frog about one inch long. Some coquíes look green, some brown and some yellowish - actually they are translucent. Coquíes have a high pitched sound and can be heard from far away.

The coquíes begin to sing when the sun goes down at dusk. Their melody serenades islanders to sleep. Coquíes sing all night long until dawn when they stop singing and head for the nest. Puerto Ricans love their coquíes and have written poems, stories, and Aguinaldos about them.

During the time of the Taíno Indians, there were trillions of coquíes on the island now known as Puerto Rico. Many Taíno Indian myths surround the coquí. Coquíes are found in much of the Taíno art like pictographs and pottery. One of these ancient coquí frogs has made a nest near a hiking trail, waiting for you to visit.

To get to the trail head, you need to go up Road 191, past the Information Center, until it ends (at Km 12.8). Once you get to the end, turn right onto Road 930 and go approximately ¼ mile west until you come to the end of the road. There is limited parking available on the left (south) side of Road 930, just before the trail head sign. If there’s no available parking on Road 930, you can park on the side of Road 191, just be sure not to block the gate. The walk from Road 191 to the trail head is about 5 minutes.

Your destination is a lookout tower that is named after a botanist and his wife who are credited with identifying many of the plant and tree species found in the rain forest back in the 1920s. Starting at trail sign, the trail ascends rapidly through the Sierra Palm forest, crosses two rushing mountain streams and then intersects with Forest Service Road 10 (closed to public vehicle traffic). When you reach the road, turn right and continue along this road for approximately 500 feet, where it intersects with the remaining portion of the trail, heading right.

You will soon pass by what remains of an old shelter/recreation ramada built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. In the very likely event of mist/rain, this is a nice spot to stamp in. From the stairs leading to the shelter, take 22 more steps along the trail. The tiny coquí is nestled behind the twin tree on the left. Please rehide it carefully so it can survive for many years.

After stamping in, continue along the trail for only a few minutes more and you will reach the observation tower. It resembles a castle turret, complete with a spiral staircase leading to the top where you can get a good view of the coast and the rainforest IF it isn’t cloudy (which it usually is).

We live quite far away, so we’d appreciate an email to let us know how the little frog is doing. Thank you!


Hike length: 1-2 miles