PR 400 Road Trip in Puerto Rico, All 1.8 Kilometers of It

One of the cool things about living or visiting Puerto Rico is you can take almost any slight detour down a little side road, such as PR 400, a 1.1 mile windy stretch (1.8 kilometers) between PR 414 in Rincon and PR 115 near Aguada, and you’ll find amazing beauty, grazing animals, and sometimes interesting people.

I waited until the rain passed Saturday afternoon and decided to explore PR 400.

A car ascends PR 400 heading toward Aguada.

Like many roads in Puerto Rico, the passageways are so narrow that cars traveling in opposing directions must stop, pull off onto a shoulder, or otherwise maneuver to let the other car get by. There also can be sections of roads with steep ledges or drop-offs that make me glad to take some of these drives before sunset.

A narrow and windy stretch of PR 400.

There are ample views of valleys, mountains, scattered farms and houses, and the ocean to view along PR 400 whether you are driving, biking or walking.

Scattered homes, valleys and mountains along the way on PR 400. You can catch glimpses of the Atlantic Ocean in the background.

It takes only four minutes by car to drive this stretch of PR 400, but take your time to take it all in.

A Google Maps view of PR 400 in Rincon from the intersection of PR 414 toward PR 115 near the Rincon-Aguada border.

Although you can hear roosters crowing at 5 p.m. along the roadway, it wasn’t all a bucolic wonder. I wondered why all the cars were gathered down the road. Was it a thriving commercial section of PR 400?

Parked cars along PR 400.

Alas, Our Lady of Guadalupe Chapel was in session.

The mass at Capilla Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe on PR 400 was coming to an end.

I swear, I saw a car or two heading from the church after the mass, and turning into Campo Alegre Bar down the road. So I did likewise, and ordered hot and fried sweet plantains with a burger and a couple of Medalla beers. My waiter, a young kid, was super friendly. He told me he learned English by watching TV, and said his father is trying to learn now, too.

Grab some amarillos (sweet plantains), a burger and beer at the Campo Alegre Bar on PR 400, and hang out with people in the neighborhood.

When I told him it is probably harder for someone his father’s age to learn a new language than it would be for him, the waiter countered that “you can do anything you want to.” Sage advice.

You can sit outside the bar/restaurant, as a few neighborhood people were doing, and enjoy the view of the valley and mountains in the background. Or maybe go inside and play some pool.

Campo Alegre Bar has a pool table inside, and it was put to use as soon as a brief shower hit on Saturday afternoon.

A visit to The Hacienda Black Angus is on my to-do list, but I haven’t done it yet. But I did get a chance to sit on its bench along PR 400 to snap a few photos.

I’m not sure if this is a bus stop or merely a place to sit and rest but thank you Hacienda Black Angus.

You can see some really nice homes along tiny PR 400 but there is also evidence of hard times.

A house that’s seen better days along PR 400.

Just 1.8 kilometers from the beginning of PR 400 in Rincon, where it intersects with PR 414, you see a sign for the intersection of PR 400 and PR 115 near the Rincon-Aguada border. PR 115 is a main road through Rincon.

A sign on PR 400 for the intersection with PR 115, a main thoroughfare through town and beyond.

Throw away your itinerary and just wander along Puerto Rico’s out-of-the way roadways. Little roads like PR 400 aren’t in guidebooks, and you don’t need a big budget to partake. Just open your eyes, ears and heart, and enjoy.

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