The Sea Glass of Puerto Rico
I was twelve years old when I first visited Puerto Rico. I stayed on my cousins farm in Cabo Rojo, where I found old bottles buried in the earth and lying in stream beds. I found a perfume bottle with "Porto Rico" embossed on it. "Puerto Rico" was spelled "Porto Rico" until 1932. I returned to the states with a bunch of old bottles in my suitcase and had no idea of the significance of this in my life.
I believe that most sea glass found in Puerto Rico does not come from garbage dumped at sea or from trash on the beach. I say this because the best collecting spots are near river mouths on the beach, and I have also found bottles and glass shards in stream beds. It comes from old house sites and small neighborhood dumps on the coast and in the interior. Heavy rains wash the glass into streams and rivers that empty into the sea.
In Rincón, Puerto Rico glass is introduced to the sea by rivers and streams as well as from the old town coastal dump that opens up and spills its guts to the sea every decade or so.
In Puerto Rico sea glass is a product of erosion. Rivers and streams not only serve as a conduit from land to sea but as a conduit to Puerto Rico's past and future. These waterways carry vitreous bits of Puerto Rico's legacy to sea along with the promise of the future as precious topsoil is swept away resulting in run off that destroys coral reef systems. Puerto Rico is practically deforested, when it rains there is heavy runoff because there is nothing holding the soil down.
The sea glass gets a head start, it undergoes some tumbling as it washes over river rocks and is somewhat abraded from being washed by the rains through soil. The process starts at the moment the glass is discarded.
It dates back to the 1800's to the present, some dates back further. Sea glass is found on beaches throughout Puerto Rico. A recent Martha Stewart Living article named a tidal pool in Rincón, Puerto Rico as a top sea glass collecting spot. This tidal pool is just before an area called Rivermouth on the north side of Rincón. During large swells the tidal pool dissapears but returns when the surf dies down. I collected much of the sea glass I use in my jewelry over a fifteen year period at this spot.
Note: If you visit this area please be advised that there is a stretch of beach between the tidal pool and Rivermouth that is extrememly dangerous for swimming. When the waves are up you can see the undertow in action. This is probably where the glass that is carried down the stream at Rivermouth gets transformed into sea glass. Much of my Rivermouth sea glass is very satiny and I wonder if these conditions are the cause.