El Yunque

We left San Juan, rented a car, and headed to the rainforest for the day.  El Yunque is the only tropical rain forest in the US National Forest System.

Word of caution:  If you frequently experience motion sickness, take something before you head to El Yunque.  The way it works is that you drive along a very long road with lots of twists, turns, hills, and potholes, and pull off at various parking areas to see the different areas and take the various hikes.  

My lovely partner-in-crime almost got carsick, thankfully Dramamine kicked in and we were able to continue our trek!  At the beginning when you drive in, there's a visitors center.  It's nice to stop in, but most importantly, talk to whomever is there at the front desk.  They'll explain how it works and give you a very helpful map.  We helped a few people along the way who were about to make a mistake that would cost them many miles and hours to straighten out.  Will explain later below...

The first stop was the Yohaku Tower.  After climbing almost 100 steps to the top of the tower (not too many, but all in a spiral, hello dizziness!), you have amazing views of the rainforest.  

After that, we headed to a few more different spots.  There's another tower way at the top of the rainforest, but it's a very long uphill hike there, and we were convinced we would die if we attempted it, so we gave it a pass for this trip.  Maybe one day, but that day is not in 2016....

One of my missions was to get photos of the coqui, the small singing frogs of Puerto Rico!  We didn't get any actual sightings of a real coqui, but their images abound the island!  I also got a really cute book for my school as well as a plush coqui that sings!  It really is awesome when all you hear is the call of the coqui.

We did decide to make the hike to La Mina falls.  Now, there are 2 different trails that lead there (as we were warned by the man at the visitor center).  One is steeper but more scenic, the other is an easier walk but less fancified.  Due to my knee not being happy, we opted for the one that would get me there without having my knee cap pop out of my body and quit on me.  WARNING!!!  Do not take one trail there and decide to take the other one back!  We were warned about this, because the parking areas are very far apart (not to mention far apart elevation-wise as well).  While we were at the falls, we overheard a couple talking about how they were going to just keep going up the other trail to go back.  Melissa, being awesome, stopped them and convinced them that that would be a bad idea.  

The hike felt really long, not too strenuous, but it was hot and hilly.  I was determined to make it there and go in the water.  We succeeded!!!  I really wanted to go under the actual falls for an emotional cleanse of sorts, but once I got in the water, I realized how slippery the rocks were.  I decided that I made it far enough, and didn't feel like having to be airlifted out of there because I fell on my knee.  So, here's a picture of me in the water with the falls behind me!

I consider it to be a success!!!  That rounded out our day at El Yunque.  From there, we headed to Rincon...

How much can we fit into one day?

The answer: A LOT!!!  Sunday was our day to explore the forts and Old San Juan.  The weather was very hot and humid, but we were glad that the rain stayed away as this was the day we did the most walking.

Castillo San Felipe del Morro

Lucky for us, it was the last day of National Parks Week, so we didn't have to pay an entry fee to visit any of the forts.  We began the day nice and early at the Castillo San Felipe del Morro.  We must have beat all of the cruise tours and such, because we happily didn't have to deal with many other people.

 

Photo by M. Coates

Photo by M. Coates 

We were famished by the time we were done climbing up and down all of the levels at El Morro.  We were going to go to a well-known touristy restaurant for breakfast, but there was an hour wait.  I'm happy we left!  We stumbled upon The Carthage Express and had a delicious (and inexpensive!) breakfast of mallorcas (which were on my list of things to try!) and some fresh fruit.

Mallorcas are sweet, soft buns.  We had ours as a sandwich with ham, egg and cheese, dusted with powdered sugar.
Nom nom nom...

With full, happy bellies, we took off to explore Old San Juan.  The buildings are all really neat colors, with gorgeous iron work around the windows and doors.

 We walked through the vast majority of Old San Juan.  On our way down Paseo de la Princesa, we walked through a street science fair.  It was pretty cool to see different projects and experiments set up on the street for everyone to see.  Once you reach the water, you come to the monumental Raices Fountain.

The walk continues through a beautiful tree-lined area.  Fun fact!  Pelicans land in trees!  I've never seen a pelican in a tree in my entire life!  I'm still amazed about how they didn't fall over!

Webbed feet...in a tree?!?!?!?!

Then, we came upon my favorite historical aspect of Old San Juan.  Not many people know this, but Puerto Rico had a HUGE problem with pterodactyls.  There would be constant pterodactyl attacks, they would grab people right off of the street!  In order to combat these creatures, massive spikes were erected throughout the city.

These are for when the pterodactyls come to roost

I shit you not, there were HUGE spikes all over the city.  What else could they be for besides pterodactyls?  They're too big for pigeons.  Speaking of pigeons, there was this one cool park that actually had built in homes for the pigeons in the walls.

Think of all that pigeon poop!

While wandering around, we walked past a restaurant that was on my must-do list!  La Barrachina- the birthplace of the pina colada!

I was surprised for 2 reasons: 1- there weren't as many people as I thought there would be here, and 2- the pina coladas were delicious!  Nice and strong, but not too strong, and not watered down.  Hooray pina coladas!!!  Our bartender was also awesome and funny, definitely a great time to cool off a little bit before heading back out into the sun.

Our last main stop for the day was at the Castillo de San Cristobal.  By this point, I was so hot and tired, but determined!  This fort was smaller, but just as beautiful as El Morro.  

After we were done, we couldn't walk any more.  It was time for a taxi back to our apartment to cool off and relax until dinner later that evening.  One of Melissa's former colleagues has connections to a restaurant called Pamela's Caribbean Cuisine right on Ocean Park.  Everything was amazing, from the service to the drinks to the food to the location.  What a great way to end a very, very busy day!  Drinks in our hands, food in our bellies, feet in the sand...