I have to admit when we arrived in Puerto Rico I didn’t know much about the island, so it was quite a pleasant surprise when I learned that there was a rainforest on the east end of the island. It’s the only rainforest [EDIT: that belongs to the U.S. Forest Service] and for about $50 I could get a ride up to and a tour of some of the highlights of the El Yunque National Forest.
The tour group consisted of 4 couples and me, which meant I got to ride shotgun in the tour van! The tour started with a drive through San Juan where the tour guide pointed out some features of the city and places we may want to visit. It was then off to the rainforest! It was absolutely stunning.
Even going there now, during the dry season, it was wet, green and blooming with all kinds of flowers. Our tour took us first to the visitor center, then up past a waterfall.
From there it was to the top of a tower overlooking not only the rainforest but on the far end the coastline looking out on the the Atlantic Ocean.
We then went through a few beautiful trails and even to a former (closed due to saftey concerns) public pool fed by spring water.
The forest was full of birds, frogs and reptiles of all sorts making all kinds of noise, but I only managed to see a couple of little lizards and a couple birds, the frogs, while loud, are small and difficult to spot.
Lunch was yellow rice and beans at a little privately-owned shop within the park.
It was certainly one of the highlights of the trip, my only regret is that MJ was stuck in a conference all day and couldn’t be there to enjoy it with me!