Jason had a work conference in
Puerto Rico in June, and I was not going to let him leave me behind! He left on Sunday, and I met him there on Tuesday. Being a US Fish & Wildlife conference, you can imagine all of the perks we got to take advantage of in order to see the incredibly lush island of
Puerto Rico.
The first night I was there, the Service had sponsored a walking tour of Old San Juan (which is where we stayed during the week). The twist on the walking tour was that it was an ecological walking tour... we learned about the birds, bats, trees, etc. that we would find in the city, along with how the ecology of the island affected daily life in the city. Above, I am standing in the doorway of the world's most narrow house.
The tour took us to the original wall of the old city where we found this incredibly beautiful square... it was amazing at night with all of the perfectly placed lighting. My pictures didn't capture the huge trees and tropical flowers that were there.
The next day we headed out on a Service "field trip". Jason typically has field days at work, so it makes sense that he'd have one on the trip! The plan was to visit three sites that had been impacted by the
Partners for Fish and Wildlife program (which is Jason's particular program within the Service). Plans changed, though, as our tour bus broke down 30 minutes outside San Juan. We were stuck on the side of the highway in the mountains of
Puerto Rico in the rain as we waited for our new tour bus to arrive.
We made it to our first site outside of Ponce,
Puerto Rico, which was a restored lagoon next to the ocean. The mangrove trees were incredible, and ocean was inviting... had we not had to wear jeans, I would have been in the water!
While were at the site, we were invited to a small community of "houses" owned by fishermen. They were typically only used during the day, somewhere to go back to to rest after fishing. They were kind enough to offer us homemade "
empanadillas", or fried dough balls...
mmmmm.
What really threw us off during the field trip was when the second bus broke down on us. We were really out in the middle of nowhere, high in the mountains, on the side of a curvy highway. There was no way another bus was going to get to us quickly, so employees of the next site came to rescue is in their cars, just as the huge rain drops began to fall.
The next site was a coffee and tangerine plantation called
Hacienda Ana. We were served a huge lunch of typical
Puerto Rican food, which was
incredibly delicious. Lunch was followed by a tour of the plantation. It was in the Partners Program because it was switching to
shade-grown coffee from
sun-grown coffee.
This is a coffee tree.
Those are the immature coffee beans.
We loved seeing all of the fresh banana trees
growing everywhere.
Because of the two breakdowns, our trip was shortened from three sites to just these two. By that time, we were hot, wet, and exhausted, so heading back to the hotel was a welcome option. We were a little concerned about our trip back, though, as our original tour bus showed up to take us back! No troubles, though, and we made it back safely.
The next day, Jason was in meetings all day, so I had a day to explore on my own. I had a grand plan of visiting two museums and a fort, but the two museums were closed. So, I took my time at
El Moro, one of two forts in Old San Juan. I love old forts, and this one didn't disappoint... its views were breathtaking, and its dungeon and hidden stairwells definitely captured my imagination! When I came out, the lawn above was covered in children flying kites, probably one hundred of them! No picture, though, as right when I left, it began pouring. Didn't stop the children, though, as they continued flying their kites, laughing even harder and smiling even bigger than before the rain started.
The following day was our last in Old San Juan. Jason had meetings in the morning, so I was able to get into one of the museums I had wanted to see the day before. We then met for lunch and visited a second fort in the old city,
Castillo San Cristobal. It is larger than El Moro, but not nearly as popular.
You can see El Moro in the distance in the picture above.
After seeing the fort, we picked up our rental car and headed to an attraction everyone swore we had to visit... the Bacardi Factory. Not sure I would say it was a 'must see'. When you go, you get two tickets for Bacardi drinks and a ticket for the tram. The tram takes you about 100 yards to another building which was built just for tours. We thought we'd get to learn the history of Bacardi, see the
factory and learn how rum is made. Instead, we toured a fake distillery room and watched many videos about Bacardi, most of which were seductive Bacardi commercials. In each room we visited, the guide told us about the gift shop at the end and about their $90/bottle rum.
Our recommendation? Go, get your two free drinks, and leave.
Our next stop was the
Rainforest Inn, in the heart of the
Caribbean National
Rainforest, also called El
Yunque (pronounced by
Puerto Ricans as "El June-
kay"). It was an awesome B&B (super-yummy breakfasts!), and we definitely felt as though we were in the middle of the
rainforest. Each night we were serenaded by
hundreds of
coquis... the
sound was incredible! I wish we had more time to stay, as just exploring the grounds would have been fun, but we only had a couple of nights to spend.
As soon as we arrived, we got back in the car and drove to the coast,
Fajardo, for a nighttime kayak tour of a
bioluminescent bay. Very cool adventure... it was awesome to kayak through the pitch dark mangrove forests to the
biouminescent lagoon. It looked as there were emeralds glowing in the water.
Our last full day was spent in the
rainforest. We had wanted to hike the "big hike" to the top of El
Yunque Mountain, but a tropical wave had brought us some good rains... it was recommended that we not do that hike in the rain. So instead, we drove through the forest, stopping to hike and explore easier hikes.
The flowers there were amazing, all huge and very colorful. I love Birds of Paradise, and it was exciting to see them in the wild!
There were waterfalls everywhere... we saw them on the side of the road and on every trail we hiked. Each one of them was different and all of them beautiful.
Coco Falls
We could see the ocean from this view.
La Mina Falls
Dozens of these huge snails along the trails. It's hard to tell how big they are until you see Jason holding one!
One of the trails became a waterfall of its own... Jason had to get creative to keep his feet dry!
El Yunque was definitely my favorite part of the entire trip. The variety in the scenery, scents, flora, and fauna was incredible, and everything seemed mysterious in the forest. We could have spent several more days exploring and hiking more... I would go back to El Yunque in a heartbeat. If I had the opportunity to do it again, I would have done one day In Old San Juan, and the rest of the time in the rainforest.
It was sad to leave El Yunque and the Rainforest Inn. Puerto Rico was an interesting spot to visit. It is so unlike anthing in the US, yet it is part of the US. We had a great time together, really our first real vacation alone together since we were married. It was much needed, and much appreciated (thank you US Government!). We are so thankful to Ganny, Gandaddy, Nana & Papa T for taking good care of the boys... we couldn't have done it without you. I know that the boys were lovingly cared for and had a blast with you.
First day of kindergarten! The boy is growing up...
He was not thrilled about pictures this morning... I think he was actually a little nervous but not wanting to let on.
He is in kindergarten the same place he has spent the past three years of preschool, so really, this was all old hat to him. He is in a great class, with two great teachers, and with lots of great friends.
I know he is going to grow and learn so much in kindergarten... I am so proud of him and know it will be a fantastic year.
