Saturday was our "love the earth" day. We wanted to have a good breakfast before we headed out hiking for the day. Alas, finding a place that served anything that was dairy free was a bit more complicated than we thought. We ended up at {gag} Denny's with a 30 minute wait. When we finally got the menu, even though they said they had things without milk, yeah not so much. It was a total fail! Luckily I had packed us some snacks for the day.
One of us more full than the other, we piled in the car and headed to El Yunque, the rainforest area an hour east of Old San Juan. They are in the process of building a toll road and we took advantage of that as much as we could. As soon as it ended it was like driving on Route 1 in D.C., major road with light, after light. When we made it to the park, we stopped in the visitors center (total bust) so he could eat what ended up being an overcooked, strange chicken kabob. Then, we made our way into the forest. First, we stopped at Coca waterfall and took some awesome pics, then made our way to La Mina falls--gorgeous but definitely "the little over a mile" they said. When we got there, we soaked our feet in the water and took in the sites (made up of partying Boricuans.) From there, we backtracked a bit and took in the views from Yokahu Tower. We REALLY wanted to take in the unrivaled views from atop Mt. Britton, but it started storming and we realized we had enough time to make it to the top or get on a kayak tour of the bioluminescence bay. So, half way up, we turned around and headed back to the car, saving this hike for another day.
We drove to Fajardo, trying to beat the clock. When we arrived, all the kayak tours were sold out; i was devastated. About to head back to the hotel, MK ran into a guy that had a boat tour we could jump on, and we did. I grabbed a nasty kabob and we piled in the boat with an Indian family and another couple and made our way over into the bay... passing all the Kayakers. Um, can i say: best happenstance EVER. I was pooped from hiking all day and the water was choppy, so being in a boat was more than perfect. We had the undivided attention of our guide who told us about the natural habitat and more about the culture of PR. When we made it to the bay, the kayakers had yet to even make it halfway through the causeway... we had the whole thing to ourselves. He gave us sticks that we could stick in the water to make it glow. I was fascinated, and it took every part of me not to just jump in the water--could you imagine swimming in it? It was an amazing experience: beautiful weather, full moon, the "quiet" of nature and this magical water. When it came time for the boat to turn around, it was like I was leaving a loved one, I kept turning around and you bet I kept my stick in the water as long as possible... The only thing that made leaving consolable was the fact that we ended up finding the BEST sushi restaurant I've ever eaten at (yes, i dream of buying a ticket just to eat at it).
[gallery type="slideshow" ids="4700,4698,4701,4703,4704,4706,4707,4708,4709,4710,4712,4714,4717,4718,4719,4721,4723,4722"]
No comments:
Post a Comment