San Juan 2012: El Yunque Rainforest

So I got back from San Juan 2 weeks ago and am finally ready to post some photos. First, I'll be posting our trip to the Rainforest.

I've been to Puerto Rico before (about a year and a half ago) and had a great time so I was really excited to go again. One of the other girls on the trip had also been before and suggested that we take a tour to El Yunque Rainforest. We booked our half-day tour through Viator for about $52 per person. Our tour guide called himself "Ricky Ricardo" and he picked us up at our hotel (the Ritz Carlton) in a 12-passenger van, checked our vouchers, and we were on our way. We brought water bottles, sunscreen, and bug spray with us, but the bug spray ended up being unnecessary, as no bugs were around to bother us.

The van-ride was around 45 minutes and Ricky gave us background information on Puerto Rico and El Yunque as he drove. Once we actually reached the mountain, we made stops at 5 different spots to explore and take photos. The first stop was at the Welcome Center so we picked up maps and then headed to the gift shop. It started raining like crazy while we were there so we each picked up a poncho, for $7.50, and they served us really well. After that, we stopped at a few small hiking trails (so wear sneakers), Yukahu Tower (100+ steps to an amazing view), and our last stop was at the Coco Waterfalls, which were really beautiful.

Okay, so enough chit-chat. Here are some photos:







Oh! And here's a video of D and J being adventurous and trying to climb in the Coco Waterfalls area:
If you are planning a trip to San Juan, I highly recommend booking a trip to El Yunque or if you plan on renting a car, head up there yourself. It's quite beautiful and really amazing to see how different the climate is just a short drive from the sunny beaches of San Juan.

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