The doorbell rang at 2:00 am. Renée quickly jumped toward the door. She smiled and said, “we’ll be right there.” That was the start of our trip to Puerto Rico. Our Green Shuttle ride had arrived to escort us to Denver International Airport.
In the dreary cold of winter we hatched a plan to spend some time in a warm place so we could come back to Colorado with our hearts and minds warm and better able to deal with whatever weather was handed to us in Fort Collins. Puerto Rico sounded appropriately exotic yet close enough for easy logistics. So Puerto Rico it would be. We booked a timeshare and made flight accommodations that would give us a 16 day immersion in our tropical paradise. With a stop over in Houston we found ourselves at San Juan International Airport on Sunday about noon. We hopped a shuttle van that took us to the car rental place and by 6:00 pm Island time we were checking in to the resort. A pleasant part of the check in process was to get our first of possible daily margaritas, a signature practice at this Margaritaville Resort. “Come to the front desk between noon and two O’clock and we’ll pour you a margarita, on the house.” Pretty cool. We took advantage of this practice and even stretched their limits by looking tired and very thirsty upon our late return from a day of hiking.
Our studio unit overlooked the pool complex and the Atlantic Ocean shoreline. We spent many hours listening to the pounding surf and watching sun bathers from our little balcony.
We were pleased that the only tropical rain forest in the United States was a short drive away. El Yunque National Forest boasts over 200 inches of rain each year. We spent several days learning our way around and exploring the many trails in the rain forest.
Our first stop was to the Visitor Center, El Portal, where we watched an informative video about the rainforest and its many inhabitants. We planned a couple of hikes and identified geocaches that we could find along the way. The view from the top of El Yunque at 3,496′ was spectacular. Clouds played a constant role in what could be seen. Massive thunderheads menaced but stayed away from the areas I hiked. The nearly constant clouds and rain in the forest produced a lush, green, textured tapestry of shapes and forms. Many of the structures were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1930s including the road to the summit and structures that provided shelter and scenic overlooks.
La Coca Waterfalls
We attended a geocaching event in Caguas where we met many enthusiastic and welcoming cachers. We met outdoors at the community’s art center and talked all things geocaching. On two separate occasions we were subsequently invited to cache with two of the outstanding cachers in the community. Mucho gratias, Ellinas and Omarcheli. On a hot Sunday afternoon we traveled across a large portion of the countryside to Cabo Rojo to see the lighthouse at the far southwestern corner of the island. Our other Sunday trip was to geocache along the coastline in Old San Juan. Along the way we encountered University professionals expressing their concerns about proposed budget cuts.
The trip gave us a much better perspective about Puerto Rico and the wonderous place that it is. Locals love the heat and cherish that they can travel from a dry forest in the south to its tropical rain forest in the matter of an hour or so. People we encountered were open and welcoming and more than happy to help translate for us.
Demonstration at Capitol.
Faro Los Morrillos
Geocaching event
Mount Britton
El Portal Visitor Center
Near the summit in El Yunque.
Micro stream in rain forest.
Skiba Chronicles 
Looks like a great trip to warm your Colorado souls/soles…we head to Cuba next month to do the same. The Hills.