Puerto Rico

I always had the urge to go on an island adventure and this winter got the perfect opportunity to do so. During our get together this Thanksgiving in Madison, 'U' had casually mentioned the idea of hiking the rain forests in Puerto Rico and it had immediately piqued my interest. Puerto Rico being a territory of the U.S. doesnot require a Visa to enter the island and hence is easily accessible. After some research about the travel requirements, we booked the air tickets and hotel. Here's how the itinerary folded out.
Day 1

"Pinones beach"

Quality Inn at Condado Avenue was our hotel of choice since it was cheap and they offered complimentary breakfast. Since we had landed in Puerto Rico the previous night at 1' O clock, the morning did not begin until 9.00 am. After quickly grabbing some breakfast, we headed out to explore the beaches around the area. First stop was at the 'Pinones' beach. The waters were amazingly blue-green in color which gives you the feeling that you are in the Caribbean.


"streets of Old San Juan"

Next stop was at the Condado beach, which was very close to the hotel. The temperature was about 85F and the water was perfect to get in. After spending some time in the waters headed back to the hotel to take a quick shower. Since it was Christmas day, most of the places were shut down, so we decided to head over to Old San Juan. This is the most charming little town that I have been to so far. Puerto Rico was a Spanish colony and all the remnants of the era can still be seen in Old San Juan. The town is a cris-cross of narrow cobbled stone streets and the buildings are all painted with vivid colours.


"Fort El Morro"

Old San Juan also boasts of two 500 year old forts built by the Spanish to protect the port city. Visiting fort "El Morro" gives you an insight into the 500 year old history while also giving you magnificent views of the turquoise waters.


Day2










Hiking the rain forest in Puerto Rico was the goal of the day and we reached the "El Yunque" national forest in the morning after about an hour and a half worth of driving from San Juan. El Yunque is the only rain forest in the US forest system and it lives upto its name as it receives copious amounts of rainfall each year and remains damp through out. It lies in the Loquillo mountains and the hike to the peak is absolutely amazing. The hike takes about 2.5 hours, but you are rewarded with some of the most scenic views you can imagine. Hiking 'El-Yunque' is definite 'must-do' in Puerto Rico.

"Loquilla beach"

A 15 min drive from the El-Yunque forest takes you to Loquilla beach, probably the most well-known beach in Puerto Rico. Diving into the cool blue waters after a tiring hike makes for an amazing experience, or you could just hang by the beach sipping on some authentic puerto rican pina coladas!

Day 3

Puerto Rico is well known for its rums and the trip would not be complete without a tour of the Bacardi Rum factory which is situated about 30 min drive from San Juan. The tour is free and includes free rum drinks of your choice (Got to have the 'Mojito'!). Although you wont actually see the process of rum making or the bottling, its worth taking the tour which gives you a history about the Bacardi family and hey!.. anything for free Mojitos right!

Following the Bacardi rum factory tour we headed out towards the west to visit the Arecibo Observatory. The observatory boasts the world's largest radio telescope and is probably recognized even more so for its appearance in the Jame's Bond movie, 'Golden Eye'. The telescope is situated amidst the mountains and is extremely huge. Although the drive to the observatory is interesting, since you have to drive through the mountains, the hour and a half journey is probably not worth it unless you are a really keen student of science.

The one thing that we did miss-out on doing in Puerto Rico was kayaking the bio-luminescent bays in Fajardo. This is supposed to be a one-of a kind experience as, the kayak tour is in the night and you can see the waters illuminate when you disturb the tiny bacteria which cause the luminescence. Well! I guess that's good enough reason for me to re-visit Puerto Rico!