Rocking that *International* Paradise

My first year in Puerto Rico is complete.  As I look back on the year, I smile at what I consider my “highlights.”  These moments weren’t always the big events of the year, but they are the times I remember most fondly.  Here’s a synopsis of my “Top Ten” from Year One: 10. Girls’ weekend at the El San Juan Resort and our trip to the nightclub there, Brava                 All five girls went on this trip.  We stayed at the luxurious El San Juan Resort, where we enjoyed getting dressed up to go to dinner, then changing and getting dressed up again to go to Brava for the night.  We were silly and happy and truly enjoyed ourselves.  The next morning, we made no rush to leave; we relaxed by the beautiful pool until mid-afternoon, then came home. 9. The San Blas Half Marathon                 Running in this elite race in the mountains of Coamo was such an absolutely cool experience.  There was so much support and such a feeling of camaraderie running the race.  Because of t

5/30/12  I wasn’t expecting much from our Hiking and Caving trip in Utuado, with Batey Zipline Adventures.  Originally, Rachel had wanted to go cave tubing on the Tanama River.  However, due to the difficulty of finding a cost effective, English speaking tour company that offered such tours, we ended up opting to go with Batey, even though they take a small row boat through the tunnel cave instead of inner tubes.  The tour fit into our budget and included 5 caves on a 3-4 hour hike.  So, no, I wasn’t expecting a lot.  I went on the tour after 3 days spent hiking in El Yunque; I figured the hiking wouldn’t be exciting, and I feared the caves would be small caverns rather than extensive caves.  It’s more than fair to say my expectations were exceeded.  Our guide was great, the tour was personal (just the 5 of us, the guide, and his cousin), the hiking was fun, the caves were cool, the weather was perfect, and the company was great . I don’t have many pictures of the day,

I was pumped to stay at the Casa Cabuy Eco Lodge after reading about it in my guide book, but the place surpassed all my expectations.  The building is set right on the hill overlooking a valley of the rainforest.  One entire wall of our room was windows for us to look out on the lush scenery.  A 10 minute hike downhill from the waterfall brought us to an impressive waterfall.  We got there too late on Sunday to do any exploring, but made plans to conquer more trails on Monday. Monday morning, it rained.  Lots.  No worries, though; we were in the rainforest, after all, and Liz and I just pulled on our ponchos and set off to explore.  We decided to do a long hike in the morning, then go and explore the falls in the afternoon.  Just up the road from the hotel, 3 trails in the south part of El Yunque have their start.  We decided to take the Sabana Grande trail up to El Toro peak, then come back down.  However, on our hike up the road to get to the trail head (the gate

From the Yokahu lookout tower The 2 points we hiked to. I like hiking.  Like a lot.  I always have.  When I was little, I would look forward to the yearly school trip to Hixon Forest, hoping each year that we’d spend more time in the woods than in the visitor’s center.  I’d beg my parents to take me to Perrot Park in Trempealeau.  I would climb up in the pasture behind my grandma’s house with my cousins, “discovering” rock formations and tree forts and exploring the ridge as if there were a possibility of finding new areas.  One of my all-time favorite vacations was the summer I was 18, when we camped in the Canadian Rockies and I hiked up to the glacier at Lake Louise.  The hike included clambering over snow and ice at one point, and hanging onto a rope on the side of the mountain at another.  I was in love. This past weekend, Liz and I spent three days hiking in El Yunque, the national rainforest of Puerto Rico.  This became one of the highlights of my entire year.