A Tropical Escape: Puerto Rico - El Yunque

La Coca Falls, El Yunque Forest

     Nothing thrilled me more than than the thought of hiking through a tropical forest with my husband, disregarding EVERYTHING TLC said about chasing waterfalls. One thing that makes me fret and feel unmotivated in New York is the gray skies, emptiness of the trees, and that cold, dry air. I was so happy to feel warmth on my skin from the sun, see lush trees-- so lush they were covered in a myriad of other plants like epiphytes and vines. And the air, I was so happy to sport a ponytail as the moisture in the air rejuvenated my body, frizzed my hair, and my dry hands of the north were happy to feel moisture once again.
     El Yunque is a National Forest and part of the National Forest system-- it is also the only national forest that is a tropical forest! The park is located in the mountains, where it rains daily as clouds pass through daily and release their rain as they pass through the forest. Upon arriving we were welcomed with the most refreshing, steady rain. The sun shined, and for once, the rain didn't feel like a burden, instead it was easily accepted and enjoyed by myself and the forest too.
     The forest does charge a small fee if you want to visit the visitors center, but otherwise, all the trails and viewing areas are free. I suggest a visit to the welcome center, it was a great way to see the variety of people visiting- we saw a high school/middle school group on picture day, in the forest. They all were dressed in white, with their hair done, clothes pressed, looking pretty fabulous. The center also provides information about the tropical forest, species there, products from forests like these, conservation, and so on.
     The forest was a very beautiful place, photos do not do it justice. Also, there are a lot of pictures, giving you some seriously fair warning-- but I'm not sorry :) enjoy:

Before our trip to the forest, we were woken up in our B&B by the calls of the grey kingbird, the coos of the white winged doves, and the sounds of life from the mountains. The kingbirds flew out and caught insects on the wing, bringing them back to their perch to consume.

I can't not give some kitty love - pets are kept more so for reasons of safety, cleanliness, and utility-- our host did very much seem to have a lot of love for her pets, but animals are treated so differently. Cats keep the open air homes free of insects and vermin. This one cat was particularly sweet and had a very sweet face. Dogs are your security system, they alert you to people on the road and strangers in the vicinity.

The post right outside our guest house had Puerto Rican Woodpeckers on it every morning!

These woodpeckers are endemic to Puerto Rico - you can't find them really anywhere else! It sounds similar to other woodpeckers when it vocalizes, so when I heard the call without seeing the bird- my first instinct was woodpecker!

This grey flycatcher was the welcoming committee at the visitors center in El Yunque. I will say, if you are not someone who enjoys driving, or feels super confident behind the wheel, the mountain roads are not for the faint of heart. They are narrow, edging alongside drop-offs, and people do drive with zero cares to give- people drive fast, don't use signals, and don't always move over- so use caution when traversing your way up to the forest.

It acted like a robin, looked like a gray scale robin, and ran around on the ground like a robin...

I was not alarmed to find out that the red-legged thrush is a thrush, like our American Robin. With a thicker bill, these guys were mostly seen near the ground, foraging in mud along the roadsides.

A view from a parking area.

The wonderful, and sometimes frustrating thing - these tropical forests are SO diverse! The number of plant species in one area can be overwhelming, and then since there really are no mammals on the island- lizards take up a lot of space, everywhere you look an anole-- but there are quite a few anole species. And the birds, their voices bounce off the wet, thick leaves-- making it so hard to find things.

The coast from the top of Yokahu tower- a great vantage point for great views!

The tower is an easy climb- and I have height issues, especially with grated metal stairs-- like those in lighthouses... these were solid and I made it to the top with no problem!

And that is El Yunque, with a height of just over 3,500 feet above sea level.

A face in the mountains

A black-cowled oriole

A large tree snail on the side of a picnic gazebo as we hiked to La Mina Falls.

Normally I would never, but I am staring to feel comfortable around these types of insects the more I learn about them- these are a type of paper wasp, like yellow jackets, Polistes crinitus americanus. I found their little nests on the under sides of leaves, so be careful if you decide to look under leaves for things- there may be a little wasp on the other side! 

Little and flitty-- also very common and always calling, the Bananaquit.

So apprently there are mammals on PR, the introduced mongoose. They were of course brought over in attempt to control rat populations.

I enjoyed their reminders along the trail to take your trash with you.

I watched this little PR Crested anole climb a stem to catch something yummy.

When he reached this point he encountered a stink bug that was just about as big as he.

....And so he retreated and left me with a typical rainforest photo op.

This I have ID'd as the Trunk Crown Anole, Anolis stratulus. And there is one very distinct feature on him that helps in identification....

Do you see in this cruddy, highly cropped/zoomed in photo-- the BLUE around its eye? Yeah- they have blue eyes! This species and a few others have some pretty sweet baby blues. Blue eyes don't normally impress me, but on these lizards, they are pretty amazing!

Amazing stilt roots!

A spiny orb weaver hung tight over the trail on its web.

Getting closer to La Mina falls...

And there it is! You could take a dip in the waters at the bottom of the falls- but the water is quite chilly.

Tim got under the falls, braving the chilly mountain river water to get this shot with his goPro.

Our bed & breakfast hostess, Nilda, was very proud of her Puerto Rican heritage, she taught us about her rock garden and how each rock was special, and how she saw something more than a rock. She took great pride in her rocks and had a closeness with the land she lived on. She also showed us many of her belongings, relating to Taino culture including a painting of a Taino woman in front of the waterfall- she assured us that we would see this woman in the falls when we get there. She asked us to do one thing on our visit to the forest, and that was to bring her back a rock that we could see more than just a rock.
I found this rock... as I dropped my camera into the river (and it is thankfully in the process of being repaired). But I was super stoked to get it back to Nilda, it was the woman in the falls! She was so overcome with happiness and adored this rock.  The lady is not afraid to show her affection, she will shower you in hugs if you asked her to- she was so happy that we brought this back to her. I was really happy to find it and share it with her to keep forever. If you are ever looking for an incredibly hospitable place to stay in the amazing mountain forest, I highly recommend Nilda and her La Paloma Guest House. She took such great care of us, cooked for us, introduced us to her family-- the very least I could do was find her the best rock in all of El Yunque!
Nilda really made it important to let her guests know that they should look at things not only with their eyes but with their heart, and her belief in doing just that really resonates with me.

A Tropical Escape: Puerto Rico

     I have not had a blog post in over a week and with good reason, my husband and I made a decision a month ago (during the January blizzard) to get away over the long weekend, to somewhere warm. Puerto Rico fit the bill perfectly and we traveled in a way we have not yet done so before, using AirBNB's and taking a late night flight in all in the name of saving money.
     I will do somethings I don't normally do, and that is discussing some of the places we traveled to, tips in finding them, and just our experience in Puerto Rico for anyone searching for some anecdotal info on travel here, as I found other similar blogs to be of help in such a way. So you can read on, or honestly skip to the pictures, I won't be offended!

     Why Puerto Rico? We wanted WARM, and this had warmth and a bit of exotic flair to it, as it's a US territory, so it didn't require a passport. A fun challenge is getting around with the knowledge of only high school level Spanish in your brain (and let me tell you, it really is not helpful but more so, embarrassing). I like adventure and a little bit of discomfort in traveling, and language can very much be that discomfort, I find it really rewarding to have a good time and overcome the language barrier.

     Bonus benefits? American money is accepted, many people do very much so speak English, and it's beautiful! Oh, and you can wear shorts, tank tops, and flip flops all day everyday... and I did! The temperatures were daily reaching into the 80's and depending on your location of this not so large island you could experience a variety of climates, hot & humid, arid, and the rainy cooler mountains. If you are not adventurous and seek out some familiar options for food, shops, etc- they have all the same stores like K-mart/Walmart, grocery stores, and fast food & chain restaurants.

     Rough spots? Tax rates are high! And there are other imposed taxes on things like hotels, etc on top of the 11% sales tax. It is one of the upsides of things like AirBNB. The roads can be tough-- narrow and on the sides of mountains, surprise speed bumps and drain lines, and in general can be poorly maintained. Diet... I gave up on being a vegetarian, I delight in discovering local cuisine, but if you are super strict, there is so much pork, fried meats and seafood in like... everything. And almost all the food was fried in someway- so don't try to be healthy. Stray animals-- get used to it, feral creatures are EVERYWHERE!

     This trip was not just about ecotourism, it was to escape the New York winter and spend some quality time together with my husband. But of course, I was always on the lookout for anything that crossed our path.

     Our trip involved renting a car and traveling the island over 5 solid days, our red-eye flight gave us a head start in allowing us a full day to begin our trip with from San Juan, with a pit stop in Piñones, with our destination being the mountains, just east of El Yunque in Ceiba. That's where our first of a series of blog posts will leave us!
Enjoy...

In our search for a place to kayak on recommendation from another blog, we searched around Piñones for a place called COPI, a community center that has bike and kayak rentals. Our first attempt in finding it resulted in us pulling over to check out a beach, Playa Piñones, and giving us our first taste of that Caribbean blue water.
Here, a brown pelican rides the surf like a pro.

Brown pelicans and royal terns dominated the airspace here. Coral fragments littered the beach, hinting at what lies below the waves.

A royal tern flies overhead.

When we finally found COPI, we rented a 2-person kayak and paddled around the lagoon that it resides along. for an hour and $30, it gave us a chance to explore the mangrove lagoon.
We were welcomed into the lagoon by resting royal terns on pilings and buoys.

For anyone searching for this place, another tough challenge in Puerto Rico is that places just don't show up on Google maps, but COPI is the first left when heading East from San Juan after you cross the Boca de Cangrejos, we wasted close to an hour searching for this place. But bonus is we found out that the loop of road across from it on 187 are little restaurants and kiosks to buy food and drink in, which is exactly what we did after. They are right on the water with a little path to stroll along at your leisure or rent a bike and ride.

On our kayak we spotted a silhouette in the trees turns out to be a reptile that is near and dear to my heart...

Green iguanas, like it is on most islands in the Caribbean is introduced in Puerto Rico. Their normal range is Central and South America - but I love seeing them. I had one for 15 years, Spike, and he was the best companion I ever had, so I am only overcome with joy when I see these guys.
Those spindly fingers and sharp claws are perfect climbing tools, iguanas are very at home in the trees where they can escape from large ground predators-- or in Puerto Rico, dogs (I saw an iguana being eaten by a feral dog in trying to find COPI and it was not something I was ready to see).

Iguanas have that dewlap below their jaw that serves a myriad of purposes... it can be a solar panel and help them bask, it also is a great means of communication, it can help the iguana appear larger to predators, when males are attracting a mate or warning rivals to stay away they flaunt their dewlap and bob their heads.

The lagoon we kayaked was surrounded by mangroves, which almost seemed to form small islands or extensions of land with their amazing root systems. The mangroves provide perfect habitat for oysters which were attached to many of the roots we saw through the clear water. Also mangroves are tolerant of salt water and the harsh conditions they grow in.

The amazing tangle of roots that crabs can hide in, and other creatures can attach to and grow on.

The stilt roots of mangroves are helpful as they access the air allowing the plant to take up oxygen that is lacking in the silt that it grows in. We often forget- myself included that plants, while they make oxygen, they need it too for processes other than photosynthesis that are vital to survival. Oxygen is used in respiration, just like it is for you and I and respiration occurs in all cells in a plant.

If you can read past the bird poop, this sign notifies boater that manatees live in the area. We sadly did not see any, but they love lagoons like the one we were in. It is just that motorized boats need to be careful as manatee are susceptible to boat strikes which often result in injury and sometimes death.

A handsome little blue heron as well as many birds that went unseen thrive in this habitat. Those mangroves do provide some amazing cover. 

A royal tern welcomes us back... I think.

On shore I encountered this white-winged dove, which aside from the white wings, looks very similar to mourning doves we know so well in New York.

Oh yeah, the feral animal thing, chickens were one of my faves to see, especially hens, because they do not crow-- and sometimes they had a brood on minions with them... Roosters are something after this trip I could do without for a while, they don't just crow when the sun comes up...

A young male green iguana basking on the dock after we pulled in. We also saw lots of anoles and Ameiva exsul, or the Puerto Rican Ground Lizard or siguana.

There are quite a few anole species present on Puerto Rico so getting them all identified is going to be tricky and fun, especially since males and females can very in appearance, and honestly individuals can too. Also cruddy pictures can make it tough as well.

I learned that this guy here is a Puerto Rican crested anole, and as their name implies, individuals can grow a little crest along their neck, back, and tails

After our kayak experience and lunch across the way, we walked a small portion of the beach, because- why not!
We found a few of these little dark urchins, about the size of a silver dollar. Urchins are in the same family as sea stars, the echinoderms. Echinoderm literally means spiny skin-- a definite trait of the urchin!

I saw something briefly bury itself in the sand... and dumb me was like why don't I dig it up. So I dug it up and out came this crab that pinched me (hard) and upon my immediate reflex of backing off, he assumed this stance that reads to me as "come at me, bro!"

I am amazed by the stray dogs, they don't beg or bother people, they just carry on. I was told by the woman we stayed with that in where she lives they have dogs of their own, they live in your gated yards or on leads. But they feed the stray/feral because they tend to be better guards and help the folks who feed them feel secure. But I cannot imagine that it is an easy life, living in the street in the rain or the heat.
There is definitely a cultural difference in companion animals and how they are incorporated into the lives of humans. 

A zenaida dove walks away with a shadow that seems to mimic the white marking on its secondary feathers of its wing.

Our drive up to our mountain Bed & Breakfast was very beautiful.

Our view from where we stayed, you cannot be upset waking up to this! This green, lush forest sang at night with coqui frogs and others and in the morning with the coos of doves. Anytime you look out from the mountains you can see the coastline due to the small size of the island.

We ended our evening with a walk along the beach in Fajardo. An amazing full day behind us with a rainforest adventure ahead!