Puerto Rico Pt 3 - El Yunque

Everyone except Mom had planned on going to the El Yunque rainforest. This trip required hiking on trails and Mom could not have done that part. We headed out about 9:30 in the morning. After talking to the concierge, we had some basic info and a map and an idea that it would take us about 25 minutes to drive there. On the map below you can see where the El Yunque is and our resort was near Fajardo.

Our resort El Conquistador is marked with a red star

view from the mountain road up through the forest

The rainforest is part of the U.S. National Parks Service. We had to drive to the "portal" which I guess just means the entrance to the park. There was a major road heading in that direction and there was a sign directing us to the left to find the portal, but like everywhere in Puerto Rico, the signs were smaller than I would have imagined and fewer than I thought was needed. The road leading to the portal looks like a road only a local would ever travel. If you look at the map above, this road is named Highway 191. This road was not anything I would call a highway. It was barely wide enough for two big cars to pass each other. The road started to turn up the mountains. We found the portal, paid our $4 per person fee to enter the park and went to the main visitors center. After a quick trip to the restrooms and a stroll through the gift shop, Kevin was sure where he wanted to go and he was ready to get there.

Quick stop for a photo op

First stop was the La Coca Falls. There was a main road that you drove up through the forest and there would be stops or parking lots on either side of the road, with your basic national park signs telling you where you are.

These falls were right by the roadside. There was little parking area for, like, 8 cars and then you walked a bit down the roadside. When we got there, there were several people looking at the falls from the side of the road. One person finally went around the bridge wall and started to climb on the rocks. Soon lots of people were following. Larry climbed up the side and around a big rock. He could then stand on a ledge about 1/4 way up the falls. Kathy and Ryan followed him. I love to climb on rocks but I am an old out of shape woman now, so of course I went ahead and did it anyway. Climbing up is the easy part for me. Climbing down is always harder. I did not go as far as Larry or Kathy or Ryan did but it did whet my appetite for climbing. Kevin also climbed up when he was done taking pictures of the rest of us. I looked up the falls as far as I could. It was amazing to think how far and what trip that water takes to get to this point. The water and rocks continued under the roadway bridge and down the side of the mountain. The whole place smelled great!

Top of the falls - all lush and green

Kathy and Ryan on the rocks

We got back in the van and headed further up the mountain road. Our next stop was Yokahu Tower. You climb the tower and from the top you could view the forest from 360 degrees. This stop was more crowded and there were guided tour groups gathering in the parking lot. I walked by one of them and heard a guide trying to get a group of possibly German tourists to see a face shape in the side of a mountain by pointing and gesturing. They giggled but I don't think they could see it. I paused to look in the direction of his pointing but I couldn't see anything either.

Kevin and Larry at the base of the tower

At the top of the tower

Bit of info about the tower

View of the rainforest from the top of the tower looking down toward the coast (hidden in fog)

From the Yokahu Tower we continued upward. The next stop was the Big Tree Trailhead. This trail would lead to La Mina Falls. People often wear their bathing suits under clothes to hike this trail because you can take a dip in the falls and the pools around them when you reach them. I had no idea how long the trail was. The entrance to the trail looked positively urban, a fairly wide concrete-paved sidewalk into the forest. Many parks here in Florida have what they call "trails" but they end up being wide sidewalks made to accommodate senior citizens on scooters I guess. I have been disappointed in the parks I have been to so far in Florida because I like a little more rustic hiking. I'm no mountain climber, mind you, but I don't want it to look like a pathway through a city zoo either.

Entrance to the Big Tree

I have to say I was a bit let down when we started out. However, this trail tested my cardiovascular limits. It started out all civilized, but soon we were walking up and down hills. The paved area got narrower and wetter and more slippery. At times, it disappeared in favor of slabs of jagged volcanic rock throw down to make a path. I trailed behind everyone else and told them to go ahead. Kathy and Ryan would stop and wait for me sometimes. There were a rest stop pretty far along the trail. It was a concrete slab jutting off the trail with a corrugated tin roof, concrete columns, and a bench. It also had a large trash can. We all wondered whose job it was to come take the trash away and how that was probably not a fun job. The hike was warm but mostly it was moist. How surprising for a rainforest! I trudged along, hot and sweaty, stopping more and more often to catch my breath. I would see other hikers who were on their way back from the falls. They would sometimes make comments like, "The walk back is worse than the walk there" which I did not find encouraging. Sometimes they would say things like, "Only 10 more minutes till you get there" or "Keep walking! It's worth it". These comments I liked. Finally we came upon the falls. People were climbing all over the rocks and walls around the falls in their bathing suits and some were climbing behind the falls or swimming under them.

La Mina Falls

I was so happy to see the falls and was so hot that I couldn't wait to get in. I climbed down on the rocks. Larry did not want to get in so he sat on big boulders and watched our shoes and backpacks. I stripped off my pants and shoes and socks. Kevin and Ryan were already walking in a pool to the side. There were rocks everywhere and you had to walk gingerly. My tennis shoes were so slippery with rainforest slime and mud, I actually  felt more secure walking on the boulders in bare feet.

Kathy snaps some photos

Larry watches our stuff

By the time I got to the water, everyone else in my group had already been around. I wanted to swim under the falls but the pool underneath was very small and the whole area was very crowded. I put my camera away and headed toward the falls anyway. Climbing over the rocks and finding my footing carefully also required that I "walk" on my feet and hands. This, of course, meant that I was bent over, ass in the air. I was a bit self-conscious but then I thought "really? who cares, kelly?" so I carried on. I got to the pool. Several women of various ages were sitting on a large flat rock right at the edge of the pool. I found myself a space and sat down. The water came up to my lower ribs. It was cold cold cold but it felt great since I was so hot from the hike. I sat there for a while watching people and trying to figure out a good time or way to get all the way in. There was a middle aged man treading water under the falls and another younger guy who was messing around in the water too. Finally I decided to make my way in. I must have looked a bit apprehensive, because the middle aged guy immediately starting giving me directions. "Just ease in and there is a rock shelf you will be able to stand on. That's it. Now if you come any further, it is deep and you will need to tread water." I slid my feet along the rock shelf to the edge and then pushed myself out. The pool under the falls was small, probably 10 feet by 8 feet. I treaded water and used my arms to propel me backwards till my head was directly under the falls. The water hit hard but it felt great. I was worried my contacts might pop out but other than that I liked it. I spent a little time in the pool or on the edge, then I saw Ryan. I tried to get him to come out with me. I told him I would hold him while I stood on the ledge but I couldn't hold him if I couldn't stand. He would have to tread water himself if he wanted to go under the waterfall. I still remember that family trip to Treasure Island when I had attempted to swim and hold Ryan up at the same time. We were trying to follow Kathy out to a sandbar. I kept going under and I had thought both of us would drown. I had shoved Ryan toward Kathy and shouted for him to swim to her as I kept going under. I barely made it back to shallow water that time. I came as close to drowning then as I ever want to. That incident had made me acutely aware of how limited my strength in swimming is. Therefore I wouldn't attempt to hold Ryan up while I treaded water under the falls. He was a little too worried about swimming on his own to join me in the deep pool.  I eventually got out and found that everyone was getting their stuff together for the hike back.

No, Kevin is not taking a picture of that girl in the blue bikini. It just looks like it.

We sat on the boulders for a while to dry off a little. I had also brought a hotel handtowel with me and I sat on it to soak up the water in the crotch of my bathing suit. Girls, you all know that's where the water pools!
The hike back actually seemed to take less time, but it was just as hard for me. Larry was nice enough to lag behind and walk with me and stop with me and then walk with me again. We talked about his fascinating life the whole way back. Perhaps it was that entertainment that kept me going and made it seem shorter.

Once back to the car, we traveled a little further up the road to another gift shop. Larry and I bought souvenir teeshirts and some water bottles. Then we headed back to El Conquistador. I was filthy with sweat and mud and moss, from walking and occasionally falling down or slipping on rocks. I am sure we were a pretty site for the lobby of our resort. Later in the week, we would trudge through the lobby in even worse shape after a night of kayaking, but those details will come later.