Puerto Rico, Day Five

On the fifth day we hiked through the El Yunque rain forest in Rio Grande. It was a bit of a challenge for me, but looking back, I'm so glad I did it.

We started off the day with Tripletas (so called by the 3 types of meat in them: pork, beef and chicken). I'm usually not a huge fan of lots of meat- but, when in Rome, err... Puerto Rico...

On the way to the El Yunque we stopped at Bill's Aunt Miguelina's house for a bit. I was happy to meet more of his sweet family, drink coffee and enjoy the view from her home close to the forest. And she sent us on our way with some alcapurrias to have for dinner. Every member of Bill's family I got to spend time with spoke English as best they could, as to include me in the conversation- which was so kind of them, I felt so welcome and at home. When we go next time I hope to have some Spanish under my belt so I can return the favor and converse in Spanish! 

We got to the rain forest and the weather was great- it cooled down as we drove higher and were shaded by beautiful trees. I thought hiking to the waterfall we had planned to see would be a piece of cake. Buuut, I'm more out of shape than I thought and wasn't a very pleasant person to hike uphill with. (Poor Bill... I still feel bad for being a grump.) When we finally got to the waterfall, I wasn't feeling it... so we took a quick dip (the water was super cold, good for the walk back to the car) and headed back. We took our time heading back, I took lots of pictures and my mood improved in a major way. I'm really glad I got to see everything and it was major motivation to be in tip top shape the next time we go so I can enjoy more of the beautiful forest.

On the way home we stopped by a really cute souvenir shop where I got some coffees and teas (and saw a purse that I really loved, but felt it was an impulse buy and didn't get- still regretting it, waa waaaa). At home we cleaned up and Bill's Mom made us a beautiful salad to go with our  alcapurrias from Bill's Aunt.

View from Miguelina's backyard... gorgeous

Waterfall #1

Beginning of our hike to waterfall #2

The only wildlife I was able to capture on camera... I was hoping to see a Puerto Rican Parrot, but they are endangered and hard to spot.

 Alcapurrias, salad and pineapple juice