El Yunque (anvil due to its shape) is the only tropical rain forest in USA territory; the forest's many shades of green lushness is delightful to one from the northeast mainland. I was surprised to discover that although it is rich in flora, there are few mammals. So I did not fear running into bear or even snakes as I do when I visit the forested areas of Pennsylvania. Although it was a hot and humid day, we felt cool and comfortable under the canopy of trees....until we started climbing up and worked up a sweat. Ignacio said that El Yunque is nominated to be one of the "Seven Wonders of the World." And it truly is a wonder!
Lunch was more rice and beans and an empanada--delicious but I am ready for some fruit. Strange that I cannot seem to find some fresh fruit is this tropical paradise. Swimming at Luquillo Beach was fun. The water I swam in today is so much warmer than the waters of the Delaware beach that I swam in last week. I will take the Puerto Rican beaches any day! As Bonita, Lynn, and I strolled along the beach, we asked a woman to take our picture. She was friendly and gladly accommodated us; however, she was continually checking on her 3 year old son that was swimming with another boy that he had just met. She was from Manhattan and was visiting her ailing father from Arecibo. She was concerned that her son who didn't speak Spanish would not get along with the little Puerto Rican boy he met. So typical of what we are finding here-- Puerto Ricans of multiple heritages and faces.
Shopping and dinner in Old San Juan was an adventure for Stacy, Casey, Jessica, Bill, Angela and I. We found guiros, drums, Taino jewelry, and more to bring back as memories of our Puerto Rico experience. Dinner at Tijuana was our Mexican experience of the day. El Gordo Burrito es fantastico! And it definitely was "gordo"--(fat)
To end the day, I settled in to do computer work....deleting videos, blogging, figuring out how to add the videos. I do feel like a dinosaur with these technical skills...I will try. And then no one could get on the Internet.....progress of the decade.
Shopping and dinner in Old San Juan was an adventure for Stacy, Casey, Jessica, Bill, Angela and I. We found guiros, drums, Taino jewelry, and more to bring back as memories of our Puerto Rico experience. Dinner at Tijuana was our Mexican experience of the day. El Gordo Burrito es fantastico! And it definitely was "gordo"--(fat)
To end the day, I settled in to do computer work....deleting videos, blogging, figuring out how to add the videos. I do feel like a dinosaur with these technical skills...I will try. And then no one could get on the Internet.....progress of the decade.
I am also amazed at the lack of fresh fruit on the island, though we did find some plums from California at a local market.
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