Puerto Rico 2011

We arrived into the capital city of San Juan in the evening and overnighted there. The next morning we caught a small plane for a short flight over to the island of Vieques which is off the east coast of Puerto Rico and is one of the Spanish Virgin Islands. Nice tropical views en route that looked a bit like Waikiki.

Vieques Island has a laid back vibe and we stayed on the south coast in the small community of Esperanza for 3 nights. The island is about 15 miles long. We chose to rent bikes to see the sights. Here, Sharon navigates a herd of wild horses which was a frequent sight around the island.

There are some great beaches to explore within a couple miles of Esperanza so we indulged ourselves in the warm turquoise waters.

The first night we went on a kayak tour of a biolumenescent bay located nearby. This was a remarkable experience. In this bay, a species of tiny dinoflagellates numbers in the hundreds of thousands in each gallon of water. The result is a psychedelic lightshow when the water is agitated by any movement such as fish darting, the wake of the kayak, and each paddle stroke.

You could scoop a handful of water and watch it sparkle in your palm. Was this for real? Our point and shoot camera couldn't capture the lowlight scenes, but here is a shot I found that illustrates the magic.

The next day we went on a bike "expedition" 7 miles out to Chiva Beach. This is in a National Wildlife Refuge which encompasses the whole east side of the island and a profusion of remote beaches.

A small island off Chiva beach has a superb reef to explore. There was a great variety of soft corals and quite a few colorful fish.

This is the "Malecon" in Esperanza; the main walkway along the ocean. Our hotel was located at the end of the strip with several restaurants found along the waterfront.

It was time to move on, so we jumped on another plane back to the main island. We landed in the small but bustling airport in Ceiba to avoid the traffic in San Juan.

It was a short drive up to the mountains and El Yunque rain forest which is the only tropical rainforest in the U.S. forest system.

It seemed all of Puerto Rico turned out for a soak in this beautiful waterfall!

There is a watch tower you can climb to get a view above the thick canapy to see the lovely mountains and valleys.

After a scenic drive down to the southwest coast, we then spent 3 nights on the ocean outside the small colonial town of Guanica. We were rewarded the first evening with a traditional dance put on by local girls in flag dresses along with a dancing boy on stilts in the town square.

The town square was decked out for Christmas. It reminded us of hometown Sycamore's 'Pumpkin Fest' but was a collection of Latino holiday traditional scenes of pig roasting, guitar playing and hammock lounging.

The next day we hiked in a World Biosphere Reserve just outside of town that encompasses what they call a "dry forest". How dry? How a-bout cactus dry!

In a matter of miles from the rain shadow of the central mountains, this small stretch of coast provided an interesting contrast to the lushness of the rest of the island.

The surf was high that day, so it was impressive to see the big waves crashing into the shore.

The following day, we rented a kayak from our inn and journeyed to a couple of keys on the other side of the bay.

Just off this little beach on Gilligan's Island, there was a reef loaded with life, including lots of baby barracuda.

The surf was very rough that day so we retreated to the calm bay side of the key which still provided an interesting show of marine life.

We drove down the coast to check out a little town called La Parguera. Puerto Ricans seemed to love this place for their holidays and it was bustling on New Years Day.

The next day we ventured north traveling on country roads up and over the mountains on a steep and twisty route though the jungle and haciendas. This was the scenic route in every meaning of the word! A good map was mandatory!

We made it to Camuy Cave Park. The tram takes you down into a deep sink hole in the forest.

The mouth of the cave looks like gaping jaws. Ready to devour the jungle or our tour group!

Lights illuminate the formations and path. It is an immense space and you felt like an ant under the 150 feet high roof of the main cavern.

The main Puerto Rican mascot is the Coqui frog and here was a giant specimen to bid us farewell from the cave.

The national drink is the pina colada! Legend says it originated in Puerto Rico.

Near the cave is another cool site, the Arecibo National Radio Telescope, which is the largest radio telescope in the world.

It is built into a huge sinkhole which saved money on excavation back in the '60s. I think I could see James Bond fighting the bad guys up there on the dome. The dish is 1000ft(1/5 mile) across. And the tower on the left is about 300ft high.

Then it was on to Old San Juan to round out the trip. We spent the first evening walking and seeing the sights. Lots of people were out enjoying themselves like this group of Puerto Ricans singing their traditional songs. Click here to listen to the music.

The next morning was a beautiful day to see the city. Old San Juan was first settled in the early 1500s. Over the centuries, thick walls were constructed and 2 major fortresses were built to protect the city from assaults by foreign navies and pirates. The Spaniards were able to hold the island until the U.S. attacked in 1898.

El Morro castle is built at the entrance to the harbor. It held hundreds of canons to spray fire on navies foolish enough to attempt attack by sea.

It must have been an imposing sight to the European countries that yearned to wrestle control of the harbor from the Spanish. Puerto Rico is the first place to get fresh water and food after crossing the Atlantic in the trade winds.

A very picturesque location to wage war. The Dutch and British failed to take the city by sea although they made things interesting by orchestrating land campaigns.

Just east of the castle is a stunning cemetery- one of the oldest in all of Puerto Rico.

The city has great charm with the buildings painted in pastels and flowers flowing from balconies and penthouse gardens.

After dinner we caught a traditional dance show at the other castle in town called San Christobal. The Spanish influence was evident as we enjoyed several different dances and storytelling.

The accompanying music was excellent. In the Spanish tradition with guitar and vocals.

Here's a big old banyan tree that dominates a portion of the walkway along the city wall near the original entrance gate.

Here's a big old banyan tree that is likely over 500 that dominates a portion of the walkway along the city wall near the original entrance gate.

On our last morning we checked out San Christobal Castle. It was built for land defense on the east side of Old San Juan and has a maze of tunnels to explore.

This fort had more displays than El Morro; they helped you get a sense of the soldier's life for the times.

Here we are checking out one of the last remaining original turrets where the soldiers would stand watch.

And as if on queue, we came across this iguana dragon sunning himself as we were getting ready to depart. Nobody messes with his castle!