Fun things to do in Puerto Rico

This lookout tower is located high up in the mountains is only accesible by hiking up the hour long Mt. Britton trail in the North side of El Yunque. The lookout tower offers spectacular panoramas and is on the way up to the top of El Yunque peak. On a clear day you can see all the way to the coastline.

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Old San Juan is a beautiful city filled with multihued buildings, blue cobblestone streets, and lots of shops, resturants and museums. We spent our last day in Puert Rico strolling around and window shopping before heading out to Luquillo for the sunset. We visted the city walls, the original gate into the city, Plaza de Armas (the city's main square), The Capilla del Cristo, and more.
Weekends have the city are teeming with people. The cruise ships are in port, and the locals come into town for all the street fairs.
The distinctive blue cobblestones were made in Spain and brought over to pave the streets of San Juan.
more to come!

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El Yunque is Puerto Ricos gorgeous rain forest. It is part of the US national parks and forests, if you have a Golden Eagle Parks pass, entrance is free, otherwise it is $3 per person.
We started our Rainforest adventure in the visitors center, it's a lovely modern building with beautiful mountain views, information exhibits, a cafe, a giftshop, bathrooms and the most incredible orchid display on the top level. After having a snack at the cafe,( the smoothies were delicious), we contnued on Rt 191, stopping at La Coca Falls and Yokahu Tower, where we climbed to the top to enjoy panoramic views, before getting to the Big Tree Trail. The Big Tree Trail is the most popular in the park. It is a moderate hike about .86 miles each way. The foliage is so lush. We saw 1000 year old trees, wild impatiens, tree snails, lizards, ect. Unfortunately we did not get to see the bright green, endangered Puerto Rican parrot. (not that we really thought we would, but we were hoping) The trail stops at La Mina falls, where many people stop and take a dip. It's refreshing after a sweaty hike through the forest. You can also access La Mina falls via the La Mina trail which is a tad bit shorter than the Big Tree trail. After completing our hike, we continued along the road to the end just enjoying the scenery.

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I had read about beautiful Luquillo beach in some travel books, so we decided on our last day to go there for a walk at sunset. While it is a pretty beach, the people who visit are terrible litterbugs. There is so much garbage it really takes away from the beauty of the beach. I picked up a bunch of plastic cups, they are very bad for sealife, the turtles eat them because they think they are jellyfish and then they die. But I felt it was rather futile, there were just so many of them. :( I tried to ignore it and enjoy the beach anyway, but it made me a little sad.
Entrance is $3 per car, but no charge if you go late enough to just catch the sunset.

It is hard to describe the beauty and charm of El Yunque.

The soundtrack of El Yunque is a unique one. Its a blend of El Coqui (the singing frog native to PR), Rio Grande and consistent rain.

The sights an smells are unbelievable! Its hard to describe until you see it yourself. Its an experience you don't want to miss.

I stayed at a friend's family Case del Campo for a few days. Wow!!!!

El Yunque is a definite visit. I think it took us about an hr and 1/2 to drive to from San Juan.

Right before the entrance there is an amazing empanada stand. MMMM...you have to try the empanadas and coconut juice. When you're done drinking the juice, theyll cut the coconut for you.

El yunque can get crowded, so I would recommend trying to get there on a weekday. ITs very hot and humid in there, but the great thing is that you can cool off at one of the many falls!

Its a beautiful forest, not as much of a rainforest as I thought it would be, but nevertheless beautiful. Be prepared to do a bit of walking, it is very hilly and can get tiring in the heat.

When you walk the historic district of Old San Juan you will notice these beautiful blue cobblestone streets. The stones were baked in Spain in the 1800's and brought to Puerto Rico as ballast. They are known as aquinos for their beautiful blueish gray color. Many of the stones are very worn, which just adds to their charm.

When Arnold was a child, he read about a massive observatory in the middle of the mountains of Puerto Rico. On our "shorty-moon," we took the opportunity to check it out! Arecibo Observatory is massive! It is only a 1-2 hour drive from San Juan (and all paved roads - which was a blessing!). It was easy to find and fun to visit! It only required a half-day to see nearly everything that was open to tourists. We literally flew into San Juan in the early afternoon, drove to Arecibo, and were at El Yunque by nightfall!