Background
On Tuesday, December 28th, 2021, I visited El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico on a tour from Old San Juan. I was picked up near my hotel La Terraza De San Juan at about 7AM. First, we drove to a rest stop which had some food and drinks. At this point I and many others bought a water protective case for our phones. It would have been better to have bought this ahead of time, although it could be purchased for about $10.
We arrived at the forest, which is a rainforest, and put on a helmet and life jacket. The helmet was used because we were climbing on rocks. The life jacket was need because we needed to swim in the water. There was a rock slide and a few high jumps on the tour. It is important to land correctly in the water because it could cause severe injury if not careful.
During my time in at El Yunque, it did rain a few times briefly. We had to walk in mud to get to the rocks and river area. I was told there weren't any venomous snakes or spiders in the forest, at least not at the elevation we were visiting. There are large leaves on the trees here. The water is rather cold.
When we left the forest, we made a last stop for about an hour at Playa de Luquillo, which is a beach that has drinks and restaurants. Here I ate some fish and walked along the beach.
Overall, it was worthwhile to visit El Yunque forest to better understand Puerto Rico. The forest is about an hour or so from the city and the tour took most of the day. The landscape near the forest and the towns surrounding it help to better appreciate the island.
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