The El Yunque Rain Forest, Puerto Rico

Our time in the Rain Forest was VERY short. We were really sad about that. We just didn't have enough time for everything that we wanted to do. However, we both were glad we fit it in and got to explore a little bit even though it was so short.

Again, we hardly had anytime, but even the drive through there was gorgeous. We just chose one hike to do (the main waterfall there) and pretty much ran there, took a few pictures and ran back. It was actually a great workout (lots of hills) with the best view. So glad we made it there... even though we ran.

Cueva Ventana in Arecibo, Puerto Rico

Cueva Ventana, also known in English as The Window Cave, is a large cave situated a top a limestone cliff in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, overlooking the Rio Grande de Arecibo valley. The cave and surrounding land are owned privately. Which is probably why it is so overpriced unless you are a local Puerto Rican. We were both still glad that we went. It's one of the most incredible views! And so unique that the amazing view is from a cave.

You walk through a bit of jungle, go through one cave, then into another cave and after walking through the dark cave with flashlights trying not to scare all of the bats, you see a light at the end of the cave and the closer you get to the light, your jaw drops when you see the view. The guy giving us the tour let me break the rules and get next to the edge since we got their early (part of the first tour group) and we had such a small group. You normally can't walk down to the edge. I'm glad that he did though because it was beautiful on the edge. Such a cool place!

La Cueva del Indio

We rented a car and went out to explore the island. The Indian Cave was suggested to us, apparently another spot part of Pirates was filmed. Who knew. I DO know, that it is a beautiful spot. Because we went later in the afternoon/evening... we were lucky enough to have the place to ourselves. We LOVED that. We met this guy Wade at our hostel and he came with us.

We first started off by checking out the tide pools. Found a few things.

Then we climbed up the rocks to the main attraction. We got to the top and thought... WOW!!! This is amazing! And it was and we didn't even realize that we were still not even seeing the main attraction. We loved sitting on the cliff and exploring the cave. This was my first cave next to the ocean. It was pretty rad.

After hanging out there for most of the time we climbed over to the other side of the rock and found the famous site. It was gorgeous. Then the sun was setting and it was magical and we were so glad we were there to see the sunset and that we were the only ones in site... it makes things a little bit more magical when you are a lone with nature.

The Forts of Viejo San Juan

Something cool about Old San Juan is they have a fort! Apparently it's a National Park... I had no idea, it wasn't on my list, maybe I only have the nature national park list. Another fun fact... a scene of Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed here. Not sure when of the 4 or 5 of the movies... but I watched the scene on YouTube and it was cool... and cool that I have been there!

I'll let Wikipidea explain more about the forts...

Lying on the northwestern-most point of the islet of Old San Juan, Castillo San Felipe del Morro is named in honor of King Philip II of Spain. The fortification, also referred to as el Morro or 'the promontory,' was designed to guard the entrance to the San Juan Bay, and defend the Spanish colonial port city of San Juan from seaborne enemies.

In 1983, the citadel was declared a World Heritage Site by the United Nations in conjunction with the San Juan National Historic Site. Over two million visitors a year explore the castillo, making it one of Puerto Rico's leading tourist attractions. Facing the structure, on the opposite side of the bay, a smaller fortification known as El Cañuelocomplemented the castillo's defense of the entrance to the bay.

Old San Juan, Puerto Rico

Our first day in Puerto Rico, Lexi and I decided to explore Old San Juan and plan the rest of our week. We fell in love with Old San Juan. What a CHARMING city! So many fun colors, a couple cool forts and right on the ocean! I will talk about the Forts in a separate post, for now, I will give you a quick look into the city.

Old San Juan is kind of known for it's cute doors. I can see why. We loved looking at all of them. They even make posters of them.

As we were taking pictures in front of the Puerto Rican Flag door... a film crew followed us to the same spot. Who were they filming? They were making a documentary of some famous flamenco artist from Spain. I didn't know who he was, but I guess I am not big into the Flamenco scene. Pretty cool none the less. I wish I could remember his name... but I did get his picture.

It was a great start to our trip!