Puerto Rico
Day 1 in Puerto Rico
Amanda and I are vacationing in Puerto Rico🇵🇷. We took a noon flight to San Juan, picked up our red KIA. Then made our way to Walmart, for some much needed supplies we couldn’t smuggle onto a plane, like sunscreen and bug spray. We checked into our AirBnB, made two new friends; Alejandro and Mordy (handsome dog). Followed by a walk down town and had Chicken and waffles at a Food Truck park.
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Saturday April 30th – Day 2
7am Breakfast
9 am drive (1h) to El Yunque
9am Hike
Angelito Trail. Puente Roto. El Toro Trail. Waterfalls and rivers on Road 186 in Rio Grande. Rio Sabana Recreation area on the south side of El Yunque. El Hippie. Las Pailas. Charco Frio
12pm Lunch (continue hike) Turkey Ava code garlic sandwiches
Drive to Ceiba 32 minutes
?? Over night parking $12 for 24 hours Website https://bityl.co/Bziu location https://goo.gl/maps/jWVWDts9CGUW7bt29
5:30PM 7:30 Ferry CEIBA to VIEQUES
Vieques AirBnB – Trade Winds Room 9 Esperanza https://bityl.co/BuPI
Meet up with Collette at voodoo Mar Azul had a pain killers, had a drunk drive to Esperanza.
Black beards sports
- Pickup Time 9:30PM
- 10pm tour
8pm Mosquito bay bioluminescence tour https://bityl.co/BuT1 $60
The bioluminescence was amazing!
Day 2 in Puerto Rico
We awoke to a torrential down pour 🌧. We started by driving an hour to El Yunque National Forrest🌴. Our first hike was Angelito Trail where we played in the river. Then we stopped at Puento Roto viewpoint and continued on to the visitor center, where I found the most delicious banana (pictured). Then we drove along 186, passing Cascada Rio Espiritu Santo and Boulder Falls on the way to El Torro trail. We didn’t quite make it all the way up as it kept getting muddier and muddier so the way back was a slip and slide. Lastly we visited Charco El Hippie Waterfall and drove around Las Tinajas river. We caught the Ceiba ferry to Vieques and were greeted by our amazing friend, Collette, her lovely dog Leenda, and delicious Pain Killers! To conclude the night we took a night tour of the bioluminescence bay – incredible starry ✨water (picture borrowed from online).
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Sunday May 1st – Day 3
9 am Breakfast
Vieques National Wildlife Refuge. To the beach. Fish and wildlife $25 per person
https://www.alltrails.com/explore/trail/puerto-rico/east-region/cerro-playuela-trails–2?ref=result-card&u=i
Publico.
Lunch
Taxi pickup by 4pm
5:30PM Ferry VIEQUES to CEIBA Confirmation Number: 7063622
Drive to Maunabo 48 minutes
Maunabo AirBnB
Dinner
CALL RUBEN ORTIZ at 787-436-0006 Esperanza to
Day 3 in Puerto Rico (Vieques)
Started the day with brunch at trade windows – I don’t know how they do it but they really know how to doctor a skirt steak. Then picked up Leenda and headed to the beaches: Sun Bay Beach, Media Luna Beach, Navio Beach, Puerto Mosquito, Puerto Ferro lighthouse, Playa Caracas (red beach), Black Sand Beach. For lunch I thoroughly enjoyed Mofungo but was utterly disappointed with the carne frita.Thanks again Collette for the grand tour of the island 🏝
Then we took the ferry back to main island, and drove to Maunabo to meetup with Jose and family.
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Monday May 2nd – Day 4
Day with Jose
Maunabo AirBnB
Day 4 in Puerto Rico (Maunabo)
Early Monday morning Jose went out and got some fresh bread 🥖from the local bakery for a delicious ham, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwiches. Afterwards we enjoyed his family’s garden and ate/drank coconuts 🥥from the tree. Then we made our way to the park coast for some fun at the Faro de Maunabo lighthouse and beach and then Playa Mario. Once we were full of sand, saltwater, and sun 🌞 it was time for lunch. Went back to Jose’s to refresh, enjoy more of the garden, and play dominos. For dinner we had amazing homemade Pastilla (purée vegetables stuff with pork steamed in a banana leaf).
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Tuesday May 3rd – Day 5
7am Breakfast
8am Drive (2h) to Guanica
10am hike
Lunch
Dinner
Guanica AirBnB
AirBnB: Casa Amber | Puerto Rico La casita
Day 5
Jose once again made us a delightful breakfast – hotdogs, fresh guava juice, and eggs. Then we departed and drove to Ponce where we stopped by the museum of art, which was only partially open due to the earthquake a couple years ago. We swung by Parque de Bombas (former fire station) on our way to the Guánica’s dry forest. We hiked a short loop trail to a gorgeous viewpoint. Lastly we went to our AirBnB high in the mountains and were awed by how relaxing and tranquil it was – we didn’t even bother to leave for dinner and instead had some canned gumbo. While eating dinner, we befriended a cool lizard (pictured). We also explored the area behind the house to see the little stream.
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Wednesday May 4th – Day 6
7am Breakfast
8am Drive (2h) to Cavernas del Rio Camuy
Hike
Lunch
Dinner
AirBnB: VSS Amazing House: https://goo.gl/maps/xdRBQzK47d6TGs97A 18°28’14.0″N 66°43’04.9″W
Super windy mountain roads to 128 then 432 to 431 to 128 to 111 to 129 on the way to Camuy
Day 6 in Puerto Rico
Toured Parque Nacional de las Cavernas del Río Camuy, walked through Clara Cave. Saw a tree growing upside down, various rock formations, some bats, and cave spiders (tailless whips scorpions). Enjoyed street vendor Pinchos🍖 (meat on a stick), for lunch. Then checked into our Arecibo airbnb for a siesta. Afterward, walked along the beach and rocks near the Arecibo Lighthouse and played with hermit crabs. We crossed to the other side to walk out on a pier where a group cast a live fish via a drone🎣 trying to catch swordfish. Passed a movie theater and decided to stop and watched The Bad Guys – it was a really fun movie🍿!
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Thursday May 5th – Day 7
6am Breakfast
6:30 Drive (30min) to Rancho Julia Rosa Eco Tour
—arrive 7:30am-$65pp. https://fbook.cc/3sTu
Lunch
Dinner
Airbnb: Mi Casita PR-611 Sector La Sanche K4 H 1, Utuado 00641
Day 7 in Puerto Rico
Aside from visiting friends, today was certainly the highlight of our trip so far! Woke up at 5:30 to travel again into the mountains for a 6h adventure with Rancho Julia Rosa Eco Tours – highly recommend! The guides pointed out all the dangerous plants 🪴 and led us through Cueva Toño, floating through a tunnel cave with many bats 🦇, over a suspension bridge and jumping off into Tanama river. When we got back to the site, a delicious home cooked chicken and potato stew with rice and veggies. We topped off the adventure with a refreshing coconut limber (fresh juice iced) and then got lost trying to find our airbnb in Utuando. After an exhausting day we cleaned up, and relaxed, I did go to the market for steaks 🥩and eggs🥚! And Amanda made a new friend.
Caguana Ceremonial Indigenous Heritage Center
Coconut limbers icee
Latitude: 18.290666 / N 18° 17′ 26.397”
Longitude: -66.687488 / W 66° 41′ 14.955”
Econo supermarket
18.290666, -66.687488
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Friday May 6th – Day 8
7am Breakfast
8am Drive (30min) to Rio Abajo Forest
Lunch
Dinner
AirBnB: Large Garden Apartment with Mountain Views
Day 8 in Puerto Rico
We were greeted early by Peggy, the smallest and friendliest doggo🐕. Over breakfast we decided to take all the locals’ advice and visit the west coast instead of going on another forest/cave hike. We started by driving 2 hours to the renowned lighthouse in Cabo Rojo, during which we got pulled over for going 15 over but were thankfully pardoned 🚔 and also had to swerve to miss running iguanas 🦎. The cliffs and sea 🌊 around the lighthouse were absolutely stunning! We then passed by the salt 🧂 flats (the outlook and pier were unfortunately closed) and stopped for lunch at Tacos and Flowers 🌮🌸 , where we ordered chicken and shrimp 🍤 tacos with chips and guacamole. Then we continued up the coast to El Último Brinco (waterfall) in Ricón, El Avion (abandoned plane) in Aguadilla, and Great North Park and Beach in Hatillo. After our adventure, we headed to our Airbnb in Ciales, whose host is a rock climber 🧗♀️ . We ended the night with dinner at Don Carlos.
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Saturday May 7th – Day 9
Breakfast
8am Drive (1.5h) to Tres Picachos
Drive to San Juan (2hr)
Lunch
Bacardi Mixology
Dinner
San Juan AirBnB Miraflores Room 2
Return car
Day 9 in Puerto Rico
Took an easy day exploring Barceloneta – the outlets and Paseo de las Alas (wing murals)🦋. We stopped for lunch at Poco Loco in Vega Baja where we tried 6 different tacos 🌮 plus fried cheesecake! Once back in San Juan, we wandered the city visiting shops and eventually made our way to our airbnb🪴. Once checked in, we returned the Red Kia Rio and for our 9 day trip around the island we drove 600 miles! Then we took an Uber to the Food Truck park where this adventure started, and had dumplings and more tacos🌮 for dinner 😂. A great conclusion to an amazing time in Puerto Rico 🇵🇷.
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Sunday May 8th – Day 10
Shuttle to airport
Flight home
