A
tropical island paradise, easily reached by plane, where you don't have to
worry about customs, currency exchange, passports or reading the traffic signs!
It's a US territory. The beaches are beautiful, the golf courses luxuriant,
the scenery is lovely, the people are friendly.
You can visit El Yunque, the only mountain rainforest in the US Parks Service, tour historic old San Juan, climb the ramparts of El Moro, see the huge radio telescope are Arecibo that was in the movie Contact. And that's if you get tired of swimming, diving, boating, golfing, or just sitting on the beach.
The El Yunque album is on this page, just below. Click here to view our additional Puerto Rico albums: Hyatt Cerromar Beach, El Moro, and San Juan. Please note these pages have more limited navigational menus which will take you either back to this page or to the Website Home Page. Enjoy your trip!
To reach the park from San Juan, you steadily climb into the mountains.
Rain is more than a possibility
The clouds got thicker as we climbed.
The temperature is noticeably cooler.
The Visitors Center is open, airy, a sort of tree house that fits into the surroundings.
The marriage of modern and Gothic styles in the center created a lovely, quiet haven with minimal intrusion on the landscape.
A look to the sides shows the encroaching forest
Parking lot
View from the balcony of the Center. You can see over the forest canopy all the way to the sea.
Another view outward
The approach to the center is more landscaped than the surroundings.
Birds of Paradise plants bloomed wild throughout the forest and were common in gardens all over the island.
Huge trees covered with vines form a canopy overhead
Look closely and you'll see a native of the forest.
Sprinkled about like little surprises were the wild orchids
The rainforest is in a constant state of rebirth and decay
Hiking through the forest was quite pleasant since the temperature is much cooler than at the beach. A light rain did get us wet, though.
Certainly not a glamour shot!
