the one where i go to puerto rico
Saturday, August 31, 2013Monday
I boarded my plane and flew to paradise. My travels were pretty uneventful. I read Clayton Christensen's book How Will You Measure Your Life? Such a good read! Seriously, read it! It's a fast read but jam packed with thought provoking ideas. I also sat next to a super nice couple from Phoenix.
Tuesday
This was my first full day in PR. I was still pretty exhausted from my twelve-hour travel day and it was super rainy. Kristen and I headed up to San Juan and went shopping--a girl's favorite pass time. While at Macy's I found this amazing floral suit, much like the one below. I was sorely tempted, but I would have nowhere to wear it.
Wednesday
Kristen and I went kayaking! There is this river that opens up onto a lagoon right by Kristen's house. It was beautiful! There were so many animals and fish. While we were going under the bridge there was this huge spider in its web. I was terrified and kept praying that it wouldn't fall on my face. We both made it though, safe and sound. In the evening Kristen, Alex, and I played cards, watched an episode of Castle, and called it a day.
Thursday
Before I went to PR I had read online that this beautiful island is home to some amazing caves! Kristen and Alex had been to some so Kristen and I decided to venture out. My GPS, however, took us to a completely different set of caves then the ones we thought we were going to. We drove through the torrential rain and finally arrived at the national park. The caves were amazing! The forest around them looked like something out of Jurassic Park. I fully expected to a velociraptor to jump out from the bushes. Once we were in the cave it was like stepping back in time. The cave was beautiful! There was waterfall in the middle of it. At one point in the tour, we came around this corner and there was a literal 10 degree increase in temperature. Our audio guide then told us it was because there are so many bats that their body heat affects the temperature! Kind of gross, but kind of cool.
Friday
On Friday, we decided to go to Old San Juan. There are tons of free museums in this part of town so we decided to go scout them out. It was pretty rainy this day too but we figured it would work out anyway. We took a tour of the capital and also the cathedral. We didn't find any museums, but it was fun to just walk around and look at all the beautiful buildings. This was one of my favorite days! Old San Juan was just amazing!
Saturday
This was the one day that all three of us were able to go exploring together. Alex and Kristen wanted to show me the rainforest so we drove across the island and started hiking through the forest. We also cut down a vine and did some swinging. It took some convincing on their part to get me to go, but it was actually super fun! We then went to the trail head and hiked up to the waterfall. The waterfall was beautiful! The water was kind of cold, but after we got in it wasn't that bad at all :) From the rainforest we went to the beach. It was finally sunny enough to go! We snorkeled for a little bit and then played in the sand. I love water so much! The beach is one of the best places in the world :)
Sunday
The last day I was there was pretty low key. We went to church, which was all in Spanish. I was able to understand about 25% of it. I knew what each of the talks and lessons were about. Another family in the ward invited us to dinner. We had delicious home-made enchiladas and cookies. It was the perfect way to end my trip! It was one of the best vacations ever!
