Paulo graciously let us borrow his car so all of us could go to the rainforest, called El Yunque. We drove to the visitor's center, where we got maps, and then drove farther until we found the beginning of a trail that would take us to Lima Falls. It was very hot and sticky, so when we got there it was quite pleasant to rinse our faces in the pools at the foot of the falls, where a lot of people were playing in the water. Water from these pools ran off a steep ledge into a deeper pool below. We watched a man jump off this ledge into the pool. When Dan tried this later, he hit his foot on a rock, but Andrew got a photograph of him jumping. We don't yet know how it turned out.
From the falls we headed off in search of the trail that would take us to the top of the mountain. Dan and Martin headed off first and fastest, followed by Andrew and Julia. Next came Sam, Laura, and me. Danielle, Rebecca, and Martha were behind us, and we waited for them near some attractive stairs, but they didn't show, so we went ahead. The first part of the path was paved, and it lead to a picnic area where many Puerto Rican families were having Sunday barbecues. We walked past a small visitor's center and a parking lot to get to the trail we sought. The climb took about 2 hours, and we stopped for lunch (for me, a peanut butter sandwich, some baby carrots, and an apple). Hiking in the rainforest was much like hiking in New England, only there were palm trees and the trail was more squishy. Mountain streams were also in evidence.
When we reached the top, the view was amazing. We could see mountains and the coast. We sat on a promontory (and had to be careful not to fall), and looked out at the island beneath us. I speculated that being a (pagan) god must feel like that--gazing out over the world below you as you sit high up on your throne. We talked to a guy who had grown up in Puerto Rico and then moved to the States, and was returning to visit and going to El Yunque for the first time.
We climbed back down the mountain and found Andrew, Julia, Martin, and Dan relaxing on some rocks by the falls. By this time (about 4 in the afternoon), all the pools around the falls were crammed with recreating Puerto Ricans. We went back to the car where Danielle, Martha, and Rebecca had decided to nap after swimming in the pools (Martha and Rebecca both had injured toes, so could not hike much). We drove home, stopping at Subway for some much-welcome sandwiches on the way.
