Day 2 – Puerto Rico: El Yunque & Miramar
I woke up at 5:30am to get ready for our rainforest hike. Today mom & I planned a rainforest excursion that took us on a hike through El Yunque. I remember learning about El Yunque when I was a young girl in Spanish class, and was excited to actually experience it. This was definitely a bucket list item for both me and my mom and I’m glad we got to experience it together. While mom and I were off to the rainforest, Iris and Gloria planned to lounge and lay by the pool – we’d meet up with them later in the afternoon.
At 5:50am the sun was just starting to rise and I was surprised to see several early morning runners pass us by on the streets of Condado, and a few roosters roaming around too. Mom & I walked to Aroma Cafe at La Concha Resort for breakfast (it was the only place I could find nearby that was open at 6am, since our tour pick up was at 6:30). My mom and I both needed our morning coffee and a protein packed breakfast before our 2-3 hour hike through the rainforest.
Our tour guide Jean (pronounced Jon) was very friendly and told us that today’s tour group was only 6 people. I always prefer small group tours over larger ones, and searched for quite awhile on Viator to find a small group El Yunque tour with transportation. We picked up 2 other couples on our way to the rainforest & it was about an hour drive. We stopped at a local fruit shop, Frutera Flores, to use the bathroom before entering the long windy drive up the mountains to El Yunque. On the way up, the roads were so narrow it basically seemed like a one way street and Jean would have to honk the horn when going around certain corners to let other cars know he was coming through. How crazy?!
At 8am we were the first tour group to arrive to the parking lot. The beginning of the hike was a 20 minute walk down to a large river pool. It was pretty muddy and I was grateful we bought water shoes (I learned my lesson from my last waterfall hike in Hawaii not to wear regular sneakers). Jean was an excellent guide and walked through the trail with such ease, as if he could do it with his eyes closed. He also made sure to assist my mom during the tougher downhill areas that were extra slippery. Once we got to the botttom of the trail we were in a rocky clear river pool with a waterfall behind us. It was magical and completely empty, which made it even more serene – the early start time was totally worth it because we were the only tour group there.
The next part of the hike was all rock climbing and Jean suggested for safety that mom stayed at the river pool to wait for us since the next part was extra challenging. I felt bad leaving mom behind, but she reassured me she was fine to wait (after all the river pool was a beautiful spot to wait in) and if the first part was already a bit difficult for her, we both agreed it wasn’t worth risking her getting hurt on the second part. So the rest of us continued while mom waited at the bottom of the waterfall to video us coming down the slide.
We climbed up several rocks and over a literal rock wall to get to the top of the natural waterfall slide. The most challenging part of this hike was that because I’m so short it was difficult to reach the different hand holds in the rocks, but I was loving every second of the climb up. When we got to the top I was up first for the waterslide! At first the slide looked like it was going to hurt, but because we had life jackets on I didn’t feel a thing! It felt just like going down a water slide at the water park and I went faster than expected. At the bottom of the slide I plunged into the river pool and there was a huge waterfall next to me. It was INCREDIBLE. The water was so refreshing – it really made me stop and appreciate nature and the beauty of the rainforest that I was completely immersed in.
After the waterslide, we hiked back up a different rock formation to cliff jump. I chose to do the higher jump at that point because why not – I climbed all the way up here! The cliff jump came with a great rush of adrenaline. By this point, other tour groups started filling in the river pool and everyone in our group was so happy we chose ToursToDoPR and that Jean had us start early. I don’t think I would’ve enjoyed the excursion as much if we went later when it was crowded. Our last stop was the rope swing — this one mom decided she was going to do since the climb was shorter and not as difficult.
After we both finished the rope swing everyone relaxed on the rocks and enjoyed a plate of fresh fruit provided by Jean. It was a mix of banana, papaya, watermelon, and orange. I couldn’t get over how FRESH it was – even just the colors of the fruit were more vibrant than the ones you see in the grocery store and it tasted muy delicioso. My favorite was the banana & mom enjoyed the watermelon.
Eventually it was time to go, so we started our trek back through the muddy trail to the car. On the drive back we stopped again at Frutera Flores, but instead of a quick bathroom break we stayed for lunch. I ordered a strawberry banana smoothie & empanada for lunch which was surprisingly filling since the empanadas were HUGE.
While we were eating lunch, Jean graciously air dropped all of the photos and videos that he took of us throughout the day. The quality of his camera was unreal, there really was no need for me to carry my phone on the hike. Jean also sent us a list of local restaurant & bar recommendations and I felt very validated in my pre-trip research because almost all of the restaurants we are going to this trip were on his list. By 1pm we were back at the hotel. We thanked Jean for everything and said our goodbyes.
**For anyone planning a trip to Puerto Rico I 100% recommend ToursToDoPR and personally plan on using them again on a future trip to PR with Stelios & Leo.
Back at the hotel it was time to lay out and RELAX. I couldn’t believe how much of a full day we already had, and it was only half way through! Iris and mom chose to lay out by the pool but the only chairs available were in the shade, so Gloria and I walked down to the beach to be in the sun. It was also surprisingly less windy down there. By 2pm Janna arrived & she was ready for a drink so we ordered 2 margaritas and baked in the sun while chatting it up with aunt Gloria. By 4pm I decided to head in and shower – I needed to escape the heat of the sun for a little after being outside all day. Janna stayed for a bit longer to tan and came up within the hour. We were both beat, took a much needed siesta, and eventually got ready for dinner.
Tonight we had dinner reservations at Casita Miramar – a cute little house that appeared to be transformed into a restaurant, & was known for their authentic Puerto Rican & Caribbean cuisine. We were seated at a lovely table on the balcony, and with the cool evening breeze it was the perfect evening to dine outside. We ordered a round of drinks followed by a round of complimentary house pumpkin & taro root soup and bacalaitos (codfish fritters). What a fun surprise and both dishes were so tasty! For appetizers Janna ordered the chickpea hummus (which was vegan), and the rest of us shared cod croquettes and a yellowfin tuna appetizer that was similar to a poke bowl. The appetizers were very filling so Janna and I decided to share the pumpkin rice entree. Mom ordered the Pastelón (Puerto Rican lasagna), Iris got the 3 hour slow braised goat, and Gloria had the drunken chicken. The three of them were stuffed and realized they should have followed me & Janna by splitting their entrees. I tried a bite of the others but overall I was very satisfied with our choice and liked the taste of our pumpkin rice dish best. At the end the meal, the waiter gave us shots of rum infused with coffee beans which was just the boost that I needed to wake me up & keep going.
After dinner, Gloria, Mom, and Iris went to the casino but I had no interest in gambling. Janna and I decided to check out one of the bars so we ubered to Watusi Esquija but upon pulling up realized we were clearly the only tourists and severely overdressed so we pivoted and asked him to drop us at La Placita de Santruce. We hopped around for a bit but being a Wednesday it was sort of dead so we ubered back to the hotel and were asleep before midnight. Another incredible day in Puerto Rico.
