She arrived late in the evening, so our first day was kind of chill, and of course, our own beach was the first place we took her! June is younger than me, and is very physically fit, so a beach walk was the perfect way to begin the day! And of COURSE we took her down to see our favorite palm trees for a photo shoot!
Knowing that we were well on our way to getting our daily steps in... we moved on to some more adventurous fun! Cascada el Survivor was our next stop!
Catching a glimpse of her as she disappeared over the roots! |
Bruce, bringing up the rear as he rounds this huge rock! |
Knowing when to go to the rivers of Puerto Rico is important. When the rains fall in the mountains, it can cause flash floods in the lower portions of these rivers, and it rains almost every day in the mountains. But it rains in the afternoons... so you know it's usually (unless it's been raining a LOT) safe to visit these little downstream pockets of paradise in the morning or early afternoon. I like to go between 11am and 1pm because temperatures are cooler in the mountains, and the waters are often COLD!
We settled on the rocks and Bruce was the first one to dive in! He took a little swim while we shucked our outerwear and watched. He swam into the grotto and announced that the current wasn't too strong today!
Bruce testing the waters in the grotto. |
Seeing the grotto for the first time |
There are unseen boulders lying beneath the water's surface that you have to swim over to get inside. Once there, you'll find another huge, somewhat flat rock that provides the perfect place to sit and enjoy the natural splendor that surrounds you. The walls of the river canyon soar overhead and trees provide a canopy that embraces you in this secluded paradise. It's difficult not to imagine that you're the only people in the world at moments like these. Or is that just me...
Approaching the current cut! |
June sits on the flat rock ledge. |
This is the spot where the current is the least strong. |
We sat on that rock, enjoying the experience and having a little bit of fun. June swam out into the current, across the pool to the deep end where, I'm sure lives a Kracken. Evidently Canadians don't know about the KRACKEN!
Getting back out of the grotto was much easier! Just float and let yourself go... like bumper boats!
How hard could it be? |
She and I handed off our bags to Bruce, and set out to find a way down river, slipping and splashing all the way. It wasn't as easy as it looked!
Once again, June took the lead! |
Bruce was just beginning to worry about us as we surprised him! Near the car, we left the river and rejoined the path along the bank, which brought us up behind him! I'm not sure what he would have done if we had failed to return... But we don't have to think about that now!
We went back to our condo and spent the remainder of the day lounging by the pool! Our first day was a success as we eased June into Island Life! While we cooled it in the pool, we made our plans for the rest of the week... And let me assure you... THIS was the easy day!
I so love your descriptions and adventures from places in our island I have never seen. Sometimes I feel really ashamed of how little I venture outside the Metro area
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your kind words. I can be very wordy, so I'm not sure anyone is reading through these posts. They are as much for me (when I'm old and want to remember) and for others, such as yourself. My goal is to help people feel like they've been to a place, without leaving their home! You've made my day!
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