Liene's Adventures

Just 2 months earlier we had returned from our trip to Mexico City, but I was already longing to take off somewhere new again. While aimlessly browsing United Airlines website, I noticed cheap flights to Puerto Rico. Somehow, I successfully convinced my husband that this would be a great idea! And who doesn’t like warmth, sun and beach anyway when it’s cold and gray outside? Soon after, on a cold Virginia March morning we boarded a plane to land at a tropically humid, sunny San Juan airport in Puerto Rico. 

Despite our previous negative experiences of renting cars in the Caribbean and Mexico (hard-pressure sales, unnecessary upsells, different prices than reserved etc.) our car pick up here was very smooth, easy, and hassle free. That alone was a great start! 

As we had reserved our condo on the east side of the island in the town of Fajardo, we had an hour-long drive to get there. That gave us an opportunity to observe the island and get our first impressions as we drove across it. First off, it was much more mountainous than I expected. The whole middle part of Puerto Rico seemed to consist of tall, green mountains and deep valleys often shrouded in cloud cover. And the tropical greenery reminded us very much of the one we had experienced while living in Hawaii. Some of the same plants, flowers and even trees.

But the more towns and villages we passed, the more we noticed that things here seemed to be in disrepair. The overall scenery was just very modest, if not poor. And the last decade of several major hurricanes and earthquakes had left their destructive mark on this beautiful island. But the Caribbean Sea - it was as bright and beautiful as always! 

Due to rush-hour traffic, we finally reached our condo almost 2 hours later. This was, most likely, one of the fanciest places we had ever rented while travelling – a large 3-bedroom condo with views of the marina and ocean from its oversized balcony. The amenities included a gym, sauna and 3 different pools with water slides and a hot tub. Our boys took off to their room, digging through toy boxes, stuffed animal piles and cabinets full of board games. The adults, meanwhile, poured cold drinks and walked out on the balcony to absorb the views and warm afternoon sun.

 

As we had a full kitchen at our disposal, we intended to take advantage of it. Therefore, the last task of the day was to find a grocery store. That can often be an adventure in itself! In other countries, many grocery items are a lot different from what we know back home. And to an extent, it is almost like visiting a small museum full of tasty goodies! Apart from our usual groceries for cooking, we also got some local staples like plantain chips, pork rinds, Puerto Rican coffee, guava jam and coconut candies. It is always fun to try local flavors!

 

Vieques Island Snorkel Tour

Our first full day in Puerto Rico started with an early morning snorkeling tour. Puerto Rico has 2 inhabited off-shore islands – Culebra and Vieques. Both are known for having better reefs and snorkeling / diving spots than the main island of Puerto Rico itself. Our choice was a half-day tour to the island of Vieques with ‘Pure Adventure Puerto Rico’. 

Although our eldest son had already done lots of snorkeling while we lived in Hawaii, our youngest was still just 4 years old back then and did not yet snorkel at the time. However, knowing that we would be going to Puerto Rico, he had spent the last month in our community pool practicing his swimming, and teaching himself how to snorkel. He was ready!

At 7 in the morning, there was no traffic and after a quick 20-minute drive we reached the Ceiba boat dock. After everyone got signed in, we stepped aboard and headed out into the ocean. The first stop was near a Vieques Island beach. It was close to the shore, so we could jump in the water and swim off to explore the nearby reef on our own.

Although our 9-year-old took off snorkeling like a champ, I was not so sure how the 7-year-old would do. It was his first time snorkeling in the ocean. A little uneasy at first, he asked to hold our hand as we swam along. The more we swam, the more confident he grew until the fear was gone and he was fully enjoying the underwater world. We saw several big conch shells, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, and many colorful fish. While this simple reef was nothing otherworldly for my husband and me, it was totally amazing to the boys. And it was all that mattered. 

After some 45 minutes we had explored most of the nearby reef, and went ashore to let the boys warm up and play on the sand until it was time to head out again. 

Our second snorkeling site was offshore - in much deeper waters. The guide came into the water with the group and took us to areas of the reef where he knew there would be more sea life. We got to see several green sea turtles and even a huge stingray that had covered itself up with sand. Seeing us approach, the ray took off waving its enormous “wings” like a giant bird. I am certain this had to have been one of the largest stingrays I had ever seen. The boys were ecstatic and very excited about the experience. 

After the snorkeling part of the tour was concluded, there was still time left to hang out on the boat. Everyone, myself included, got an opportunity to jump into the ocean from the boat’s upper deck. 

With all the fun activities, we did not even notice the time flew by, and it was time to return ashore. Our first Puerto Rico adventure was complete. 

Under normal circumstances, we barely ever spent any time at hotels or AirBnBs when we traveled. Most of our time was usually spent exploring, hiking and sightseeing, and we returned to the accommodations late at night only to sleep. However, having had a chance to stay at such a fancy condo here, we wanted to take some time to enjoy it. And the boys’ first wish was to go to a pool. Having several pools here to pick from, we chose the closest one to our unit. It had a beautiful view of the ocean and marina, which we enjoyed for many hours while the kids spent up their extra energy splashing, diving, jumping and playing. 

Afterwards, it was a leisurely movie night with popcorn to conclude the day.

 

San Juan

One of the main attractions of Puerto Rico was Old San Juan. Serving as the capital of Puerto Rico, its old town was built over 500 years ago. It was home to the San Juan National Historic Site, with buildings dating from the 16th century, including the San Felipe del Morro and San Cristóbal fortresses and the old city walls.

My husband and I visited San Juan in 2012 via cruise ship but only got half a day to explore the city back then. This time around we had all day, and we were looking forward to it! We had noted down a few main sights that we wanted to see. But other than that, we just wanted to “get lost” and roam around, wondering what might await us around the next bend...

We parked the car near the cruise port terminal and headed out into the streets of Old San Juan. The roads and alleys were lined with colorful, restored old Spanish colonial buildings. There were ornate balconies, bright flowers, and intricate details. 

Our first must-visit stop was Pigeon Park (Parque de las Palomas). During our last summer’s trip to Poland, the boys had gotten a weird obsession with pigeons – always trying to catch and pet them. Therefore, a dedicated pigeon park here could not be missed. Upon entering the square, we could purchase seeds that we were then allowed to feed to the birds. These were some fearless pigeons – landing on people’s heads, shoulders, laps and arms.

I don’t think even Disneyland could have surpassed the amount of amusement my kids experienced here! I had to keep buying more and more seed bags because the boys just wanted to keep staying here. While the kids fed birds, I watched them fly in and out of their old stone wall houses. They fit perfectly in this landscape. 

Once we finally left the park, we decided to walk along the ocean and the Old City stone walls. It was a pretty walk. And we even witnessed a cruise ship pulling into the port. 

As we made our way forward, we found ourselves by El Morro Fortress (Castillo San Felipe del Morro). Being one of our must-see stops, we headed there. Known as a UNESCO World Heritage site and the oldest fort in the United States, it was historically significant and renowned for its architecture, military engineering, and role in the defense of the island against various attacks over centuries. 

We grabbed a map and headed in to explore all the secret passageways, tunnels, rooms and lookout towers. And wherever we turned, there were stunning Caribbean Sea views all around!

Being part of the US National Park system, El Morro also offered a Junior Ranger badge program, which my boys successfully completed and earned their badges!

Just right outside the fortress, some locals had strategically parked their cold coconut sales truck. The day was hot, and no shade was to be found anywhere… The sweat was dripping, and cold drinks were very welcome. For tourist prices, that is, of course!

Not far from the coconut truck, we met our first iguana. We expected to see them out in the countryside, but apparently, they felt equally comfortable cruising city streets as well.

After quenching our thirst and admiring iguanas, we completed the short 15-minute walk to the other end of Old San Juan towards Fort San Cristobal. However, several past hours of walking and touring in the hot sun had taken their toll. We were getting tired. We didn’t pay as much attention to all the details anymore and strolled through all the exhibits much quicker than usual.

We did, however, spend some time admiring the beautiful city views from the top of the fort!

At this point, all we could think about was some food and shade! We sat down at one of the first street-side cafes we could find, and ordered stuff we could not even pronounce. A traditional Puerto Rican food that I had never had before and became to enjoy was called ‘alcapurria’ – a long fritter made from taro and green bananas, filled with meat. We even ordered some extras to-go for later. 

As we slowly made our way back towards the direction of our car, we intentionally zig-zagged the Old Town streets. The restored buildings and colorful architecture were too beautiful to just carelessly pass by.

By the time we returned to the car, we had walked nearly 8 miles (13km) for over 6 hours. And besides some beautiful memories and photographs, we had also acquired sunburn! That would surely hurt later! 

We returned to our condo much after dark, and soon after, tired, went to bed.

 

El Yunque National Forest

Despite our busy schedule the day before, it wasn’t any less busy today. We wanted to go explore Puerto Rico’s rainforest – El Yunque. 

Having read that parking can be an issue, we got up extra early and were lined up at the park’s gate by 7:45 – 15 minutes before the opening. Our first task of the day was a 6-mile long (9.5km) hike to Mt Britton Tower and Los Pichachos Peak. As we made our way to the far end of the park, we couldn’t stop admiring all the tropical flowers and plants engulfing the roadway. I just love rainforests – always so green, lush and full of life!

Finding a parking spot so early in the morning was not a problem, and with snack-filled packs on our backs we headed out. Already from the very first steps, we fell in love with the beauty here. Coming from a gray, leaf-less Virginia winter, everything around us seemed so bright and lively! 

The partially paved and rocky trail led us up the first mountain to a lookout tower hidden in the jungle. Who would think to find a medieval-looking tower in the middle of a rainforest?!

From here we could see all the way to the ocean and across several mountain peaks.

One of our hopes was to spot the endemic, critically endangered Puerto Rican parrots who called El Yunque rainforest their home. But, of course, finding a green parrot in a green tree canopy was impossible. There are less than 700 of these birds left (including captive breeding aviaries) and they live nowhere else in the world other than the Puerto Rico rainforest. 

/Photo: Steve Milpacher/

We did, however, hear the unique coqui frog calls along our trail. These tiny creatures were also native to Puerto Rico. But despite their miniscule statute (only 1-2 inches (2-4cm) long), they had a mighty loud voice. And their call sounded just like their name: ko-ke. 

And so, while looking for parrots and listening to frogs, we had reached the top of Los Pichachos peak. It offered another beautiful view of the island, and we took a little break here by sitting down and having some of our snacks. 

The walk down the trail was as beautiful as coming up, and I could not stop myself from taking pictures around every corner. Quite a few times my husband and kids (walking ahead of me) turned around just to realize they had lost me again a few bends ago… 

Although the hike was our main event here at El Yunque, we did have a few smaller stops planned. One of them was Bano Grande. It was a beautiful man-made pool filled with waters of La Mina River. Built in the late 1930’s this complex was the largest and most impressive manmade swimming pool in La Mina Recreational Area. The pool was in continuous use from 1936 to 1968 when it was closed to swimmers over safety concerns, and turned into a scenic spot instead. 

It did not take more than 10-15 minutes to take a walk here and snap some photos, and then we headed on. 

Along the side of the road, we noticed Rainforest Café, and suddenly we all started feeling hungry. They had my favorite Puerto Rican dish, alcapurria, and kids wanted some empanadas and fruit smoothies. And it all tasted even better in the middle of a colorful, blooming jungle!

Our last 2 stops were La Coca Falls and Juan Diego Falls. However, due to March falling into Puerto Rico’s dry season, the water volume in the falls was quite low. And on top of that, both falls were overrun by tourists, prompting us to turn around fairly quickly. 

Our final stop in El Yunque was its El Portal Visitor Center. I was very impressed with it! It was a huge open-air building with sky walkways, raised platforms for scenic views, and several shorter trails on the ground level with local plants and flowers. 

Upper levels had a movie theater, a ranger station, bookstore, restaurant and exhibit gallery. While our boys were busy with the exhibit exploration, my husband and I got a couple coffees at the restaurant and sat down to enjoy the views. 

One of the last things left for our boys was to hand in their booklets and earn El Yunque Junior Ranger badges. It was a very thought-through badge with a Puerto Rican parrot and coqui frog portrayed on it. This was also a place where we could finally observe a real Puerto Rican parrot. Right next to the ranger station was a large aviary with 3 parrots who were part of the captive breeding program, and an effort to increase the population of these birds. 

Of course, we could not leave without a stop at a souvenir shop. I picked some fridge magnets while he boys each got a stuffed animal coqui frog (with a real sound recording) and a Lego Puerto Rican parrot. 

This concluded our day at El Yunque National Rainforest. Upon returning to the condo, we still had enough time to head down to the pool area. We enjoyed a few relaxing hours trying to even out our patchy tan, while the kids had some newly acquired energy to burn in the pool.

 

Ponce

This was finally one of the first leisurely mornings where we did not have to get up extra early for some activity. That is not to say that we did not have any activities planned. We did! But for later in the evening. Because we were heading to the west side of the island, I had booked us an extra night of stay in Ponce. So, we spent the morning packing up an overnight bag, plus the necessary items for our planned activities. 

The drive to Ponce from Fajardo was about 2.5 hours long and took us over the mountains. We had not been to this part of the island yet, so the new scenery was very exciting. It looked like the south side of Puerto Rico was drier than the north, and we even spotted some cacti growing on the cliff sides.

We checked into our downtown Ponce AirBnB and with still some extra time until our reserved evening tour, we decided to walk into town and explore it for a couple hours. 

The streets were surprisingly empty for a Friday afternoon. Parks were void of people and many shops and restaurants seemed to have closed a long time ago. We walked into the main square where boys had a lot of fun splashing in the fountain. It was a very hot day. 

Just a couple blocks outside the main square, everything seemed to be in disrepair. It was a little disappointing because the town was famous for its Ponce Creole architectural style. But apart from a few streets here and there, much of it was in need of complete remodeling and rebuilding. 

In less than an hour we had managed to see all there was. As we walked back, we noticed a restaurant not far from our AirBnB and stopped in for dinner. Here we tried mofongo – a traditional Puerto Rican dish made of mashed green plantains and spices pressed into a ball and topped with meat. While my husband was not a fan (and kids only wanted empanadas), I actually quite enjoyed it.

 

 

La Parguera Bioluminescent Bay Tour

Our main activity of the day (night!), and probably the most unusual one of the whole trip, was a tour to a bioluminescent bay. 

Bioluminescent bays or "bio bays" are bodies of water where microscopic organisms called dinoflagellates grow in quantities large enough to produce a "glow-in-the-dark" effect called bioluminescence. When you paddle or splash the water, these organisms shine in a neon blue-green color, making the water look as if it was lit by billions of glowing stars.

/Photo: tieronetravel.com/

There are only five ecosystems in the world where the concentration of these dinoflagellates is high enough to be considered a bioluminescent bay, and Puerto Rico is home to three of them (the other 2 being in Vietnam and Jamaica). We picked La Parguera for our tour because this was the ONLY bay where people were allowed to get in the water and swim in the bioluminescence.

La Parguera Bay was about another hour’s drive west from Ponce, and we reached our tour’s meeting spot right after sunset at 7:30pm. It was a small tour of just 10 people, and in complete darkness we headed out into the bay. Good thing the captain knew where he was headed, because we could not see a thing – it was a pitch black night all around. 

Once we reached the bay, the captain threw an anchor and the second the anchor hit the water, everything around it illuminated bright blue! It was like a million fireflies all lit up at once!

We had 40 minutes to spend in the water. And as we swam and moved our arms, the dinoflagellates lit up around us with every movement. We had brought our googles, and watching the glow underwater was like a Matrix world – a reality that was impossible to explain or grasp. 

What was also impossible was to capture this with any camera. With complete darkness all around, getting any descent photos without specialized equipment was a futile effort. But I did find a stunning, true-to-life, short 40-second video of La Parguera bay night tour on YouTube by Matt Miller Film. You can see it here:

YouTube link (click) - Matt Miller Film, Puerto Rico Bioluminescent Bay

The only slightly negative side effect was the 20-30 jellyfish stings I got during our swim. At first, I thought I was just imagining things, but then my husband also started talking about the stings. The guide confirmed that there were jellyfish in the water, albeit fairly harmless ones whose stings were weak enough to go away within 1-2 hours. Great!

40 minutes went by much too quickly, and after a short 10-minute ride we were back ashore. Another hour to get back to Ponce; hot showers to wash away the saltwater and soothe our stings, and off to bed we went to get up early again the next morning.

 

Tanama River Mukaro Cave Adventure Tour

Our alarm woke us up before 6AM. We had a long drive deep into the mountains for the 8 o’clock Tanama River Adventure tour. It would include swimming, bat caving and hiking. The drive to this remote area of the rainforest was absolutely stunning. The highway turned into a two-lane road that weaved, twisted and turned along the mountain slopes revealing breathtaking, tropical views along every bend.

It was a little bit like driving Road to Hana in Hawaii. 

Once we reached the tour company’s office, we were quickly outfitted with swim vests, helmets and hiking poles, and shuttled to the hike’s starting point deep in the heart of the jungle. The tour started with a hike to Mukaro Cave where bats resided. Once we entered the cave, the ceiling of the cave was indeed full of hanging, sleeping bats. Knowing that bats carry several diseases, including rabies, I was a little concerned. However, the tour guide advised us not to touch any rocks, and not turn our face upwards (and cover our mouths). And the bats really did not want much to do with us anyway. They just seemed a little grumpy that their daily sleep was being disturbed by an uninvited group of self-proclaimed explorers.

After the bat cave, we descended the steep slope of the riverbank and soon found ourselves in waist-deep water.

The remainder of the tour required hiking through Tanama River at various depths. Many spots were waist deep for us but required a full-on swim for the kids. Some other areas were deep enough that adults had to swim as well.

There were more caves along the riverbanks that we explored with bats, spiders, stalactites and fossils. There were steep cliff walls and gorges with lush greenery. And our guide even found a special spot for the kids where they could go bodysurfing down a narrow current channel. 

Altogether, the tour lasted 4 hours with a total of about 3.5 miles (5.5km) hiked through beautiful mountain and river gorge scenery. 

Once back at the tour office, we were shown to changing rooms where we could get out of all our wet gear and put on dry clothes and shoes for our drive home. 

 

Gozalandia Waterfall

As it was only 1PM, we decided to make a little side-trip before heading back to our condo in Fajardo. I had read that Gozalandia was considered to be one of the prettiest waterfalls in Puerto Rico. And being just an hour’s drive away from it, we decided that it would be worth a visit. Along the way we got to witness more of Puerto Rico’s mountain roads and countryside scenery. All of it was stunning and earned our admiration. 

The pool below Gozalandia waterfall was a popular swimming spot. However, we had had plenty of water activities in the morning and had no desire to get wet again. Therefore, we just chose to take the little path to the observation platform and simply enjoy the views.

Again, due to this being the dry season, the falls were not as mighty as they could have been, but it was still pretty, nonetheless. The water crashed over a cliff face into a turquoise pool below, surrounded by tropical greenery.

As we descended to the bottom of the falls, we could even see fish swimming around. 

Soon after, more people arrived. They were ready to grill, party, swim and have a good time, which was a signal to us that it was time to go. 

It was a long 3-hour drive home. But it was a beautiful drive that never left us feeling bored. The only stop we made was a road-side fruit stand where I got some sweet, local, farm-grown papayas and bananas for a mere $5! 

 

Seven Seas Beach

After so many days of tours and adventures, this was our down-day. We had nowhere to be and nothing planned. While we were cooking breakfast, the boys were entertained by some long-awaited TV time. It was a very relaxed morning enjoying all the beautiful views our top-story balcony offered. 

However, knowing that this peace won’t last long, we had to come up with a way to keep our boys occupied. And if you can believe it, we had been on the island for 6 days but had not spent a single day on the beach. It was time to fix that! 

Just a 10-minute drive from us was Seven Seas Beach with blue water and white sand. That was where we headed for the day. Our rental condo had complimentary beach chairs, towels, sand toys and everything else one could possibly need. We packed up and hit the beach! 

As expected on a Sunday, it was extremely crowded. Locals were out in full force, occupying all the beach pavilions – grilling, celebrating kids’ birthdays, playing ball, camping, and having family get-togethers. That, however, did not keep us from finding our own little patch of sand and claiming it ours. That is where we stayed for the next several hours. While my boys were busy digging sandpits and building moats, I took a stroll along the beach. My husband, meanwhile, took a nap, but grandma was on child-watch duty. 

We still had 2 days left here in Puerto Rico, but nothing else planned. I began contemplating that it might get boring… So, I started browsing Viator website for some local tour options. Knowing that kids were super excited about snorkeling, I looked at some available snorkeling tours for the next day. Suddenly, I noticed that one of the tours had a suspiciously low total cost for 4 people. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that it charged only for adults, but kids’ fare was shown as $0. I went to the company’s direct website, and the kid’s fare for the same tour was shown as $89. Aha! This was a mistake fare! I quickly went back to Viator and booked a tour for 2 adults and 2 kids (free of charge). I had seen airfare mistake fares before, but never ones for tours / excursions. This was a first!

After a few hours at the beach, dark clouds were starting to roll in. While we were trying to decide if we should leave or not, we saw locals quickly gather up their things. And locals always know better! It would be silly not to follow their lead. So, we packed up, went back to the car and drove back to the condo. And right on time - a huge downpour started to come down in full force! 

But as it usually happens in the tropics, the rain goes as quickly as it comes. And still in their wet bathing suits, the boys asked if they could go spend some time at the pool now. This time we changed things up and headed to the pool with the waterslide.

It was a big hit, and the boys kept going up and down countless times. That is, until I noticed that the cement slide had shredded their trunks which now had big holes on the butt! Oh my! So, we concluded the night with a trip to a store in search of new swimming trunks for the boys!

 

Snorkeling Tour with Icacos Island Stop

Next day, as we approached the check-in counter for our snorkeling tour, I was a little curious if they would mention the mistaken fare and require us to pay the extra charge for the 2 kids. But they did not. And shortly after we were on a boat heading out to sea. We were warned, however, that the ocean would be quite choppy, and it would be a rough ride out. And that it was, indeed! So much so, that I asked for some life jackets to be put on my kids, just in case. The eldest one mumbled that “he did not like this at all and would prefer to get off...”

However, once we approached Palomino Island, it shielded the reef from ocean waves and the sea was much calmer. This was our snorkeling spot. On this tour, everyone had to follow the guide while in the water. To rough ocean conditions made the visibility a little murky, but that did not stop my kids from spotting a nurse shark! We saw turtles and a stingray on our first snorkeling tour, and now a shark! That alone made this tour worth it in my kids’ eyes. Unfortunately, instead of the promised 45 minutes of snorkeling, we returned to the boat in just 23 minutes. That was quite disappointing. 

After everyone got back onboard, the captain took us to Icacos Island where we anchored next to several other boats close to the shoreline.

Here we had an hour of free time to do whatever we wanted. While my kids had the best time playing on the big floating sea mat, I swam out for a short snorkel to the nearby pier. Apart from some submerged tires and pipes, there was not much sea life to be seen. A lone seagull on top of a beam was the most excitement I got. 

Overall, this was a nice tour for those who just wanted to head out to sea for the views, beach, and party life with lots of free rum and loud music. For us it fell a little short in the advertised snorkeling aspect of the tour. 

This concluded our last full day in Puerto Rico. After getting back to our condo, our minds were already busy with all the things we would need to do once we got back home. 

 

The Long Road Home

With our plane leaving at 5PM, we had plenty of time in the morning to pack up without any hurry. The return of the rental car was as quick and easy as the pick-up, and the shuttle dropped us off right in front of the airline check-in counter.

The plane was on time, and as we took our seats, we were ready to take off and watch the Puerto Rico sunset from the sky. But we did not take off. An hour went by, and we were still at the gate. Finally, the captain came on the loudspeaker and announced that the plane had a warning light on that they could not clear, therefore, the plane was not going to take off. We had to gather our carry-on luggage and deplane. 

There was another flight coming in at 9PM, and although it was supposed to be grounded for the night, we were promised that they would use this plane to get us back home. Finally, the plane arrived and, albeit tired, we were all happy to take our seats and finally be on our way back. But why did we not move… again?! A half hour later the captain came on the speakers and said: “You won’t believe this, but this plane also just got a malfunction light come on. We cannot take off.”  What are the chances?!

It was late and no more planes were leaving the airport, so we were stuck for the night. United Airlines provided us with a hotel, and unexpectedly – we got to spend an extra night in Puerto Rico. Although it was not the most interesting way to spend a vacation, it gave us an opportunity to sit down with our kids and chat. We were curious to know what they liked the most about our trip to Puerto Rico. Our eldest said that his favorite part was the Tanama River Expedition. But our youngest kid’s favorite tour was the Bioluminescent Bay Tour (and the pigeons, of course! Can’t forget the mighty pigeons)! As cheesy as it might sound, for my husband and I it was the opportunity to do it all together as a family. 

Thankfully, the next morning the plane took off without any more delays. And after a short 4-hour flight we landed back in Virginia. To our surprise, during the 8 days that we were gone, spring had arrived - Virginia greeted us with big, pink cherry blossoms. Welcome home!

 

Our tours:

Snorkel & Beach Vieques Island Tour by Pure Adventure Puerto Rico

Bio Bay Swimming Tour by Parguera Eco Tours & Bio Bay

Mukaro Cave Eco Tour and Tanama River Trekking by Tanama River Adventures

Fajardo Afternoon Snorkeling Tour by Sea Ventures Pro Dive Center