Back to San Juan.

The next morning they had some bizarre trouble with their rented Jeep so the company sent an escort and she took them to the airport and me to the ferry terminal. When I got to the terminal I was told it was canceled until 1PM due to inclement weather. So I walked up to a bakery and bought a breakfast sandwich. When I got back I was surprised to see Jean from yesterday and this time with her Husband Ron. After some talking about our options we figured the wisest would be to catch a plane back to Fajardo. This turned out to be a slick idea because I’m pretty sure the ferries were canceled entirely for the day. It turned out Tropical Storm Olga had made landfall that day on Puerto Rico. On the way to the airport Ron, Jean, and I discussed our plans for the day when we got back to Fajardo. I said I had originally planned to meet Johnny, rent a car, and head to El Yunque. But now that was looking paler by the minute so I didn’t really know. They said that they had rented a car and planned on going to El Yunque and they asked if I would like to come. Of course! So we took the flight back to Fajardo which lasted ten minutes in a tiny prop driven minivan of the sky.

Once there we got into the car and I asked if I could drop in and see if my friend Johnny wanted to come and that we could help pay for gas and the like so we went to downtown Fajardo. We barely made it there and I ran up to the house. Right then I caught Johnny as he was leaving for the Publico terminal. Sheer luck! We dashed back to Ron and Jean and upon realizing there wasn’t in room in the car for Johnny I asked if he wanted to default to the original plan and he said not this late and so I was off to El Yunque!

We finally reached El Yunque and we went into the visitor center they watched a brief film and I grabbed a quick bite to eat. Then we headed for the trails. We drove to the very top of the park and we took Mt. Britton trail. I dashed up it with ease and explored a bit while they caught up. Then I repeated the same with the tower itself. The tower was right on the edge of a impossibly steep mountain and was about two and a half stories tall. The view was mostly obscured by clouds but a fierce wind picked up and for a brief moment you could see all the way to the coast before not being able to see twenty feet again. The forest itself was incredibly thick and without the predetermined paths it would be nigh impossible to walk through. It was very damp and muggy yet there was no over whelming odor. Some trees had a slime as thick as apple butter on their trunks and all of them had a healthy coat of moss. Palms as my suspicions proved correct were an invasive species here, brought from the distant Philippines. We also visited the big tree trail and the falls at its end, and coco falls which were stunning. At about six we left because thats about time they close the access gate to vehicles coming or going. You can camp anywhere all night, but if you drive in you have to leave by six unless you park outside the gate. I would of course recommend a visit to El Yunque but a rental car and a fair weather is a must.

We drove back to San Juan and parted ways. I took a bus back to Viejo San Juan and caught up with all of my flat mates. We all had some stories to share for the days past.