Who: Jim and Dee Mortlock of Highlands Ranch, Colorado
Where: La Mina Falls, Big Tree Trail, Yungue National Rain Forest, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Out and about: This waterfall is at about the middle of a 45-minute hike through the rain forest. Our travel companions told us the water was colder than it looked. Most of the trail is downhill, and is easily walked by most people. There are beautiful foliage and lots of snails, coqui frogs, lizards and water here. We went in January and it was very humid. During the peak of the rainy season take an umbrella you’ll need it.
Travel tip: You can find cheaper tours, but we used Castillo Tours. Robert was our tour guide and he made the trip for us. He was very informative, very helpful and it is obvious that he loves Puerto Rico. PS: the drivers in Puerto Rico are aggressive. Public transportation in San Juan is very reasonable with the buses and water ferries costing only 25¢ each way figuring the bus system out was a bit challenging, your hotel can help you here. Old San Juan is a joy, and eating the local food was wonderful. Very nice people for the most part, but even friendlier if you speak Spanish. Just about everyone speaks English though. The U.S. Dollar is king in PR so no conversion problems. Condado beach is the area we stayed in. The hotels on the beach are pricey, but just a few blocks inland you can find nice boutique hotels that are very reasonable. Buy your liquor from the Duty Free store at the airport when you leave. They had the best prices in the Caribbean and there are no restrictions as to what you can bring back because PR is a U.S. territory. Finally, visit Puerto Rico and the Caribbean in January through March, the rest of the year is too hot, too humid or too stormy for a beach vacation but it is cheaper then.
