El Yunque Rain Forest

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We decided to check out the beautiful tropical rain forests of Puerto Rico on our first day of the trip.Our guide for the day was this local guy who was friendly & knew a lot about all the flora & fauna of the forests. We had a mother & daughter couple as fellow travelers with us for this trip to the rain forest.
We do love to spend time outdoors; not to say that we are athletic, but we just love being a little closer to nature than we can afford to most of the time! For us this trip to the rain forest was amazing & very relaxing at the same time. A surprising range of vegetation encompassing the full spectrum of colors, starting from wild mushrooms to gigantic leaves which changed color & turned white on the inside as they received sunlight to hundreds of flowers from the hibiscus family in all different shades of reds & oranges- the forest had much to offer if you love exploring nature. We saw the Coqui, a species of a really green frog, which derives its name from its "Ko-Kee"-singing from sundown thru the night till dawn during the monsoon-very popular with the locals. Various different species of the Coqui are found in this island some of which are also yellow & green in color. Then there was the gorgeous Puerto Rican parrot, its feathers had tints of all different shades of blues & greens that one can possibly imagine. Unfortunately they have made their way into the 'endangered species' list because of unwanted human activities.
For lunch we tried out the local fare in a small eaterie in the middle of the forest. We got a variety of fried seafood in a platter and it was yummy!
We headed to a not-so-crowded Luquilo beach straight from the rain forest. It was the most peaceful & serene beach I have ever been to. This beach had an artificial reef built some distance away from the shoreline which made the beach unusually calm. It was the best place to catch some sun & just laze around in the sun.
For dinner we tried this place called "Ajili Mojili" which served authentic Puerto Rican cuisine. The food tasted like heaven! The love & passion with which the food was cooked really came thru. It was absolutely worth the wait. While we waited for our dinner to be served we sipped our house-special mohitos with a hint of peach & mango. How delicious does that sound! My hubby tried the Puerto Rican Paella while I tried my favorite wild salmon cooked in a flavorful sauce & served with fried plantains. Finally, to finish off the night we headed back to the neighborhood bar to enjoy our margaritas before calling it a night!

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Photos

Serenity for real!
Perfect for a quiet, romantic day at the beach