Last Episode: El Yunque, Puerto Rico
In the mist of all the fog we saw the silhouette of a vast mountain, El Yunque. I thought I was hallucinating, because of its vastness. A skyline of mountain-forests stretched for miles parallel to the freeway number 3. We lowered the car windows and blasted music, specifically Bob Marley, as we looked for the entrance into this tropical beauty. The mash-up of Bob Marley serenading us as our hair billowed against the on-coming wind was absolutely phenomenal. The smell of green hit our nostrils striking all our senses, reminding us of the greatness Mother Earth has provided us with.
Peter, suddenly, sticks half of his body out of the car clinging on to the roof’s rack for support. I said, “Pete what on earth are you doing out there?” He turns to me saying, “ there are parrots flying directly above our car,” so I took a fast glimpse up the sky, and there they were seven parrots – each looked as if they were dipped into a bucket of sharp red paint. It was stunning to be so closed with nature with Bob Marley serenading us with his famous “Buffalo Soldier” song.
As we drove in the entrance and up the winding roads of the mountain we heard a chorus of different species of animals singing. Finally, we came to a part where all the cars parked, so we did so too and quickly got off the car to see what the fuzz was all about there. The next thing we saw was absolutely amazing. There was a waterfall that was about 40 – 50 feet high. There were tourists and locals climbing the waterfall, and jumping off and doing back flips into the waterfall. My image of Puerto Rico was of locals doing back flips off anything they could.
Peter and I decided to join the frenzy of climbing the waterfall. However, when our feet skimmed the water we quickly jumped back into land. The water was abnormally cold. The crispy cold water felt like a thousand knives stabbing into every nerve in my feet. We decided to stay on land to snap a few Kodak moment pictures before leaving. We decided to head back to the hotel because the security guards announced that El Yunque was closing at 5 o’clock, and it was about four-thirty. So, there was really no point to drive further up to the other attractions of El Yunque. We came to the verdict of coming back another day, so we could reach the top of El Yunque.
