Expedition America: Puerto Rico

DAY ONE: Its 6am on when Usher's "Yeah" blares through the beach house on the southeast coast of Puerto Rico. Normally, I would be the first out of bed and dancing in the living room but a very late arrival has left my energy slightly drained. After our flight landed in San Juan at midnight, the crew grabbed two rental cars and sped across the island to a little town near Ponce. As a result, co-writer and alarm clock DJ Tim Marks has to throw open my bedroom door.
I mumble something about his song selection and quickly roll out of bed. As I struggle to the kitchen, I notice that I am the last one up which only means one thing, no coffee. Luckily for me, there is something just as strong as coffee pouring through the glass patio doors. The sun has just come up over the Atlantic Ocean, cascading the small inlet beach in a golden hue. It is a good sign. This is going to be a great week and I can't wait to see what Puerto Rico has in store for Expedition America.
After our morning swim (a good luck ritual) the team packs up one of our team "trucks." It's a 2002 Kia Sedan but make no mistake, it has quite a pick up on those island mountain roads. Today's trip will take us into approximately 28,000 acres of forest known as the El Yunque rainforest. As is with most of our expeditions, we will find our way with a map, a compass, and friendly smiles. It usually makes for quite an adventure.

HOW WE GOT HERE
Let me take a minute to explain how we planned our Puerto Rico expedition. We had just experienced our first frost and we were trying to plan somewhere warm to go and still stay affordable. As always, it was the internet that brought us to our diamond in the rough. The web site WhereToStay.com gives the opportunity to compare hotel rates against weekly vacation house rates and low and behold, a beautiful three bedroom beach house on a tiny, reef-lined inlet appeared for a weekly rate of only $600 dollars. Add in a great airline ticket from Newark International Airport nonstop to San Juan and we were in business. Even with the rental car fees, the individual cost per person was an astounding $450 dollars for the week not including food, fun, and miscellaneous. For less than $500 dollars we had found ourselves on the threshold of paradise.

BACK INTO THE RAINFOREST
Rainforest tours are offered by rangers at the Palo Colorado Visitor Center. Our crew, however, prefers to find our own way and that was just what we did. The truck/sedan departed at 7:30am heading on the coastal highway, north toward the southern end of the rainforest. We decided to cut through the mountains on what we thought was a short cut. What we soon found out was that Kia sedan was a life saver. The winding mountain roads barely have enough width for two compact cars and yet we were continually passing large trucks that would come zooming around the tight corners. Though they are not advertised as such, the Kia sedan is also an excellent off road vehicle. Eventually we found ourselves at the base of the rainforest on a road that just stops in front of a fence and big government sign that says National Rainforest.
Confused on what to do next, the crew took a break for water and peanut butter sandwiches while Tim headed back down the road armed with his friendly smile and Spanish major. While we sat on the trunk of the cars, enjoying the food we had purchased from a grocery store/house earlier that day in the small village we drove through, we noticed that we were at a considerably high elevation with a gorgeous view of the island. Tim soon returned with a map given to him by a nearby "eco-house" that worked in the rainforest. The map followed what we believed to be an aqueduct system through the forest, eventually coming to a rock face after about an hour hike. At the top of the rock face, the people at the Ecolab had promised a priceless treasure that we just had to see.
A Little bit about the Rainforest

• The Caribbean National Forest, known as El Yunque was first set aside in 1876 by the Spanish Crown. It is the only tropical rain forest in the U.S. National Forest System. The name "El Yunque" means "Forest of the Clouds" and originates from an Indian spirit Yunque.
• One of the ten most endangered species of birds, the Puerto Rican Parrot call El Yunque home. Its scientific name is Amazona vitatta. There is no hunting allowed in the rain forest.
• With 240 inches of rain a year, El Yunque is the rainiest of all the U.S. National Forests. (It's not called a rain forest for nothing). El Yunque is part of the Luquillo range and is divided into four forests: Tabonuco, Palo Colorado, Palma Sierra, and En Las Nubes.

TRYING TO FIND THE END OF THE RAINBOW

The hike was on a good dry trail on basically a horizontal line. The hardest part of the two hour hike was the occasional negotiation along the pipeline to get over some significant sized drops. The crew learned quickly to deal with any fear of heights. Occasionally in a rain forest, you will get short spurts of rain (hence the name). Unfortunately for us, we were given no break from the dry hot air. We stopped twice for water and re-lotioning. One of the things that can quickly ruin an expedition is sunburn. We may not have been given any rain but we were given a spectacular view of Puerto Rico for almost the entire hike along the side of the mountain.
We finally arrived at the rock face and found ourselves staring at some old pipe work. We checked the straps on our backpacks and cameras, tied the shoes a little tighter, and headed up the fifty foot ladder (made of solid rust) to get to the more manageable 45 degree angle of the rock face. The rock had a lava face with many friendly feet and hand holds making the climb relatively easy for most of us. After about a 200 foot climb, we found the treasure they had talked about.
A natural mountain stream had worn its way through the mountain side creating an absolutely breathtaking thirty foot waterfall that collected into a pool that looked like it had been carved directly into the rock. The water was crystal clear and as warm as bath water from sitting in the sun. The pool was about waist deep with small, smooth stones lining its bottom. There was a small boulder in the center that was perfect for lying out and if you put your back to the waterfall, it looks as if the entire island of Puerto Rico is laid out before you.
After relaxing for about an hour, the crew backed up and headed back down the mountain. It had been an absolutely perfect start to our Puerto Rico expedition. After blazing our own trail off the typical beaten path, we were rewarded with an unbelievable natural treasure hidden in the El Yunque rain forest.

- Pictures from our first day are attached and look for more from our Expedition America: Puerto Rico in coming days including video.

- Do you have a great adventure you would like to share or a hidden treasure in your hometown? Write to davidmoan15@msn.com and Expedition America will share your story.