Today I did so much. This is my 5th day of 14 in Puerto Rico. I spent a lot of time driving today. After my morning routine around my house/beach I then set off. First to the airport in San Juan to exchange my rental car for something less sporty. A muscle car just was not what I needed on these roads here. My new car is actually cheaper, so it worked out great.
After settling that, I went into downtown San Juan. It was very hectic. Streets were narrow, traffic everywhere, and most of the stop lights were still dysfunctional. me being the driver I am, I had no issues. I even found a spot to park no problem, next to a ruined apartment complex. I walked a block over to the restaurant I planned to eat at. I will write a detailed post about that tomorrow. Just know it was the best one so far, and they treated me like family.
After that I drove through old San Juan. It is so colorful, and the view of the ocean was absolutely stunning. Some roads were closed, and it was very busy. I did not have the chance to park off somewhere and walk around, it was already past 5pm when I got there anyway. So I may head back over to get a closer look next week.
The drive back towards Rio Grande/Luquillo was twice as long as the drive to San Juan. The traffic was horrendous. I could not deal with that daily.
Once I was back in my area, I decided to make my first ascension up El Yunque. I had seen it off in the distance and just kept saying WOW. The mountains are so massive, clouds were resting on the peaks. The drive towards the main entrance was filled with beautiful houses that looked like they had been there for quite some time. The most amazing part was just how lush the vegetation was. As if some ancient race of people in the sky water it with their tears daily. The road was open to drive through, but the park itself was closed by the time I got up there. Still, my drive was very enjoyable. Huge hills, curvy roads, and green everywhere. I will be back for sure, next time I’ll stop and visit many trails.
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