Day 5 was my favorite day of the entire cruise. When we were looking for things to do in Puerto Rico, I noticed that there was a rainforest there & that there were some excursions out that way. I have always wanted to visit a rainforest. I couldn't wait to see what adventures we would have.
We woke up at 5:45am on day 5 of our cruise so we could be completely ready, fed, & in a vehicle at 7am. The kids were SO tired & didn't want to get up, but we were able to entice them with the yummy breakfasts at the windjammer.
During breakfast, we were trying to get everyone to sign their safety waivers for our rainforest excursion. We were having the hardest time. The form online worked for some people, but not for all. It was kind of a pain, but we were finally able to get them all done using certain people's phones that worked.
We worked our way down to the bottom of the ship when Canyon realized he didn't have his sea pass on him & had to run back up to the 9th floor to grab it. Even with all the setbacks, we were still the first 16 people off the ship at 7am sharp.
Our tour guide met us right at 7:10am with 3 vehicles. Everybody piled in & we drove 1.5 hours to the Puerto Rico Rainforest. (Everybody slept the entire way there!)
When we arrived, we were told to leave everything in the car. Trek brought his phone, but everyone else just left theirs in the vehicles. We all put on life vests & helmets & started our hike into the rainforest. SO EXCITING.
Video: Trekking into the Rain Forest
This was honestly my favorite thing ever. I loved hiking through this. It smelled SO GOOD (lots of plants), the sounds of the birds & insects were beautiful, & we were completely covered with plants so there was no sun shining down on us at all. It was nice & cool & just beautiful all around. The canopy kept us covered so we didn't need sunscreen.
Our tour guides were the best. They told us several times to follow their steps exactly so we wouldn't get hurt. They stopped us all along the way to teach us about the different species of plants & animal life in the rainforest.
Video: Learning in the Rain Forest
My favorite plants were the ferns whose leaves closed when touched. It was a natural defense mechanism, but it was beautiful.
Video: Rain Forest Closing Leaves
We learned about some color changing plants based on sunlight, some plants that paralyze your eyes, mouth, & fingers if touched, & more. There were some pretty dangerous plants out there, but as long as you avoided them, you were safe.
Towards the end of our first hike, we had to hike down a tiny crack at a 75 degree angle & it was HARD. We were sliding all over the place. It was kind of scary, but I loved it. I love adventurous things & I felt SO accomplished when I made it to the bottom. We made sure to help Opa & Oma down & by using their walking sticks, we made that steep downgrade a lot easier by holding onto them like ropes. At the bottom of the slope was a beautiful opening with a river/lake with the clearest water I've ever seen, waterfalls, fish, & beauty all around.
We spent over 2 hours just swimming, cliff jumping, rope swinging, & riding down the waterfalls like waterslides. Fish swam around our feet. The water was cool & beautiful. The plants protected us from the sun. It was the perfect WATER/SWIM day ever. I loved it & I don't swim.
For the canyoneering part of the tour (sliding down the waterfalls), there was an additional hike. It was a little more on the dangerous side, but the adventurous had a blast. I can't swim, so it was a hard no for me, but Trek, Lo, Elijah, Craiger, & some of Trek's family all went up to give it a try. They LOVED it & went down several times.
Video: Lorien Rainforest Waterslide
Video: Elijah Rainforest Waterslide
Video: Craiger Rainforest Waterslide
Video: Trek Rainforest Waterslide
After waterslide fun, we came back to the open water area & let everyone cliff jump into the water. Everyone loved that. Trek struggled because of his fear of heights, but he was brave & did awesome too.
Video: Craiger Cliff Jumping
Video: Elijah Cliff Jumping
Video: Trek Cliff Jumping
Video: Lorien Cliff Jumping
Then we spent the rest of the time swimming & playing on the rope swing. I think my kids had the most fun they have had the entire trip on that rope swing. They were loving it.
Video: Trek Rope Swing #1
Video: Craiger Rope Swing #1
Video: Lorien Rope Swing #1
Video: Elijah Rope Swing #1
Video: Craiger Rope Swing #2
Video: Taya Rope Swing #1
Video: Taya Rope Swing #2
Video: Trek Rope Swing #2
After 2 hours of fun, we started our hike back (the same way we came) to the cars. We had to hike up that 75 degree slope UP this time which was tricky. We had to use tree roots to pull ourselves up the mountain, but it was SUPER FUN.
We piled back into the cars, grabbed some tacos from the sweet old lady selling them next to the rainforest entrance (they were FABULOUS), & then drove the 1.5 miles back to San Juan for the rest of the afternoon.
This was by far my favorite adventure of our entire trip.
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