Let the sun shine!

We headed out for a morning in El Yunque rain forest southeast of San Juan. Bright sun and blue skies lasted most of the
day as we visited the visitors' center for a short movie (in Spanish) about the history of the National Park, then headed out for two hikes into the forest. Our tour guide led us through a beautiful hike with great information about plants, flowers, history, and cultural stories about tour surroundings. Our second short hike ended at a waterfall where we could get in and swim. The kids (and chaperones!) were so excited to swim, laugh, play and enjoy this unique experience. We wrapped up our visit with a walk up the observation tower with a 360 degree view of the rain forest, the distant beaches, and a hazy view of St. Thomas in the far horizon. Ironically, we had no rain in the rain forest, which no one minded.
After a short drive down out of the mountains, we went to Luquillo Beach for an afternoon of swimming, soccer, relaxing and playing on one of the most beautiful beaches in Puerto Rico. The kids have really lived in the moment today, literally taking the plunge into a extraordinary environment and soaking in this chance to be together.
The rain did finally return while we were having dinner, so we had to amend our kayaking plans and we hope to do the bioluminescent bay tomorrow night.
We are off to Old San Juan tomorrow to explore the forts and European flavor of the oldest part of the city. And I'm sure we'll find our way back to the ocean before the day's end. Buenas noches!