By Clara McGrath, ’17, Hannah Kozdeba, ’18, and Isabella Whelan, ’19

After another fabulous day we started our journey again at the Fajardo Inn. After a delicious breakfast we travelled to the beach to go kayaking and snorkeling – we had the same guides we had for the bioluminescent bay tour. After a tough paddle through the waves to the clear, exotic reef, we were tired. But we put on our gear and jumped into the water. We explored the mysterious ocean floor for a while, until the large waves got too big for snorkeling. This was a great experience that none of us will never forget. After a long journey kayaking back from the reef, Nestor, the guide, said how brave we were for being able to take on the difficult waves and how well all of us were kayaking together.

After a long and exhausting two and a half hours kayaking, a short bus ride was taken to get lunch and continue our journey to the rainforest. After arriving at the rainforest, we watched a short video on its long history. We then hiked for half an hour until we reached a large pond with a waterfall. After the waterfall we started heading south towards the bus. Stopping along the way seeing cool birds, interesting trees, and unknown animals we reached the bottom of the mountain, and got on the bus to come back to San Juan.

Exhausted from our day of exploring, we changed for dinner. We took a short bus ride to one of the oldest restaurants in old San Juan. At 200 years old, Barrachina is still intact and running smoothly and is the birth place of the piña colada. The piña colada was created by three men who decided to put ice, coconut, and pineapple juice together.

This morning, we had a rough 6AM wake up call in order to prepare for a long drive to the caves. We arrived at the Camuy River Cave Park, and we received headsets and audio systems to listen to the audio guide. We drove on a trolly down to the entrance of the cave, and followed the path into the dark, damp cave and listened to the audio guide tell us about the history of the cave. We learned about the species of animals and plants that live in the cave, and the secrets of the rock formations on the walls. When we finished, we came out hungry and ready for lunch. This trip has been a wonderful experience for all and we are never ever going to forget it.