Puerto Rico, Day 5

Yesterday I didn't write, because I wasn't feeling very well at dinner. We went to the same pizzeria/panaderia where we got desserts on day two, and from about the moment I walked in, I thought I was going to get sick. We ordered a large ham and olive pizza, and it was very big. Still, the half a piece I managed to eat was much less than I would usually have an appetite for. Both Lydia and Rachel ate more than I did. But, once I got up and left the restaurant, I felt suddenly better.

We spent the day at El Yunque National Forest, about forty-five minutes east of San Juan. We didn't leave San Juan until about 10:30, because Colin slept later than usual. We stopped at the visitor's center for a few minutes and made the girls use the restroom, then got back in the car and drove up the road, which was uphill toward the mountain peak. We decided to drive all the way to the top, then make our way back down and find a place to take a walk.

We chose the La Mina Falls trail. I carried Colin, and the girls walked. It was all downhill from the parking lot to the falls, with lots of stairs, and all uphill coming back. The falls at the bottom of the trail were a popular place to go swimming, and the trail crossed a bridge and went on to a different parking lot further down the road from where we stopped, but we decided to turn around and go back. It took almost exactly an hour, all told.

We didn't see much in the way of wildlife. There were a few lizards here and there, and one big snail, but no mammals and few if any birds. We did hear the distinctive coquí of a frog, but didn't see it. Too many people, right in the middle of the day, I guess. Still, it was a very pleasant walk, and I was proud of how well the girls held up. I commented to Nicole that it made me appreciate La Escuelita, where the kids walk almost every day.

We left the park around 2pm and stopped at a place called the Rum House for lunch. We sat outside on a patio and the girls played under the palm trees, breaking open one of the fallen fruits, while we waited for our food. It was a very laid back atmosphere, so there was a lot of waiting, but the bartender who doubled as our waiter was exuberant, and we observed several groups of people at the bar, eventually discovering that one had roots in Pittsburgh, when we heard them mention the Pirates and Penguins.

Nicole and I both had mofongo relleno, she with chicken in garlic sauce, and I with fried pork. The kids shared tostones with chicken, rice and beans, and sweet plantains. Nicole had first a rum & Coke, and then the bartender's own concoction, which involved cranberry and ginger ale. We didn't leave there until right at 4pm. The drive back to San Juan took us through a bit of a traffic jam, but we still pulled in to an open parking space by 5pm, one block down the hill from our apartment. Instead of going home, we headed a few blocks west to hit up the limbers place again. Lydia and Rachel both chose coconut this time, but Nicole had pineapple, and I had raspberry. This last was a bit of a disappointment, but the pineapple was excellent.

We stopped at home for a bit after that before heading up to the pizzeria. After we returned home, and the kids were all in bed, I felt good enough to eat one of the avocados Nicole had found at the supermarket the day before. It had ripened quite a lot since the night before, and was excellent. We drank some white wine and read a book until bed time.