The boys have been asking for a beach trip for a couple of years now. We weren’t in the mood for a Florida or Hawaii trip during the height of spring break, so we decided to check out Puerto Rico. We rented a condo in Rincon, on the western coast of the island, hoping for a somewhat more relaxed scene.
We couldn’t avoid the spring breakers entirely, but the western side of the island was definitely more secluded than the area immediately around San Juan. On the first day, we ventured south along the west coast of the island, with stops at Playa Buye and Playa Sucia. Some of the sites in the area were closed, including the Las Salinas salt flats, so for the most part, we just baked in the sun.
Monday we headed inland towards San Sebastian and the Cascada Gozalandia, where we found waterfalls that poured into swimming basins, complete with rope swings and cliff diving. After lunch, we tried to see the Arecibo observatory. We knew the observatory was closed after the dish collapsed a few years ago, but we got some conflicting information online about whether there was still a visitor center, or at least an overlook where you could see the remains. Unfortunately, it was completely closed down. We decided to head north to the Cueva del Indio, where there are some caves and rock formations around the coast.
The next day we stayed local and explored some of the beaches around Rincon. Our favorite was Playa Dona Lala, where there was a decent amount of space to spread out, good boogie boarding waves, and a couple of sand volleyball courts. It had something for everyone. We returned here several times during our trip.
Wednesday was supposed to be a zip-line day, but spring break got the best of us again. The time slots were full, and we couldn’t get called up from the waitlist. We decided to check out El Yunque national forest, a rain forest just east of San Juan. The area was overcrowded once again, but we managed to find a parking spot at the far end of the road. This allowed us to hike up into the forest to an overlook tower that provided beautiful views out to the city and the coast.
Even though the island is only about 100 miles wide, it’s about a 3 hour drive from Rincon to San Juan and El Yunque in traffic. We decided we didn’t want to make that trip again until it was time to fly home, so we swung into old town San Juan on our way home from the rain forest. The old town has a couple of old Spanish forts, and is filled with colorful buildings that line the narrow cobblestone streets.
The next few days were filled with more beaches along the western and northern coasts of the island. We found some nice open air restaurants for lunch to get out of the mid-day sun, and then back to a beach in the afternoon. We enjoyed our stay, even though we didn’t get to do everything we had hoped. We returned home sunburned and rested, and can now turn our attention to the next big family event, Evan’s graduation in May.
