I started out editing every single picture from this one place, which turned out to be a chore. So enjoy this compilation of edited and unedited pics.
Day one, not counting the travel day started out in Arecibo and activity wise ended at the Observatorio de Arecibo.
Today is the morning adventure, and I say adventure whole heartedly, to Parque de las Cavernas del Rio Camuy.
On the way to the caves Google Maps went crazy and pushed us way past the actual park... if you're unfamiliar with the Puerto Rican landscape this isn't somewhere you want to be on a dirt road at. The north-west-ish area is what is called a karst landscape.
No biggie, but when you're driving in a mini van in what seems like a straight up vertical road you lose all need for adventure. That right there, that's enough adventure for any soul driving in what my ancient looking map referred to as the West Indies.
Do we even call it that anymore?
For a minor break from my Karst crazy adventures, I loved how there were plants growing on trees all over the island. I don't know the technical term, but who cares.
Now after we took some bogus turn into a man's vertical driveway that was littered with chickens and there was no English being spoken... I was ready to get out of the car.
I point out the lack of English at this point for two reasons, 1 being that I can get by with my Spanish. I speak enough to understand but not totally communicate back all the time. It's gotten rusty being married to the white boy. Now secondly, you won't get the accent free English in the rest of the island like you do in San Juan.
Lucky for me I understood enough of the man's directions while my super white mother and husband asked for directions. For the record Jeremy asked for directions with a fake Mexican accent that he will probably deny if you ask him, Laura and I were rolling laughing in the back of that car though!
Now for the Rio Camuy Caves, I'll shut up and throw in a fact or two here an there.
As far as Puerto Rican adventure go, this one is priced well. It's $12 for adults, 6 for kids and seniors, and from what I gathered from the sign over $75 is free. That wasn't listed in any travel book I read though.
They are open from 8-5 and I highly suggest getting there long before they open. You'll get a ticket saying what number you were to enter the park, at a certain point they stop letting people in no matter what time. Since we went in the off season we ran into many local summer camps bringing in kids.
We sure you get places early in June/July to avoid the summer camps!
Taking pictures on manual in the caves is for the birds! Light changed so much in that tropical forest the deeper we got that I had a heck of a time with camera settings.
From here on out we are editing free, it's just all Puerto Rico and no Pic Monkey people:)
Confession, I used flash a few times just so I could see where I was going.
If I am remembering correctly the main cavern that Rio Camuy carved out is the tallest/largest in the states. Maybe world, I wasn't good at paying attention that day, there were a ton of school kids, slippery ground, and an over abundance of bats.
It doesn't look that large until people are standing in it.
Notice the spots on Dad's shirt, it's either water or bat droppings. Or a mixture, we tried to not think about it. This was a bat dense area of the cave, she told us not to touch the railings so we wouldn't get it on us.
The spider that lives in that cave is the one the spider in Harry Potter was modeled after.
It's easier to carry a kid than let them walk through Camuy. Had I not held his hand he probably would have fell in a hole, hence Jeremy resolving to hold him.
What do you know, we made it to the end! Who all is still awake, or even present.
