El Yunque Rainforest

 Amanda and I got to visit the El Yunque Rainforest while she was in town. Ryan wasn't able to come because he was underway on his boat. We went on a guided hiking tour and went on several trails through the forest. One of the trails follows the course of the La Mina River downward through tropical trees, shrubs and flowers to the La Mina waterfall (Cascada La Mina).

 

Snails on leaves.

 Along the way, it crosses and re-crosses the rushing river on many small bridges, passing tiny cascades and still pools filled with chilled mountain water, on its way to the falls.

The waterfall drops over 35 feet through a jumble of huge rocks into a pool where hikers can choose to swim in the cool refreshing water or just rest and enjoy the view.