El Yunque: Arboles Grandes Trail

The big finish to my Puerto Rican visit came Saturday morning with a guided tour of El Yunque National Forest. Danelle found me a terrific guide named John Druitt, a British expatriate who moved to the island 30 years ago. He picked me up at 7:00 and after some discussion of my interests (hiking and photography) decided that the Arboles Grandes Trail would be a worthy endeavor. So that's where we headed.

The environment is so completely different than what I'm used to.  Looking up toward the treetops made me feel like I was on the set of Avatar.

I can't even imagine how easy it must be to get lost with the vegetation so dense.  Take a few steps off the trail, lose your bearings and I expect you could get yourself in a tough spot.

John had spent time in the Amazon researching medicinal plants, and a couple of years living off the land when he first moved to Puerto Rico.  His knowledge of the flora and willingness to share it was a huge treat, such as when he pointed out extensive above-ground root systems like this one.

He explained that the white underside of Cecropia leaves are what gave the forest its name.  The native word for white sounded like the Spanish "yunque," which means anvil.  But the Spaniards thought they were just mispronouncing their word.  So, Anvil Forest.  Brilliant.

Not much fauna to speak of, though I really hadn't expected any.  This anole posturing on the side of a tree was the highlight as far as that went.  At least he was patient enough to wait for me to set up my tripod and get a nice, sharp shot.  I probably should have tried to get in a little closer, but I didn't want to scare him off.

La Mina Falls is the highlight of the hike -- 40 beautiful feet of cascading water.

The overcast skies provided the right sort of low contrast light to get some pretty decent shots.

Indulge me in just one more.  I don't get to shoot a lot of tropical waterfalls. :)

The trail isn't that long -- about a mile and a half from end to end.  Nor is it particularly steep, especially considering what I routinely hike in Colorado.  But the humidity was something I really struggled with.  As in, I was sweating like whatever pigs tell each other they're sweating like when they want to get the message across that they're really sweating.

The second half of the trail follows the river that feeds the falls.  I could have stopped every 50 feet for a new picturesque mix of rocks, water and lush vegetation.

Not much color other than shades of green.  So a little pink flower like this really stands out.  John told me what it was, but unfortunately I forgot.

This rusted ring of metal was apparently left over from a gold mining operation.  People had first tried to convert it into art.  Now nature is taking its turn.

The trail was exactly what I was hoping for -- a little bit of a workout packed with a lot of beautiful scenery. :)