El Yunque: Mt. Britton Trail

What's better than one hike in the United States' only tropical rainforest? Two hikes! So after my short trek on the Arboles Grandes Trail, John and I headed to the Mt. Britton Trail.

I actually spotted these striking metallic blue beetles before John did.  He wasn't sure what they were, and I haven't been able to find a definitive identity for them online, either.  The closest I've seen is the blue milkweed beetle, which is only supposed to be found in western North America.

When you get up over 2,500 feet above sea level, you get into cloud forest.  There's less sound than lower down where the birds are more active.  And certainly lower visibility.  Truly a different world.

And as John warned when we started, in a rainforest you also get rain.  I thought I might be able to get an interesting shot looking up at Mt. Britton Tower with raindrops on the lens, but didn't quite get the effect I was hoping for.  The most interesting thing about the image to me is the drop that looks like a face in the lower left.

This one from inside the tower was more along the lines of what I was hoping for.  The orange on the stones is a type of lichen.

The tower is not especially tall -- just 40 steps.  But somehow by the time I got to the top, the sun was out.  Rain apparently comes and goes quickly in El Yunque.

I like how the difference in shading on the various ridges in this scene really emphasizes the depth and distance.

John actually knew of a specific plant in a specific spot where we were likely to see a stick insect.  And sure enough, we did.

Why do I love getting guides so much when I go places I've never been?  So I can see things like Juan Diego Falls.  After finishing Mt. Britton Trail we had some time left before I needed to get back to catch my flight home, so John decided we could squeeze this in.  The trail to it is short, but not really marked.  I would never have gotten to experience this spot on my own.

Given more time I might have tried to find a path to the upper falls.  Not that there was anything wrong with the view right where I was.

A final fallen Cecropia leaf capturing a variety of hues on a single palette, and we were done.  We crammed in so much in such a short time -- just four hours in the forest -- that it was hard to get my brain around it all.  But thankfully I have my photos to help reinforce the amazing memories of it all. :)