Our
on-site discovery of the El Conquistador hotel was a great find
and the stay was nice. Some photos below will tell that
story. After enjoying a nice (but pricey) birthday dinner
at the hotel, we locked-and-loaded for our return to San Juan in
preparation for returning to San Diego.
The photos below are what we saw.
The El
Conquistador is an awesome place: 500 acres of grounds, a
private island and a world-class golf course.
There is
a private marina and a catamaran that goes over to the private
island.
We did
not go into the pool on the upper level, but it was nicely kept.
The
upper garden was visible from the front door to our suite.
The main
pool was situated just below the entrance to the hotel.
It was
early in the morning, but it was hot. But, Kathleen
insisted on a photo anyway.
To get
from the upper level of the hotel to the marina you have to take
the funicular tram. It is a car that rides on the rails
like an elevator.
There
were some nice boats in the marina.
While
inspecting the boats, we spotted this fellow. Note the
claws on the rear left leg. There are at least 5 segments
to its middle toe and a huge claw on the end.
From the
marina the upper portion of the hotel was visible. The
lower dwellings are a mixture of private condos and casitas that
are rented by the week.
From the
El Conquistador we headed toward the San Juan area. Along
the way we passed the Yunque rain forest park so we decided to
check it out. We headed up the highway to the interior of
the rain forest and along the way we had a view of the Caribbean
sea below.
The view
point had a nice set of giant ferns.
There
were a set of interesting epiphytes on the nearby trees.
The blooms were purple, but the leaves of the succulents were translucent
pink.
This
bread fruit is about the size of a giant grapefruit.
Further
up the road we came to a waterfall beside the road.
On the
other side of the road, the stream disappeared into the dense
jungle.
The
brush was so thick that visibility was limited to just a few
feet. Vines were hanging everywhere.
Kathleen
spotted this leaf that had been penetrated by another plant
growing.
On one
of the highest hills there was a stone lookout tower.
The
nearby peaks in the Yunque rainforest were shrouded in clouds.
As we
were walking around and exploring things we spotted these
flowers in bloom.
Nearby
there were some interesting red blossoms.
The
forest was very thick and the spots that we could see anything
but the nearfield brush were few. But, we did get to a
spot that we could see off the ridge.
The
upper portion of the road ended in a observation tower that
provided a commanding view of the northeastern portion of Puerto
Rico.
The tower allowed us
to see the town of Luquillo in the distance.
Further to the east
was Fajardo and the El Conquistador.
To the south of the
tower were large limestone cliffs.
From Yunque we continued on to Isla Verde. Our hotel turned out to be the airport Marriott, but the room had a great view of the beach.
While I was taking photos of the beach, a helicopter flew past our room.
Our 12th floor
balcony provided a good view of the aircraft leaving the
international airport in San Juan.
The Caribbean as
awesome; we have been there a number of times and it is
still a favorite destination. We will return soon.
| Previous Adventure | ||
| Trip Home Page |
Photos and Text Copyright Bill Caid 2012, all rights
reserved.
For your enjoyment only, not for commercial use.