El Morro

San Juan used to be an important military fort for the Spanish when they were protecting all of their money-making colonies in Central and South America.  Today I went to visit El Morro, one of these old Spanish forts.  The building was impressive, but the view of the ocean might have been even more incredible!  It must have been scary for colonists or soldiers to cross the giant ocean in the 1700s.

Old San Juan

Today, I travelled to the neighborhood Old San Juan.  This is the part of the capital city that existed long ago when Puerto Rico was controlled by the Spanish Empire.  It has narrow, cobblestone streets and beautifully colored buildings.

While I was here, I tried Mofongo.  Mofongo is a food made of mashed plantain bananas and stuffed with some type of meat.  Mine was made with shredded beef.  I love Puerto Rican food.

Bahia Beach

Puerto Rico is an island in the Caribbean Sea.  Because it is close to the equator, it is very warm most of the year.  Because it is an island, there are lots of beaches.  I spent today at one of them: Bahia Beach.  Bahia Beach is on the Northeast corner of the island, and is not very crowded since it is far away from most big cities.  While sitting on the beach, I finished a book: Leviathan.

El Yunque

Today, I woke up early and drove to El Yunque.  El Yunque is a national rainforest located on a mountain.  After driving many miles into the rainforest, I parked my car and got out to hike on a trail.

There are many great hiking trails in El Yunque rainforest.  The one that I chose took me very close to the peak of the mountain.  It was such a beautiful view!  Unfortunately, I had to come back down quickly because it started to rain.

A Day of Travel

Today felt so long!  I started out by flying from the Minneapolis airport in Minnesota to Atlanta.  I had to fly to Atlanta because there was not a direct flight all the way to Puerto Rico.  In Atlanta, I had to wait for an hour before boarding my second plane to fly to San Juan.

San Juan is the capital city of Puerto Rico.  It has a population of 400,000 people, and used to be a very important Spanish military city in the 1800s.  Even though I only was in San Juan for a little while today, I am looking forward to coming back to visit later this week.

At the airport, I got a rental car that I could drive for the week.  Even though some rental companies say that people need to be 25 to drive a rental car, I found one that let anyone over the age of 21 use their vehicles.  The Car that I rented was a Hyundai.

Preparing to Leave

I'm at home with my family right now in Eagan, Minnesota.  I'm really excited for my big trip to Puerto Rico, especially because it's only 40 degrees here.  I just looked at the weather forecast, and it said it will be over 70 degrees every day this week in Puerto Rico!

The flight there will be very long, but I'm sure I can handle it because once I get there my week of fun will begin!