After the cave

As I mentioned, the game plan was to go to the caves, and then go to Gustavo's party. We didn't, however, have directions to his house, and didn't really think about the fact that we were going to the hills, and might not have phone service. We didn't. So, we couldn't call for directions. However, we knew that he lived somewhere along the river, so we decided to drive around, just in case we stumbled onto it. I know that he has 15 brothers-in-law alone who were coming, so I thought we might be able to find a gathering that big. Unfortunately, we had no luck, but it was a pretty drive nonetheless.

Here's what some of the landscape looks like when you get a little more towards the north, north-central part of the island.

We ended up at Lago Dos Bocas (Lake of the Two Mouths)which was pretty cool. This lake has several restaurants dotted around it, and the only way to get to them is via boat. We are actually thinking of going to eat here next weekend with a group of people, so it was nice to check it out before hand. One shot is taken looking down on the lake; the other two are of driving across the really scary looking dam for the lake.

what the rest of the hike looked like

I love the lush green of here...

Tree roots and the second cave

Here are some of the tree roots... growing THROUGH rock.

Crawling into the second cave, which was wet. Ergo, the pictures of me, trying not to bust my butt, while my husband takes pictures :-)

Last picture is of Steve coming up the rope, that then leads you out past the tree growing into the opening.

Why we came to the cave

Why we came to the cave

And... voila! This is the reason I wanted to come here so badly. Just look at that view.

Aw Rats... BATS!

They were everywhere! I mean, EVERYWHERE! Fuzzy, screechy little guys.

Before I tilted my head up, I always shone a light up, just to make sure I wasn't providing a face-sized target for Guano practice...

Cueva Ventana

More cool pictures inside of the cave. I think the one stalactite looks a lot like some of the suspended holy water / infant baptismal pools in some of the European churches.

Cueva Ventana

Just inside the main entrance to the cave, there were lots of really cool little tunnels you could crawl through. The first 2 pics are of me and Steve in front of one. We crawled in a little ways, but the entire cave is covered in really fine dirt, and we realized we were going to get beyond filthy if we actually got down on our stomachs. Normally, neither of us mind one little bit, but since we were still planning on going to Gustavo's afterwards, we backed out. Next picture is the formation just inside the mouth of the cave. I think it looks a lot like Edvard Munch's "The Scream" only this one's creepier because it has scary teeth, set sideways like Picasso added them later.

And then, some shots inside the cave.

Cueva Ventana

More pictures of the main opening to the cave, and Steve by that same tree, just for scale.The second to last picture is shooting up the trail that leads into the mouth of the cave, and the last pic is me, halfway down that trail.

Cueva Ventana

So, we made it, with no need of the snazzed-up ElCamino. Thanks be.

Here's the picture of the path on the side of the highway, beside the Texaco. Now, tell me you would ever have known to go there?!

The next two pictures are of the tree which is growing down into the entrance of the smaller of the two caves. This is the entrance we were told to skip the first time around; it's better to go in the main entrance and come out this way so you can better see what you're doing. That was good advice. There's actually a rope inside the cave to help you with the climb from the ledge just inside this entrance, but I never would have seen it, standing here. This was my first Oooooooh moment of the trip. It is so indescribably cool to see these massive tree roots growing right down into the mouth of a cave. It makes you feel like you're in Angkor Wat - not a US territory! I was essentially cartwheeling the rest of the trail to the main entrance, I was so excited.

The next picture shows the main entrance to Cueva Ventana (to the right) and another completely amazing tree growing by the entrance. I'm leaning back on it, and you can see one of the roots snaking across the rock and going out of the frame; that root goes all the way into the entrance of the second cave, and you can follow it for literally hundreds of feet across the floor of the cave. We were both incredulous at how much root it has!

Easter Weekend

We're still on our way to Utuado. I couldn't resist posting this shot.

The El Camino Hearse-ado.

Beautiful.

Easter Weekend

Happy Easter everyone! I hope it was as much of a beauty of a weekend on the mainland as it was here. We had some pretty great weather - much less humid, breezy, and cooler temps. Perfect scenario for a little exploring! Since we first got here, I've seen pictures of a place called "Cueva Ventana" (Window Cave) but I've never been able to find directions for how to get there. Another Puerto Rico blog I follow made a posting on Friday, extolling its beauty, and FINALLY!! posting directions! As luck would have it, we were planning on going to Gustavo's party on Saturday, and he lives in the same town as the caves, Utuado. So, with GPS in hand, Pandora streaming the Beach Boys in the car, and several changes of clothes, we headed out.

Here's thing number 3,534,194 that I love about living in Puerto Rico: there are a gazillion beautiful things to see, and most of them are free for the traipsing, if you can just find them. Cueva Ventana is a prime example. The directions go something like this: "Find Highway 10. Take it to Utuado. Look for the Texaco around km 75. Park on the side of the highway and look for the dirt path that's been chained off leading up the hill. Walk up the pathway, and each time it forks, take the path that looks right. Recommend: right, right, then left until you find a big tree with roots growing into a cave entrance. You can get into the cave that way, but it's not recommended for the first time since there's an 8 foot dropoff into pitch dark. Keep walking to the bigger entrance". Can you imagine something like that in Florida, for example? It would be: "follow the signs to the toll road. Pay toll, then find parking lot. Pay parking fee. Head to Visitor's Center to pay entrance fee and sign liability waiver. Put on obligatory helmet, knee pads, and safety goggles. Walk to the entrance of the cave, look in, then proceed to movie theater to view the movie of the cave" We had fun :-)

Ok. So, here starts the pictures. BTW - we took millions of pictures, so I'll upload them to another google album which you can access here: (tbd)

More pictures of the Old old old Ceiba trees in Quebradillas:

Ceiba trees

I'll post some more pictures of these later. We took a bunch on the
big camera, but have to get home to download them. Now, we're on our
way to explore some new caves!

Ceiba trees

This is the state tree of Puerto Rico. Aren't they amazing? I've heard
that these particular trees are about 120 years old. Their bark is
covered in huge thorns, so you have to be really careful where you
touch them!

UNOs, watch out for slaughter spinoccoli

For anyone who doesn't know, I am an Unos pizzaria junkie. It was "our
place" when Steve and I started dating, and even without the
sentimentality, their spinoccoli pizza is heaven on earth. Last night,
I decided to try my hand at homemade deep dish. Gotta say, it turned
out pretty amazingly tasty! The dough still needs a little work, and I
need a remedial math class (two 8 inch pans does NOT equal a 14 inch
pan) so, the crust was ridiculously thick. But, at least it tasted good!

We have an Unos here, but it's an hour away in Mayaguez. I have been
known to risk life and limb to drive there just for lunch. If I can
nail this recipe, we just might save a tremndous amount on gas...