El Yunque

1.13.19

                                         

SPECIAL NOTE: Now that Jenny is here, hopefully we can get our pictures in order.  Please be ready to check back and see the photos we have selected for each day.  We aren’t quite there yet but she will endeavor to backfill all of the missing pieces. Sorry for the delays.

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It’s Sticky’s birthday!! (Sticky and Steve are the same person.) We were still up past midnight so we got to wish him the earliest of happy birthdays.  The Picante team made pancakes to celebrate the big day, with add-ins of bananas, M&Ms, and mangoes in some of them.  We made a sticky mess (pun intended) but it was worth it. 

We had a quick world premier (this is what we call it when we show each other the daily videos for the first time) and waited for our bus to arrive to take us to the rain forest. As we waited, some unexpected rains came, which gave us time to do some sprints between the kitchen and the laundry line to try to save our almost-dry clothes.  Fortunately we had already thought about the house towels so we didn’t have to worry about making tough decisions about what to save.  

The rains passed and our bus hadn’t yet arrived so we did some investigative work on our own interior doors, as they all kind of drag on the floor and make terrible noises when we try to open them.  That’s usually not a big deal but in the middle of the night when the bathroom door scrapes across the floor, it can really shoot through the spines of everyone in earshot.  So much for sneaking some privacy . . .

We fixed some doors and, of course, found that getting engrossed in an alternate project brought our bus along right away.  We loaded up and a couple of us also rode with Jessica, who joined us for our day in El Yunque (pronounced kind of like “el JOON-kay”).  

El Yunque is visible from almost everywhere we’ve been in Puerto Rico, as it is a vast forest on a mountain.  People point to it from all directions and tell stories about what they have experienced there.  There are even huge epic tales about El Yunque fighting off prior hurricanes and protecting the island from the kind of massive destruction that Maria eventually brought.  And there are stories of suspicion about what might be going on in the deepest depths of the forest, though we don’t quite know what to make of those.  In any case, we were very excited to see the rainforest for ourselves.  

We were very fortunate to have Jessica come along.  She is just a wonderful person to be around no matter what’s going on, as she has a beautiful and expressive face that exudes friendship and love in all that she does or says.  But she is also a local who understands the mystical power of the El Yunque forest and who could help us to get some perspective on the sacred space we were entering.  We agreed to be quiet in entering and to make sure that we left with everything that we brought in, particularly if we were bringing in trash of any kind (like Clif bar wrappers or personal wipes).  

Jessica gave us an introduction to the forest from a trailhead and then had each of us enter using the same ritual: touch the ground, touch your head, touch your heart. Then walk in total silence all the way to Angelitos, a waterway and boulder area that would eventually serve as our swimming hole.  

We were in awe of all that we saw, even though most of the plants and leaves we spotted were familiar. In this case, though, each of those familiar plants was about ten times the size (or a hundred times?) of what we are accustomed to seeing in our California lives.  There were some huge bamboo stalks that were about ten inches thick and some ferns with fronds about ten feet long.  There were plants with enormous leaves that seemed like they could be used as hammocks if suspended properly.  And all of these shades of green cascaded up, up, up, the sides of the mountain in every direction.  

When we reached the end of the path, we remained silent for quite awhile.  We all positioned ourselves on different boulders and just looked downstream, upstream, or into the sky to just take everything in. Because it is Sunday and we didn’t make our way to church today, Sophia and Molly led us in a group reflection about gratitude, blessings, and the divine.  We talked about all that we appreciate, including each other, this experience, our families out there who are supporting and following us, the communities here, the peace that nature gives us, the presence of the sacred all around us, and the beauty of the color(s) green.  

From there Jessica helped us to make the transition into entering the river by speaking of the traditional river god and describing her spirit, her appearance, her personality, and her name: Ochun (or Oshun or Oxun in Portuguese – in any case, pronounced like: Oh-SHOON).  She talked about different beliefs that people have about the spirit of the river and then let us know both that we were ready to enter the river and that the river was ready for us.  

We explored the swimming area and found our way to points with different currents (none terribly fast) and areas of different depths.  We grouped up in different ways, then moved around a bit and grouped up in other ways.  Some of us continued to contemplate the beauty of the area in relative solitude but all of us experienced extreme contentment.  

Some locals came and went during our time there, including one guy who could take a blade from a palm frond, start twisting it madly, and about twenty seconds later produce a lovely facsimile of a rose, or a fish on a line, or – with a few more fronds – a hat. We each walked away with at least one of these creations.  

A light rain began to fall, as often happens unexpectedly around here, but we didn’t mind.  We casually started heading toward our bags and then up the trail and then back to the bus.  We drove just a few minutes back down the mountain to a bridge that seemed like a fine lunch spot.  We had brought our own plates and forks and our driver had brought our food from San Isidro.  Again, some of us went to the riverbank, some stayed on the bridge, and some stayed right around the bus area.  We kept talking about how blessed we were to be here and then we went on our way.  

A few people stopped with Jessica to get a cake and candles (but no ice cream!  There was none to be had) for Sticky’s birthday.  Tonight we will have dinner together and then have a little birthday party for Sticky.  Maybe we will add more to this post after that.  Maybe we won’t.  In either case, be ready for many more pics to show up in past (and future) posts, as Jenny is on cleanup duty on blog visuals.  We just noticed that there is a video missing too, so we will go back and put that one in.  Thanks for your patience as we work out the kinks over here and even more, thanks for your support.  We really, really feel it.  

We found this beautiful plant on our way down to the river. The leaves have a unique shape and looks very animated. 

As we walked silently down to the river we tried to listen to the sounds of the forest. We were surrounded by everything green!

For Sticky’s birthday we enjoyed some time swimming in this river. Scott is sitting on a big rock contemplating life and what he is grateful for. 

A Puerto Rican man gave us palm leaf roses as a gift when we were done swimming. 

During our visit to El Yunque, we stopped near a bridge to enjoy our lunch. 

A view of the grandeur of El Yunque.

A tiny snail enjoying the rain.

A beautiful little bird that we spotted in our glorious hike in the Yunque National Park.

The hiking map to our swimming spot. What a great Sunday!

“This leaf is bigger than my face” –Lindsay