Baby Boomer Traveling: Moss, Lichen and Ferns oh my!

Ever been to a tropical rain forest? If you have then you've traveled outside the U.S. or you've been to El Yunque. The only rain forest in the United States is in Puerto Rico.

The canopy overhead on one of the trails

Now for what you need to know to include El Yunque in your plans while in P.R. There are two ways to see the rain forest. Either by guided tour or on your own. The first cost between $100 and $200 depending on time of year and what else is included in your excursion. The second option will cost you the price of a rental car (for us in low season this was $10 per day) and the obligatory stop at the visitor's center for a map and general info $4. Cost however shouldn't be your only criteria for choosing. You should decide if you want to drive in unfamiliar surroundings, with most street/road signs in Spanish as well as find a place for lunch where you will be comfortable on your own, or would you rather leave the whole thing to someone else.

part of the 28,000 acres of El Yunque

Either way I would suggest you get there early for several reasons. You beat most of the crowds, you might miss the rain, and you could possibly see the mist clouds. It is a rain forest after all.
Now that we've been reminded about the rain forest, what to wear/bring along for this excursion is important. Wear good walking shoes/light hiking shoes to be able to comfortably navigate the trails in El Yunque. Lightweight clothes and a swim suit are a must if you want to join in the fun at the waterfalls. However, there are no places to change and no restrooms at the top of the trail for the falls, so you'll have to wear your suit in with something over it if you plan to get in the water. You should also bring water along to drink.
One last caveat for my fellow boomers, the trails in El Yunque are well marked, have handrails & places to rest where possible, are as slippery resistant as possible but all that being said they are still in a rain forest in the mountains. So that means lots of steep ups and downs, stairs both directions, and even switchbacks on the trails. My suggestion is that you bear all this in mind. Only you know your physical condition and whether you can easily handle the trails, or will be struggling on the trails.
I made one bad mistake while hiking El Yunque, I did not eat a good breakfast and did not bring sufficient snacks with me. As I am hypoglycemic I knew better, but I was more interested in camera equipment than food/snacks. That mistake really cost me later on in the day. Thank goodness for the good friends we made who came along and took good care of me.

one of the stops on our drive thru El Yunue

tropical flowers abound

some flowers I'd never seen before

another small fall on the way to La Mina

more of the flora

another shot of the canopy

bromeliads are everywhere, using trees as hosts on which they grow

one of the brooks/streams we saw

don't have any idea what this plant is,
but it smelled so wonderful

interesting flora

like the title says moss, lichen and ferns

this was so green, I had never seen anything quite that green
before. It was almost glowing with color.

Just a lovely leaf

These are actually
a root system, but
to me they looked
like the vines Tarzan
would swing from.

as one of the other people at the hostel said "green, green
and more green"

I was fascinated by this palm tree, who's roots grow outside
and then down into the ground lifting the whole tree up so
that it is suspended in the air ground by all these roots only.