USVI-On-Line

Years ago, before we purchased Coconuts, we spent Christmas week on Puerto Rico, followed by a week's stay on Vieques. During the first week, we drove up into Puerto Rico's El Yunque National Forest. The Visitor's Center (which now appears to have sustained weather damage, and has closed) is part way up the main peak in the park, El Toro. There is a hiking trail that leads to El Toro's summit, but it is in poor condition, and frequent rains from clouds that gather around the peak make the hike a difficult one. We didn't attempt it, but enjoyed our rain forest tour near the visitors center.

Coconuts faces due west, and on many days, you can make out Vieques along the horizon, as well as Culebra, which can be seen in a nook behind St. Thomas. Both are 45 miles away. From time to time, when the air is especially clear, the hills of Puerto Rico can be seen behind those Spanish Virgins, and you can make out El Toro, the highest peak on Puerto Rico, in the El Yunque National Forest: 3524 feet high! For the sake of comparison, the highest point on St. John, Bordeaux Mountain, is 1286 feet high, while the highest on Tortola, Mount Sage is 1716 feet high. El Toro is pretty big for the neighborhood, although, to be fair, Duarte Peak in the Dominican Republic is a lot higher, at over 10,000 feet.

As the crow flies, El Toro ("The Bull") is 65 miles from Gifft Hill.

This evening before sunset, the southern flank and fairly flat summit of El Toro were especially clearly delineated. On previous occasions where El Toro was visible to the eye, photos have had a hard time registering what the eye could clearly see. The following photo, while it doesn't capture El Toro quite as vividly as we saw it from the pool this evening, does a reasonable job. St. Thomas is in the foreground, Culebra is the narrow darker island in the notch behind St. Thomas, and El Toro is the peak in the distance. Its southern flank rises steadily, and then flattens out at the top. El Toro's northern flank is hidden by St. Thomas. That small triangular peak in the sea, well south of Culebra, is Sail Rock; this is off the southwestern end of St. Thomas, and depending on which side window seat you have, and the pilots flight plan, can often be seen wheeling below you during departures from STT. It lights up as bright white in the morning sunlight, but turns dark against the background sky with the westering sun.

It's pretty cool to be able to see a mountain in Puerto Rico, 65 miles away! Normally, the horizon is a mere 3 miles away, but the combination of a high El Toro (3524 feet), and a high Coconuts (750 feet), really extends the view.

Anthony recent changed the VIOL settings for in-line images, so when you click on the thumbnails below, they expand to full-sized, 2000 pixel wide images.
All the best,

Kevin

A beautiful view you have with a geography lesson to boot. Love knowing what
I am viewing. Thanks for the extra info. Always interesting.

Thanks Kevin! Always enjoy your pictures. Hope you and Danielle are having a great time. Counting down to that view!

Kevin,
Thanks! Great pictures and love the lesson. Tommy and I recently closed on our property on Jost. As we motor around the islands and we are working very hard at becoming familiar with all we see (near and off in the distance).

Very interesting, thanks for posting.

We stayed at the foot of El Yunque in 2014 on the way to STJ. We hired a local hiking guide to see the rain forest. It was a great experience and I would recommend it for anyone wanting an add-on to a STT/STJ trip.

I think the guide took my husband, son and our friends to the top of El Toro. I took a nasty fall on an earlier hike and had to sit that one out. I was shocked by how cold it was up in the forest but when seeing your elevation numbers, it makes sense.

Oh, Kevin, beautiful!! Thanks for posting. I so enjoyed that view in October and it was clear enough to see all of that then. I was amazed. One morning I thought Sail Rock was a cruise ship, but it didn't move and I used your information to figure it out. The hubby is determined to go other places right now (with no snorkeling ), but my heart wants to be in St. John! Enjoy and thanks for the beautiful pictures!

Thanks Kevin. Nice to know what you're looking at.

Very nice pictures! This is a bit off topic but I'm looking for advice from someone that "get's it"...the pull of STJ. We have considered many times to visit Puerto Rico but always end up on STT/STJ! We just found airfare for $560 for 2 people for 2 weeks on PR! Should we take the leap? We missed our trip to USVI this year because of work so we do really miss it. However, we have also entertained the idea of a move or partial move to PR because of the available infrustructure for business. However, we have never been there so we need to see if that is even a possiblity. We are contemplating 10 days on STT/STJ or doing a 2 week adventure on PR to include (unless you have a different suggestion) Rincon, Ponce, & Culebra or Vieques. TIA for you recommendations!

The short answer to your question is, yes you should look into it. It is different than the USVI. That's not good or bad. It's just different. Perhaps it is because of its Spanish history as opposed to the VI Danish history. It may have to do with its much longer history.

I was sent there in the mid '90s for work. We took full advantage of it by stretching out the trips and enjoying everything that PR has to offer. After several years we felt like we had done everything we wanted to do in PR and found the VI. We've been coming to STT and then STJ since except one business trip to PR.

Take in as much as you can in each trip. Start in San Juan and Old San Juan. You could walk through OSJ for a couple of days without running out of things to do. The Bacardi distillery is also in the San Juan area. They do tours daily. It's a great activity for a rainy day. We took a snorkeling trip in a cat out of Fajardo one day. Currents were a bit of a problem, but it was a fun trip. If you go west from San Juan along the north coast you will get to Arecibo where you will find the electronic telescope. It was the backdrop for Jodie Foster's 1997 film "Contact." Continue west and you find the town of Aguadilla. It will show you what life is really like in PR. Rincon is SW of Aguadilla and off the main road. The road and coast turn south and you get to Mayaguez. It is a larger town on the PR west coast. From there you are a short distance from the coastal town of Cabo Rojo. The town is set inland a bit, but you are very close to the water.

We drove south from San Juan and turned west into the rain forest one day. I can't remember if we turned at Caguas or Cayey. The road went across the top of the ridge that separates the northern and southern parts of the island. Be careful. The road is narrow, twisting, steep and sometimes you come around a turn and find a car stopped in the middle of the road while the driver is inside some roadside business.

Whether you an make a go of a business on PR is up to you, but there is plenty to see if you go.

JIM

And to think I had to cancel our trip to Coconuts this fall OMG what a beautiful view/sunset!!

2beachbums wrote:......

However, we have also entertained the idea of a move or partial move to PR because of the available infrustructure for business.

I'd suggest you do some research on the current economic climate in Puerto Rico, if you haven't already. The economy is in a major crisis, there's a huge amount of out-migration to the mainland, and it appears that things will continue to get worse before it can get better.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk ... d-to-know/

2beachbums wrote:Very nice pictures! This is a bit off topic but I'm looking for advice from someone that "get's it"...the pull of STJ. We have considered many times to visit Puerto Rico but always end up on STT/STJ! We just found airfare for $560 for 2 people for 2 weeks on PR! Should we take the leap? We missed our trip to USVI this year because of work so we do really miss it. However, we have also entertained the idea of a move or partial move to PR because of the available infrustructure for business. However, we have never been there so we need to see if that is even a possiblity. We are contemplating 10 days on STT/STJ or doing a 2 week adventure on PR to include (unless you have a different suggestion) Rincon, Ponce, & Culebra or Vieques. TIA for you recommendations!

Interestingly enough, as I was in the midst of a lengthy conversation with a friend about why she and her husband are leaving Puerto Rico, I came across this thread. Funny timing. Anyway, they moved to P.R. about 2 years ago, as the husband has family there, including his mother. The biggest reason they are moving is due to a lack of good career opportunities.

Thanks for your post and photos! El Yunque is a beautiful place to visit. I'm curious about your statement that the visitor's center is closed. Are you speaking of the El Portal Rain Forest Center? If so, it is still open.