We had some guests staying with us last week, and I discovered that the husband brought his SCUBA gear and wanted to fit in a couple dives during their stay with us. As it turned out, he was the only SCUBA certified member of the family, and he would need a dive buddy. So I made some calls, and was able to hook us up for a 2-tank dive mid-week with Sea Ventures out of Palmas del Mar in Humacao. It turned out to be a nice morning of diving for both me and our guest.

Carnival — the word itself conjures up images of festivals and fun from around the world! And Puerto Rico is no exception. Almost every town holds a carnival — some big, some small. No matter what the size, you can always count on finding music, dancing and food. Carnival will be held in Rio Grande from June 30 – July 4. Stop by and take part in the fun!

When looking for day trips to do, I sometimes forget to look at places close to home. Luquillo is a great little town in the north east part of Puerto Rico. It is home to diverse natural beauty — both miles of beautiful beaches and acres of rain forest. It has a rich and interesting history and a decently active, modern social life. Most people assume they have "done" Luquillo if they make it to the food kiosks and Luquillo Beach, but there is a lot more for people to do and enjoy. So take some time and come explore Luquillo!

If you are in the Luquillo area and enjoy seeing unusual artwork, a quick stop at Saint Joseph’s Church in Luquillo is worth a visit. Its old and lovely facade holds a rare treasure inside — some of the most beautiful wood carvings. While wood carvings are not unusual for a Catholic church, these ones are — they combine Catholic religious presentations, with nature and symbols from other cultures and religions. This is one of those rare and pleasant finds!

Here is another fun adventure made possible by the rivers that flow down from El Yunque. The Río Fajardo in Ceiba offers two types of fun — mild or rugged. For the mild type of nature lovers, there is Charco Frio, which is a series of pools in the river that you can enjoy cooling off in on a hot day. The rugged part is Las Tinajas, which, after a hike in, has a rope swing, a little rock water slide, pretty waterfalls, river views and some nice pools to enjoy.

Once you decide to venture away from the San Juan metropolitan area, your best bet (and the cheapest way to get around) is to rent a car. You may have heard horror stories about Puerto Rican drivers, but, in reality, it is not that bad! Here are some tips to make your experience driving in Puerto Rico as painless as possible.

We recently had the pleasure to spend another day sailing and snorkeling on the Erin Go Bragh III in the waters around Icacos and Lobos. It was a lovely day weather-wise, the food was delicious (of course), and the day was relaxing and fun. We even shot some nice underwater video while we were snorkeling.

We live on the north side of El Yunque National Forest, and I am pretty familiar with most of the trails and things to see in the rain forest in our area. But I have been on a quest to get to see the petroglyphs located in Rio Blanco on the south side of El Yunque for a long time. We were finally able to find them, along with swimming holes and a water fall.

Being a rain forest, there are plenty of rivers that come down from El Yunque. Over many years, the rushing waters have made some of these river rocks into natural playgrounds, complete with pools and water slides. There is a place in Luquillo called Las Paylas (or Las Pailas) were the rocks in this river are real smooth and make for some really fun slides.

The El Yunque National Forest covers 28000 acres, and much of it is protected as wilderness areas. Ray and I are always looking for new trails to hike and, of course, elusive waterfalls. We recently went to the south side of the rain forest in search of Los Prieto Falls. We found a great hike and beautiful set of waterfalls, too!