Puerto Rico Day 9 - Cave Tubing in Arecibo, Old San Juan

Tuesday was our last full day in Puerto Rico and we definitely maximized it.

When we first started planning the trip, there were so many options of adventures in different parts of the island that we had to narrow it down. Two of the things we wanted to do were to see the the river running through a series of caves at Rio Camuy Cave Park*, and do a zipline. As I was looking around at different things to do, I found an excursion that checked off the zipline box and included tubing on a river through multiple caves. Perfect!

The tubing excursion was in the same area as Rio Camuy, near the town of Arecibo, on the northern coast of the island about 45 minutes west of where we were staying. We met our guides and fellow adventurers on the side of the road where there were no signs or facilities so we knew we were off to a good start! (Although the Arcibo Observatory, home to the world's largest single-aperture telescope until 2016, was nearby.)

The excursion began with a 1.5-mile hike through the jungle, mostly downhill. On the way, our guides - four men in their 20's who seemed to be charging tourists to tag along on their private adventure - joked about how often they've gotten lost on this hike and didn't know where they were going. They also pointed out cool plants, such as the one that curls its leaves in when touched, and another that feels like being bitten by 20 ants if it touches your skin.

We stopped at a canopy with tubes and other supplies and were told to put on our life vests and helmets. After looking around a bit, we found a zipline cable that descended to a clearing beside the Tanama River. While waiting for our harnesses, we had a snack of tiny bananas. Once I ziplined to the bottom and looked back at the rest of the group, I was amazed to see that I'd been standing on top of a cave just a moment before. And the scenery was absolutely amazing. It was so much more impressive than I expected, and different from anything I'd seen before.

It took a while for everyone to zipline down - our group included about 25 participants - but once we were finally gathered, we each got a tube and started hiking upriver. It was cumbersome to hike with a tube, even more so when we were crossing or hiking in the river, but Luke was the only one who had any help carrying his tube. We arrived at a cave and took a break from hiking to swim in the water and take pictures. One of the guides showed us a cool leaf that repels moisture and looks silver in water.

We hiked a little farther, making a total of about a 1/2 journey in and along the river, to the inside of biggest cave yet. We were told that it was 2,000 feet from one side to the other. It was super cool. This was where the cliff jumping part of the adventure was to take place, but two of us weren't excited about the prospect. We were led to a rocky ledge about 10 feet above the river. In the darkness of the cave, the river looked very black and scary from the ledge. Luke didn't want to jump, but since the jokester 20-something guides didn't have a good alternative option for us to continue on our adventure, we did our best to talk him into it. It only took a couple of minutes of Ben coaxing as he treaded water in the river below for Luke to decide to jump. That meant I had no choice. I wasn't as worried about the distance and the blackness of the water as I was about the water temperature, but I psyched myself up pretty quickly and followed everyone else out of the cave so we could begin tubing.

This was definitely the coldest part of the trip!

We tubed back down the river through 2 caves, navigating some fun rocks and rapids along the way. In one spot, everyone had to get out and walk for a bit, then the guides helped us re-enter the river at either a calmer spot or a rapid, where many people flip. We all decided to take the more exciting way, but after carefully following the guides' instructions, none of us flipped.

After tubing, we had to rock climb out of the river, with some help from the guides. The guide who wasn't assisting me told me that the one who was assisting me wasn't very strong. I kept telling them to stop joking but maybe they didn't understand my English? Cat and Liza cliff-jumped back in the river, then rock-climbed back out for a second time. Then we retraced our 1.5-mile hike back to the car, thankful we survived this crazy adventure with no injuries to speak of. We found it ironic that this was the only excursion we did which didn't require us to sign waivers.

The excursion took a lot longer than we expected, but we were determined to get into Old San Juan that night. We made a quick stop to freshen up at our condo, then drove into town. We arrived at dinner time and there was a fair amount of traffic, but we parked in a garage and made our way to a Puerto Rican restaurant one of the guides had recommended. It was a popular place - always a good sign - so we had to wait about 30 minutes for a table. We took that time to explore the surrounding area a bit and check out a souvenir shop. And the guys played a few rounds of Indiana Jones.

I thought it was cool how the interior of the restaurant resembled the houses on the streets outside: tall, narrow, brightly-colored houses with white accents, ironwork, and balconies. And it was my favorite of all the local food we tried - a great way to finish our last night in Puerto Rico!

Bonus Scenic Pics:

*When we were walking back to our car after the tubing adventure, I asked the guide about Rio Camuy. He said the caves there are bigger than the ones we saw on the Tanama River but that you can't get in any of them; you can only look at them. He recommended visiting Indian Cave if we have another day in the area. Next time!