DAY 4 - PUERTO RICO

After I missed out on the scavenger hunt, there was no way I was going to miss out on cricut bingo. WE all gathered in the Hudson Room just a few minutes before we pulled into Puerto Rico. My one goal on the trip was to see dolphins or whales. My friend had told me that on a recent trip, she saw dolphins close to Puerto Rico. Well, one of the guys in the Hudson Room looked out the window and said,"Hey, are those fins?" or something like that. I think I about knocked over tables trying to get to the windows. They were sailboats! Bingo was pretty fun, but I didn't win anything. We pulled into the bay while playing bingo. It was beautiful! There is a fort right on the edge of the bay. I wish we would have had our camera.
After bingo we ran up to the Lido deck (the buffet) and grabed some rolls and cheese to take with us and then hurried to meet at our excursion. We originally didn't sign up for an excursion, but decided that morning that we would pay the money and go on an ATV ride through the rain forest. Oh my goodness! I am so glad we did! There were quite a few from our group that were on the same excursion and it was super fun. First we took about an hour bus ride. I guess that I should have expected this, but it was very americanized. We saw a few Best Buys, Payless Shoes and even a Taco Maker.
We arrived at the little resort and got our helmets on and received instruction.


Brandon and I were a bit slow to snag our four-wheeler, so we ended up with a crappy one and in the back of the pack. But off we went into the rain forest.... about 300 yards later ours stalled. We finally got someone's attention and got it started back up. Brandon was so interested in the scenery that sometimes I don't think he was watching where he was driving.
We stopped at a river. One of the guides dove in. Two cricut people gave it a try a little later. They used rocks to make face paint and painted our faces.... well mine, Brandon was to chicken.
When we went to leave the river area, our ATV was done. The check engine light was on. It took one of the guides quite awhile to get it where it would run. Thank heavens it seemed to work ok after that. By the time we got back to the resort, there was another group ready to jump on the ATVs. I hope that our four wheeler was taken out of fleet. We hung out in a little restaurant and got a coke zero, aka heaven, we ended up getting some chips and salsa because we were starving. We thought that there was no time for a meal. I think, though, the restaurant waits until the group is back to feed the bus driver. We all sat and watched the bus drivers eat a full meal! On the way back, we talked to a guy who has been working in the cruise industry for 8 years. He told us about getting hit by a huricane with something like 50 foot waves. He said one second you would be laying down and the next you would be sittling up. He had alot of great stories, like people coming aboard the ship as passengers and leaving as cargo!
We wandered around Old San Juan for a little while and ate diner at a traditional Puerto Rican restaurant. It was ok, but the company was fun. There were five couples who worked for Provo Craft who had gone on the ATV tour. What a great group! they were so fun to be with. Here are some pics from Old San Juan.


Statue of Columbus

the restaurant we ate at