“Traveling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” – Ibn Battuta
I previously shared my experience on day 1 and day 2 of my PR getaway but since we had one more full day left, we were up for some exciting adventures. We had heard so much about Culebra that we were looking forward to spending a day there however, after reading online reviews and finding out that even if you have tickets for the ferry, there is no guarantee that you will get on the boat to head there, we decided not to take the risk. If Culebra is at the top of your must-visit destinations in PR, it is recommended to plan ahead and book a flight there.
I picked up some brochures at the car rental place and found that there was a place at the foothills of El Yunque where we could go horseback riding and go cart racing. I was super excited to do both so we called and got more information and booked the horse back riding online that morning.
Top: H&M // Jeans: Zara // Sunglasses: Sassy Jones Boutique
After breakfast on Saturday, we headed out and what was supposed to be a 45 minute drive ended up being a little over an hour because of a couple of accidents on the way. As recommended by Carabali Rainforest Park, we changed to long pants and closed-toe shoes and proceeded to test our go-cart skills. Man, I screamed like a child the whole time and had the time of my life. Knowing I get to drive fast without the fear of getting a ticket was simply exhilarating to me and I enjoyed every second of it 🙂 It’s the little things!
Next stop was horse back riding. The horses were so beautiful but I’ve never been on one so as you can imagine, I was slightly nervous that it could just take off with me and I wouldn’t know what to do. As the instructor handed me my horse, he told me her name was Blue. “Oh my favorite color” I thought. This is a good sign. Then he said: “She likes to gallop so be sure to follow the instructions and everything will be fine.” The pressure was on. If you follow me on Snapchat @versicloset, you would have seen the whole ride and how Blue was a bit on the lazy side. For the longest, I was the last person in a group of nearly 20 riders but with a quick slap on the rear, the instructor got her to gallop fast enough to join the others.
The views were amazing. Since we were at the foothills of El Yonque, we saw parts of the forest at the top of the mountains. The river cascaded from the nearby mountain top and its rhythmic sounds echoed as we rode for an hour. It was quite relaxing and when the horse picked up its speed, I couldn’t decide if I was more scared or more excited that I was doing something new for the first time and loving it.
Unfortunately, towards the end of the ride, my little cousin’s horse took off unexpectedly and she ended up falling off of it. I watched the whole thing in slow motion and felt so helpless as I couldn’t do anything to help. Thankfully, her injuries were minor since the horse didn’t gallop over her and the instructors were quick to call the main office which sent a car to pick her up… Besides that little incident, day 3 was great.
During the ride, it dawned on me that I had been on a camel in the Dubai desert, on an elephant in Bangkok, Thailand (post coming soon) and now on a horse in Puerto Rico all within one year! Who knew this would be my life? A little girl from a third world country who got on a plane for the first time at age 13 and discovered a love for traveling at 21 after her first cruise. I haven’t stopped traveling since and I don’t intend on ever stopping. Traveling is clearly part of what turned me into a story teller! And to think that I hated writing in school, but look at me now… I willingly share and inspire people from all over the world by sharing my experiences on this blog and that in itself is a blessing. This life can take you places you would have never imagined but only if you surrender and explore, dream, discover.
I hope you enjoyed this travel diary and are inspired to travel more and more each year. Where will you explore next?
