Tranquilo Vacations

Hello and welcome to a sunny-beach Saturday here at the Wannaskan Almanac by way of Puerto Rico 🇵🇷.  Today is October 17th.

It's MEA weekend which is usually our family hiking trip adventure weekend. Lately my mind's been on getting out west, back to Teddy Roosevelt National Park. However, a wedding has us venturing to a new place.

This destination is a first for us all and the whole family, including significant others, are here.

Our accommodation hostess let us know to be prepared for lots of dogs, chickens, and ants. We have seen lots of cats, some dogs, a few chickens (we hear more than see them) and only a very few ants in one of the bathrooms. We have also seen crabs (this variety really does scuttle left and right instead of forward and backwards), a tropical type of weasel/otter, and lizards. 

Other than securing the lodging a year ago, I left much up to chance and last-minute whim. Considering how fast-paced life has been in 2026, I was looking forward to a little uncertainty. No plan. Is it okay to just want to rock in a hammock and read a book in a gorgeous locale?

Fortunately, because we have 10 people in our party, I'm reminded that the planning doesn't have to be all up to me. "We're going to the rainforest!" the Oldest declared on Friday morning. She scouted out different hikes and we made our way to El Yunque National Forest for a hike to Mt. Britton. 

It sounds impressively arduous but it was far more impressive and much less arduous. While we're used to dodging rocks on dirt paths in our Minnesota hikes, this hike consisted mostly of a raised concrete sidewalk embedded with medium-sized stones spaced about a foot apart for relatively easy walking. Yes, it was still uphill - and there was some huffing and puffing due to that - but, no slippery mud or roots to trip over. 

We climbed a small tower at the top of Britton and enjoyed vistas of jungly swaths against a blue-ocean backdrop. We chatted with other tourists who also had Minnesota connections. 

Farther down the mountain We did a very short hike to some waterfalls where we saw a girl wearing a St. Olaf t-shirt. "MEA weekend?" her mom asked me when I said we also hailed from the state of 10,000 lakes. "Wedding," I answered, " but, yes, that too."

We got rained on in the rainforest- a brief dowsing we groaned about until someone said, "Duh. We're in a RAIN forest. It's bound to RAIN."

The upside to the rain is it cleared out most of the other tourists so that, after the brief shower, we enjoyed another historic tower while birds flew from tree to tree below us, and steam wafted up from the forest, without any pressure to get a glimpse and move on.

It's hot. 

But in a nice tropical way. We sweat a lot but I'm not one to complain knowing that snow is around the corner back home.

For dinner we went to a small bar with a little porch that fit our group perfectly. We enjoyed homemade sangria, cocktails and "creatively designed appetizers." We ordered one of everything and divvied them into 10 bites as they came out hot and fresh, one by one. In between bites we enjoyed conversation, a few more rain showers and a cat who took up residence on the railing next to College Kid 3.0.

Sometimes simply being in a new place is wildly thrilling enough. Sometimes who you are with trumps seeing the sights. That feels truer with each kid growing up and finding their own way and spot in the world (which isn't down the road but quite a few states over.)

Half the crew is already out this morning on a deep sea fishing adventure while the rest sleep in. I'm out on the terrace enjoying a cuppa and the view.