This was our first trip to Puerto Rico and we arrived a day before tropical storm Bertha was expected to go through. It was not too bad and it only rained about a day in a half out of our 6 days there. Puerto Rico was in the midst of a drought that they had not experienced for 30 years so the rain was welcomed by everyone. They were about to start water rations but Bertha postponed it a little. So, the lakes were very low and the guide said the tarpon were acting strange because of the lack of rain. The boys really wanted to get another chance at tarpon again since they nearly struck out in Cancun a couple years ago (they had 17 tarpon grabs and only landed one fish). Mostly due to their inability to strip set. This trip they fared much better. The boys landed tarpon on flies and on live pilchards.
They also caught snook on fly but they were not very big. There were many snook busting the surface along with the rolling tarpon but both weren’t overly eager to take flies.
We had an opportunity to fish for peacock bass too and we were marginally successful. When we went to the lake to fish peacocks they landed 10 but they also caught rainbow bass and African cichlids called red devils. Our guide Capt. Paco was very pleasant and knew the lagoons and lake well.
He even offered to take us to the rain forrest and be our personal tour guide. We fished 4-5 hours in the morning so that left the afternoons to sight see a bit.
We spent an afternoon zip lining for the first time. Emma was a bit reserved at first but got the hang of it after the 4th zip line.
We visited the El Morro (one of the forts that was once used to guard San Juan) and Old San Juan. It was fascinating to read the history of Puerto Rico and why it was so coveted by Spain. Part of El Morro is over 450 years old. The other big fort (Castillo de Cristobal) is over 350 years old.
Melanie and Emma visited the Bacardi Factory while the boys and I were fishing in the AM. You can see the factory in the background.
We did have some great meals and one night we tried authentic Caribbean food. It was good but not a repeat for the whole family. We ate at renowned Picayo and it was fabulous and also at Texas de Brazil. Brazilian BBQs are great and this one was one of the better ones. The best one that I’ve ever been to is in Manaus and this one comes close!
We would like to visit Puerto Rico again someday but I’m sure the kids and their Mom have other destinations to see before we go back. A fun summer vacation for the fishermen and the sight see-ers.
