My wife and I spent a week in Puerto Rico recently. I'm just starting to post process. I'll post shots in this thread as I get through them so please check back from time to time.

First up: Río Camuy Cave Park

I only have a few from here as they didn't allow tripods. There was a heavy mist in the air reflecting back from the flash and generally making a mess of things. Pretty neat cave tour though.

Click for the EXIF



Detail of the formation above







I believe that next up will be shots from the El Yunque Rain Forest

Originally Posted by Phil U. My wife and I spent a week in Puerto Rico recently. I'm just starting to post process. I'll post shots in this thread as I get through them so please check back from time to time. First up: Río Camuy Cave Park I only have a few from here as they didn't allow tripods. There was a heavy mist in the air reflecting back from the flash and generally making a mess of things. Pretty neat cave tour though. Click for the EXIF Detail of the formation above I believe that next up will be shots from the El Yunque Rain Forest

Hi there Phil, caves are pretty neat aren't they, I got a chance to go into some in Montana, and how amazing are those formations all those years of dripping....... I too struggled with light and hand holding inside the caves, but yours look very sharp to me thanks for posting .. Skippy (Australia)

Originally Posted by Skippy Hi there Phil, caves are pretty neat aren't they, I got a chance to go into some in Montana, and how amazing are those formations all those years of dripping....... I too struggled with light and hand holding inside the caves, but yours look very sharp to me thanks for posting .. Skippy (Australia)

Yea - there are several caves about an hour from home but I've talked to all of them and they won't allow tripod use (for various reasons). Oh well. The ones here were with flash so that's why they came out sharp.

Here's the next set. These are from the El Yunque Rain Forest.

Because of the thick canopy, it's relatively dark in the forest. I was kind of surprised at the slow shutter speeds I was getting on a sunny day.



There are streams, waterfalls, and pools everywhere.







Unfortunately the trail we took was a popular one so we also saw lots of people. If I didn't have all the camera equipment I would have gotten in also - it was pretty warm and very humid.



The plant life was of course very abundant. Most of it was green though. I had somehow expected there to be more color. No matter - it was all beautiful anyway. I saw many of these plants. Never succeeded in capturing any effectively.





Another sample of color (other than green)



I found some color in an unexpected place - some of the trees' roots.



Everything had the "wet look"



There was certainly no shortage of water



The other big disappointment was the lack of wildlife. I figured it was largely due to all the people around but we were told that most of the activity happens after sundown. Bummer. The snails were happy to hang around with us though.



Well - that's about it. Hope you enjoyed your tour of Puerto Rico's rain forest. Check back later - I'll have more up as I get them done.

Almost forgot. All that walking around in the forest made us hungry. Just about everywhere we went in Puerto Rico we kept seeing these huts/shacks serving up some deep-fried food that smelled fantastic. Most of these were places that just by looking at them you would never say, "I've got to eat there". In fact you'd probably be scared to eat anything that came from there. Still, with all the locals eating, how bad could it be? We decided to give it a go. OH MAN, this stuff is good! Deep fried for that wonderful greasy taste. My wife even raved about it which says a lot - she doesn't do well with trying new foods.

In this first shot, the Puerto Rican Taco is on the left. On the right is a "something" made with Plantains. I couldn't quite get what they're called but if I asked for Plantain thats what I got (my personal favorite also). Sorry for the crappy focus job



And here is a Puerto Rican staple food - rice and beans.



Mmmmmm... I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.