I love living here. This island has an abundance of natural beauty, and in some cases it seems so untouched by human hands. I feel like I have walked back in time to moments before humans populated the earth, in the stillness of the world around me I can almost feel in complete solitude in with nature. I know it is unlikely that I will be here forever, so I take all the opportunities to explore and capture the beauty with my camera. So today, I just wanted to share some of my favorite shots from different places around the island.

Cabo Rojo Lighthouse: the view of the ocean from these cliffs is breathtaking. This is the point in Puerto Rico where the Caribbean Sea (to the south) meets the Atlantic Ocean (to the north). You can typically find iguanas sunbathing on the rocks of the cliffs.

Cueva Ventana: “Window Cave” is by far my favorite place on the island. We take all of guests here, this is my favorite view. A hike through a cave that opens up to the most gorgeous view of the center of the island.  Green and lush and teeming with life.

Indian Caves: The native Indians of Puerto Rico were called Tainos and there are actually places around the island with well preserved pictographs. The Indian Caves of Arecibo are a great place to see these, and not to mention a beautiful landscape. The wind is always blowing up there on the north coast, and the cliffs are jagged and rugged – a stark contrast to the beautiful beaches of Rincon.

Cabo Rojo seamounts: Thousands and thousands of years of erosion has formed these pointed seamounts along the coast of Cabo Rojo. These were all once connected to the island, but years of wind and waves slapping against their rocks now leave them all alone against the cliff side.

Sea Grapes: These hearty shrubs dot the coastlines of much of the island. They are perfect for landscaping because of their tolerance to salt, but they also provide the right amount of shade when enjoying the beach for the day. I like to dry their leaves and use them to decorate and paint on.

Rincon beachcombing: I love to beachcomb after a storm in Rincon,  you never know what you’ll find! Once, we collected a huge driftwood tree that we later used to build a headboard for our bed. These are just a bunch of grasses that were moved along by the rivers which dumped into the ocean after a particularly bad storm. I love the earthy colors!

Arecibo Centro: We took this photo when exploring the old pueblo of Arecibo. In PR, each town has a pueblo, or public town center, which has a mayor’s office, a plaza and a Catholic church. When you enter Arecibo, you’re greeted with this dilapidated building just teeming with gorgeous flowering trees and full of prairie grasses escaping the wind from the sea. I just loved the look of abandonment reclaimed by nature.

El Yunque Rainforest: No trip to PR is complete without a visit to the national rainforest. The sounds, the nature, the dewy mist that blankets everything as you climb in altitude up the mountain. Then once you reach the top of one peak, you are greeted with a lush landscape down below, and yet another mountain to hike behind you. And yes, it will rain.

Evan and I haven’t had as much time to explore as of lately, but we’re making it a point to include weekend trips to different spots around the island. You can see all of my Puerto Rico highlights at Afar.com where I have them organized into lists for the convenience of a traveler! Enjoy.