In the fall of 2008, I studied for a semester in Puerto Rico.  In order to get to Puerto Rico, I took a plane from the Hancock International Airport to the Luis Muñoz Marin Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico.  The airline that I flew with was U. S. Airways and the flight cost $374 for a round-trip ticket.

I arrived in Puerto Rico at three o’clock in the afternoon and was picked up from the airport by a group of students from the International Office at the University of Puerto Rico.

The main shock that I encountered when I arrived in Puerto Rico was the difference in the weather.  When I left New York it was starting to get cooler and around 65 degrees or so.  However, when I arrived in Puerto Rico it was well into the 90’s and very humid.

While I was studying in Puerto Rico, I stayed a residence hall with other students from the University of Puerto Rico.

The residence hall was called Plaza Universitaria and it was recently built and looked amazing.

The University of Puerto Rico

The college that I studied at was called the University of Puerto Rico Recinto Río Piedras.

The campus was extremely beautiful and it was really nice and different palm trees on my way to class. 

Old San Juan

While I stayed in Puerto Rico, I got the chance to visit a few different popular sites in the country. 

The first place that I visited was Old San Juan. 

Old San Juan is the oldest settlement within the territory of the United States.  Many of the streets are made up of cobble stones with brightly colored buildings. 

Old San Juan is actually an island, connected to the mainland of Puerto Rico, by two bridges.  On opposite sides of Old San Juan are two forts, El Castillo y El Morro. 

El Morro

Fort San Felipe del Morro, or El Morro, was named after King Phillip II of Spain and was designed to guard the entrance to San Juan bay, and the city of San Juan from any enemies.

This fort is extremely large and takes up around 70 acres.  Throughout my visit to El Morro, it was very interesting to see the architecture and canons that remained in the fort.

Fort San Cristóbal

Fort San Cristóbal is another popular Spanish fort located on the opposite side of El Morro.  This fort also served to protect the city of San Juan and covers around 27 acres.

This fort was actually the first of the two forts that I saw during my time in Puerto Rico.  Much of the architecture was similar to that of El Morro but it was still amazing to see.

The El Yunque National Forest is a large rainforest located in the El Yunque mountain of Sierra de Luquillo.  This is a very popular tourist attraction for those who visit Puerto Rico. 

El Yunque was one of the last places that I was able to visit during my stay in Puerto Rico.  As my friends and I went up the mountain, there were towers where you could look out and see the various views from the different points of elevation. 

Within the forest itself, there was also a really beautiful waterfall called Coca Falls.

The Beaches

Throughout my stay in Puerto Rico, one of the things that I enjoyed doing was going and visiting the many beaches.  Since Puerto Rico is a Carribean Island, there is no shortage of beaches. 

A few of the beaches in the San Juan area were Condado, Isla Verde, Ocean Park, and Escambrón.