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• 2. Disneyworld
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• 12. Return

 Day 7 (March 2, 2024) Luquillo

Before      This day we will have to get up early to go to the airport as we have a flight to Puerto Rico at 7:40 AM. Upon arrival, we will pick up the rental car and drive to Luquillo, which we will use as a base to visit the El Yunque National Park.   We could visit one of the routes in El Yunque this day or simply spend the day enjoying the beach and the local food in Luquillo.

After   The alarm rings at 4 AM so we have time to eat our breakfast by finishing the remaining food and arrange our luggage, adding the shopping we left in a loose bag. Everything has to be ready for our flight to Puerto Rico. A few minutes before 5 AM we take the Uber to Fort Lauderdale airport's terminal 1, where they check in our suitcase at a counter outside before getting into the building. We go through security and are ready at our boarding gate a little after 5:30 AM. Everything has gone quite quick.   We board our Southwest Airlines flight, which has a different system than all the others: there are no assigned seats, but rather positions in the entrance queue.   Upon arrival we have to wait for the minibus from the car rental company to reach the office and complete the formalities.   Already in the car, we continue on the road out of San Juan towards the western part of El Yunque when we see a restaurant of the Popeye's franchise, which has already left its mark on us, and we stop there. 6 boneless pieces and a portion of wings with a side of mac & cheese and mashed potatoes for 23$, including two cokes and a bottle of water. We have a feast and it is the cheapest meal we have had so far.   Following the road, we soon enter the jungle that belongs to El Yunque and we feel it in the vegetation.   We stop at the Quebrada to take some photos of the river fighting with the rocks and, later, we make another stop at Espirito Santo waterfall where we can see that we have reached a good height, since you can see the coast and the sea from here.   As soon as the road appears on our right, we take it to return to the main highway and thus be able to reach Luquillo, where we check in at the hotel.   We go out to enjoy the beach for a while, whose sand has an intense and peculiar brown color. The water is warm but the waves hit hard.   After showers we go out for a stroll and explore the area. There are many restaurants and cocktail clubs scattered among the colorful houses. When we get to the hotel I buy a coconut for $5 which I drink while looking out to sea. The wind has been a constant since we arrived and the waves keep coming with violence. It seems that it is a good place to surf.   We are in the room early, as usual, as soon as it gets dark but there is a party in the restaurant upstairs that sounds like it is next to the wall, which is quite true. They explain to us that they have a group booked for today and that it will be like this until 10:30 PM. They also tell us that tomorrow they have another group so it will be the same and they give us the option of returning our money tomorrow if we want to go to another hotel, and we take it by making a booking in a house near the ferry terminal where we will have to go the following day.