Internal Tourism with Freelance

On the morning of November 14, 2015, the group of Freelancers from the English class, Journey in Literature, and I, went as part of an adventure, hiking to "El Arbol Solitario" or The Lonely Tree, located at Salinas, Puerto Rico. We had been planning this hike for a month now. I wanted to share some cool spots with the group and with this being a traveling class we decided to make it happen. 

The Lonely Tree is a recently discovered spot of local tourism that has lately been explored and enjoyed by many locals and outsiders from all over the island and different parts of the world. Thanks to social media, mainly Instagram, more and more people decide to do this hike as part of their bucket list. I can see it becoming a must-do at Puerto Rico. It is located between the municipalities of Cayey and Salinas just after the Jíbaro monument. An off the route trail that goes up a mountain to where a flag, a tree, a swing, and a majestic view are. From there you could see the whole valley to the south coast of Arroyo to the wind mills of Santa Isabel. It's not the the tallest mountain here, but it does offer an amazing view and it does inspire calmness and relaxation. You get to separate from the fast and tiring things of the city. And for all those adventures and nature loving individuals this will highly be on their favorite spots from the island list.

Days before the actual hike we decided to do the trail on sunrise. That meant to wake up around 4 o'clock in the morning to catch dawn. The spot is at least 45 minutes away from the metropolitan area and the hike to the top of the mountain about 30 - 40 minutes - depending on the stamina of the person or group. Which can be intense at the beginning or if you are not an active exercise person, but it can be done. Sure, a little bit exhausting, but possible. So it is important to bring water. Once we reached the top everybody was astonished by the beautiful view. There even was a rainbow receiving us at the very end of our trail. Honestly, It was a very unique milestone and we got to enjoy it together as a group. We were all taking pictures like crazy at the beginning, but once we settled we just let the moment fill our memory part of the brain with how amazing everything looked. To just enjoy the cold breeze, the sound of wind, and the view while sitting on the rock at the top.

It brings me great pleasure in showing and seeing peoples faces when they get to see the stunning places Puerto Rico has to offer. I always try to bring friends along my adventures and share memories together.