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I was pretty anxious about visiting the Arecibo Observatory (www.naic.edu), the world’s largest radio telescope. The observatory is used for a variety of things, including astronomy and atmospheric studies. Arecibo usually has scientists from all over the world coming here to conduct many different kinds of experiments with the telescope. We waited for someone official to come out and guide us around the observatory. I stood at the top edge of the observatory. It was unbelievable – it looks like a huge pasta bowl, made for a giant!

Jorge heard an alarm going off, and we asked nearby employees about the alarm. They said it was a standard alarm to warn anyone walking on the platform bridge that they must clear the area. The guide finally came up to us, giving us the bad news that we wouldn’t be able to do a special tour on the platform and bottom of the bowl. They had to cancel on other media groups a day before us, too. We were so disappointed about it. I had wanted to do some filming around here, taking in the magnificent sights. He took us to the control room, where we observed the operations of the observatory. It was fascinating to watch the operator controlling the dome around the observatory, and he said it moves around 360 degrees in 15 minutes.

The staff was doing some ionosphere testing. They depend on contributions and doing such tests like this one often to keep the operation alive. The federal government had been cutting their funds lately, giving the staff enough reason to be worried about their futures. I hope they will get better support from the government in the future because we need to know what’s out there in space. They could test 30 miles out, from our atmosphere to deep space. Anyway, we had to move on. I was not going to let the bad news ruin my day assignments!

We drove for an hour or so on a windy road in between Puerto Rico’s western range of mountains. I met yet another Jorge, the owner of Batey Zipline Adventure (bateyziplineadventure.blogspot.com) along with his best buddy guide, Guio. I didn’t feel like I was in Puerto Rico because there was nobody around us for miles. I could see the peaks of the mountains from here. They were beautiful peaks, with a lush and dense green forest below it! Jorge showed me some achiotes (achiote is a scrub or small tree that has bright pink flowers with seeds in it). Why not experience it! I opened the flower and saw lots of red seeds. I squeezed the juice out and put them on my face, like suntan lotion. Jorge said it’s better than chemical suntan lotion.

He pointed out his house, which was on the other side from our current location. We needed to walk through a trail and cross a suspension bridge to his house. I felt like I was going through the jungle. We finally arrived at his house, and I noticed the pure environmental setup of the house; for example, the roof collects rainwater to use for the shower or the sink, and so on. The shower itself is outside, too. I took in a beautiful and breath-taking view from his house. We did 7 ziplines, crossing over the forest and the big river, and then rappelled down a hundred or so feet, before finally reaching the bottom of the valley. The two Jorges and I jumped on the inflatable boat, while Guio stayed put.

We went in between two big stones, and the external light increasingly dimmed as we approached the river cave. We kept on going into the cave. I saw a bat flying over us, and felt lots of water drops dripping down on us. We were moving very slowly. It was definitely spooky here! I lifted my head up, with my headlight on. We saw the colony of bats above our heads. Jorge, the guide, pointed up and said there were a lot of tree branches, bamboo pieces and other items stuck above our heads because of powerful rainstorms bringing them into the cave and depositing it there. I’d say the ceiling was at least 20 feet up. We also got to see how powerful the current and waves were. However, it wasn’t the rainy season here. Finally, we came to the other end of the cave.

He showed me the fern that opens and closes their leaves if someone touches it. It was similar to the trapping/flying leaf. I saw many spring waterfalls along the way, and Jorge said let’s drink from them! He pulled out a “malanga” leaf and said it was a natural recycled cup. He was so funny about it, but I did agree with him. I pulled on the leaves as well and made it into a cup to collect the water from the fall. I could see into the water so clearly; it was an amazing sight. And it tasted so great! I wished that I could pipe it up to my home for my daily water! Jorge explained to me that he’s working with the government of Puerto Rico to conserve the area. I told him that we should not let too many people come here or ruin the area. He agreed with me.

We walked back on the suspension bridge, on the same route we had come down, to my car. Batey Zipline Adventure is an Eco-Tour company. It was the best adventure company I ever used for this kind of tour. Jorge even grows his own fruits and vegetables without any chemicals. It was all organic. After the adventure, he mentioned to me that a Deaf farmer lived nearby. He took me to his place, where the farmer lived with his parents. He was surprised to see another Deaf person. His family owns over 1,000 acres. They grow cattle, pigs, chicken, plenty of bananas, plants, and vegetables around the area. He didn’t know much sign language but we tried to communicate with each other. He was a very interesting guy, to say the least! We had to leave the area due to falling darkness. We had to drive about two hours on the worst windy road in Puerto Rico. Some areas had one lane and wild tight curves. My eyes were so exhausted from all that I saw today. We finally arrived in Adjuntas, which is well known as a coffee community.

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