Georgia Tech Athletic Department 2022 PR

May 8, 2022

Today has been quite a day! It was very exciting, and quite relaxing. This morning @9am, our crew met at Bobby Dodd stadium to head out! Once we got to Hartsfield Jackson Airport, we waited for two hours until departure(12:48pm). The flight took a total of three hours. Personally, I decided to sleep the entire way, because I was completely drained from graduation, the day before. Once we landed in Puerto Rico, we met our guides “Lauren & Eric” who patiently escorted our crew to our “Hostels” or so called “SHUTS”. The rooms are small and cramped,  but our bunk beds do a great job at keeping in- between space. Once everyone was situated and settled, we took a brief stroll on the beach!!! SUCH AN AMAZING VIEW!!. Words won’t do justice. The weather wasn’t the best, but the sprinkles created the complete & fullest rainbow across the beach! After our stroll came to an end, the entire crew gathered up for dinner at the men’s SHUT! We enjoyed some “BABY-BACK RIBS”, mashed plantains, and slaw salad. Rate (6/10). Tomorrow we’ll have more time in the day to do more activities that we want to experience. Everyone is excited and ready to make it through the end!! Conclude DAY1.

Myles Spider S.

May 9, 2022

Today was another great day. We woke up to fresh coffee and a great breakfast. We then loaded the bus and headed to Old San Juan for the day to learn about the rich history of Puerto Rico. Our tour was led by Alvin who spent the entirety of the day with us while there. We started at umbrella street with the beautiful white butterflies hanging over head. We then headed to “Paseo la Princesa,” a walking path on the coast with an amazing view of the blue water in the San Juan bay. Shortly after we made it to El Morro fort. Some stayed to explore the fort and its inner working while others split off and headed to Carmelo Anthony court. While at the fort, we were able to walk into different housing areas and work stations which was really cool. We got to see the beautiful coastline from the lookout and some really old canons. The basketball court was super cool. It had crazy patterns on it and colorful stands and you could definitely tell it would be a “must see” while in San Juan. Things quickly got competitive at the court. They played HORSE and Lele won. They also played Knock out (Reid won) and three point contest. Eric decided to roll his ankle trying to play basketball in flip flops.
For lunch we had beef steak and tostones while others had chicken with rice and beans, or pork chops. After lunch we did a bit of souvenir shopping and piled back on the bus to head home. The bus ride back was very quiet with the majority of people napping or at least trying to. When we got back to Casa Coral, some headed right to the beach to enjoy more of the sun and refreshing water. There, Reid also decided to land on my sunglasses and break them. Others stayed back to nap until dinner arrived. We then finished the day with another amazing dinner before sleeping to get ready for the next day.

-Luke M. & Colin H.

May 10, 2022

Today we had another great day in Puerto Rico. We kicked the day off with some breakfast and immediately headed to El Yunque Rainforest for a waterfall hike! The weather was great in the forest, which was a pleasant break from the heat in the city of San Juan.  We put our helmets and life vests on and began scaling rocks and crossing streams. We were able to do a little bit of cliff jumping and swimming in the fresh water. Some highlights include doing some flips off the rocks, getting to slide down the natural rock slides with best friends, and seeing everyone else have a great time. We also enjoyed the teamwork that was present throughout our hike as we all encouraged each other to try new things such as jumping off the tall cliffs. After our hike, we went to a beachside lunch and enjoyed fresh grouper! Then, we spent some more time souvenir shopping before we went back to the beach. Even though it was a little rainy, Rebecca and I had a great time exploring the coral.
To finish the day, we participated in group bonding activities led by our group leaders. We took a moment as a group and set our intentions for the next day. We are all ready to gear up and truly perform for the next three days.
We are in great spirits and excited for this opportunity ahead of us as we begin building the foundation of an entire home!

By Rebecca L., GT CHEER and Lucas R., GT CHEER