Lancaster Country Day Puerto Rico 2025
March 1, 2025
We started off our first day of the trip driving to the Philly Airport and checking in our luggage. At the airport some of us ate chick fil a, others ate Burger King, and fried rice. As we boarded the plane we strapped ourselves in and listen to the pilot talk. Over the four hour flight we played Poker, watched movies, listened to music, and meditated. As we began our final decent we saw many islands and took photos. When we landed Quinn Shelton and Zoey Hollander led a clap for the whole back of the plane.
As we got off the plane we were immediately hit by the heat and humidity of the beautiful island. We went into a van that took us to a very nice restaurant place with a delicious lunch. After that we drove to west Puerto Rico and made it to the very delightful Big Yellow House. Ms. Talia introduced us to the Big Yellow House and gave us the house rules. A little after we walked to the beach and saw a person riding a house that was walking very funny on the way. When we got to the beach we went into the amazing warm water that surrounds Puerto Rico.
When we got back to the Big Yellow House we climbed up trees and picked coconuts. Jermaine Edwards was very good at opening coconuts with a very efficient way of dunking them into a basketball hoop then slamming them. After that we played a fun game to create our leader teams & cleaning crews. We got a partner and we had to make a skit or a handshake. Alden and Anna got first so they were chosen to be cleanup crew, and Jermaine and Quinn got second and were chosen to be the leading crew for the day.
After dinner we made a poster called The Community Contract that has everything that we want to see in our team, and everything that we don’t want to be a part of our trip. Everyone got two sticky notes and wrote rules that they thought were the most important.
Overall today was a very, successful first day that made us exited for what is coming.
From,
Quandale Dingle Johnson Max Aura (Jermaine and Quinn)
March 2, 2025
In the morning we got up nice and early to eat yummy eggs, french toast sticks, potatoes, and fresh fruit. After our delicious breakfast we gathered our stuff and set off to Old San Juan! There, with our tour guide Alvin, we saw lots of stray or owned cats roaming around the cobblestone streets & colorful buildings that brightened the city. A specific building caught our eye, the name of this building was Casa Estrecha, which is the smallest colonial house in Puerto Rico. We walked around Old San Juan seeing a bunch of statues that were built by the Spanish colonizers. In Old San Juan there is a gate as an entrance to Old San Juan. At the top of the gate it is engraved saying, “Blessed are those who enter the name of the Lord.” We walked around and saw Casa Blanca, which was the house of Juan Ponce de Leon. There we saw a beautiful garden, inside that garden was a long fountain, leading up to a different mountain with a mountain lion on it, which is a representation of Juan. After that, we visited the largest fort in Old San Juan, El Morro. In El Morro, there are plenty of things to see. For example, at the entrance there is a lush field of grass, then as you walk inside, there are rooms full of items like jails, kitchens, medical bays, and more. There are wonderful views and interesting things to see. A great thing about El Morro is there are three flags in the fort. There is the U.S flag, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and finally, The Burgundy Cross. The Burgundy cross was a symbol of the Spanish military, it flew during the Spanish colonial period. In 1506, the flag was adopted by Philip the Handsome, the King of Castila, in honor of his mother, Mary Duchess of Burgundy. After that, we walked to a local Puerto Rican restaurant, El Jibarito, which was delicious. There, most tried mofongo, which is a popular dish here in Puerto Rico. Some who remembered the facts and history Alvin told us got a dessert called Flan. After that we went souvenir shopping, Alvin showed us to multiple places like local souvenir shops that had wonderful art pieces, jewelry, and other art pieces like sculptures. We went to some other shopping at the casual tourist souvenir shops. After that we got ice cream. There was a weird pollo ice cream… But you can’t judge if you hadn’t tried it. Finally, we souvenir shopped at Paseo la Princess, where many different items are sold. We went back to the Big Yellow House. We got ready to hit the beach where everyone swam and played tag, sharks and minos, and lastly, made a merman out of Quinn Shelton with sand. We came back and after dinner which was full of Plantains, we watched a documentary talking about Puerto Rico. We watched about many conflicts of how Hurricane Maria affected Puerto Rico, and how Puerto Rico has been pushing through their issues. Lastly, the Leadership group gave a presentation on how the next day would go. We talked about our favorite foods and lastly, started writing this really long document.
We had a great time and are excited for March 3rd!
By Zoey and Rowan, Coconut Crackers No. 1!
March 3, 2025
In the morning of March 3rd, we jolted out of bed excited for the grand-adventure we were preparing for. We ate breakfast at 8:00. The meal consisted of pancakes with fruit and quiches. We departed at 9:00 for the village of Utuado. We were immediately immersed by the beauty of the jungle. The village was incredibly deep into the jungle mountains of Puerto Rico. We were greeted and asked if we could present our names to the students of the school there. We proceeded to head down the mountain to be introduced to their Cacique (chief) named Uatibili and his two sons. He told us about the natives beliefs and how they pay homage to the 4 directions and the 4 elements (earth, fire, water, air). His stories were very informative at helping us better understand the indigenous culture of Puerto Rico. We gave him an offering and we continued our journey down the mountain until we reached a patch of clay. We all knew what was coming. When we got to the river, we covered our entire bodies with the clay. The river was cold yet refreshing when we jumped in. Swimming down the river between two cliffs is a beauty that cannot be described by words. But it actually can because I’m typing it out. We were stunned at the sight of jungle vines full of plants and vibrantly colored spiders. While swimming through the river, Rowan showed us a waterfall coming off the side of one of the cliffs. We were shown the petroglyphs and their history. We had so much fun jumping off of the rocks repeatedly and climbing back up. We were shown the other petroglyphs and we were curious on what these symbols could mean. We were given lunch by the people of the community. The food was Yantía Pastelón (beans with cheese), Basmati, Chayote Ceviche, Platanutres (plantain chips), Juice, and Lemon Cookies.
Back at the Big Yellow House, some of us played baseball in the rain. Anna and Jermaine were chasing iguanas all around the backyard. We ate pasta for dinner and we ecstatic for our next activity. We had a salsa dancing lesson in the patio. Everyone was having fun while becoming salsa MASTERS. After the lesson, some of the cats we have been seeing around the house came back in the middle of the salsa lesson and did NOT run over Alden’s foot.
From,
Double A
Alden Hendricks and Anna Griffin
March 4th, 2025
We started off this morning bright and early. Today was the day we left the humble abode of the Big Yellow House and moved into our new home, the Casa Coral. We packed our things and ate breakfast, which consisted of waffles, eggs, and fruit. We then loaded our bags and headed off to El Yunque the rainforest.
On the way there it started raining, which became a slight problem for our descent to the swimming hole once we reached the rainforest. When we got there we made our descent into the jungle, and when walking we noticed that the whole trail was mud. Big big puddles of mud covered the entire landscape. The decent became 10x harder than it already was. But, we powered through and made it down to the beautiful swimming hole.
In the swimming hole, we all enjoyed the refreshingly cool water as we swam around and bonded as a group, tripping multiple times on the rocks, and racing each other. We enjoyed. Climbing on the big rocks and sitting and talking to each other. We all enjoyed a game of tag in the water before we began the ascend up the very muddy hill.
We all treacherously climbed the hill and luckily no more shoes were covered in mud. When we got to the van, we were all hungry and ready to eat. So, we headed to lunch in Luquillo. While there some of us enjoyed a delicious grilled chicken while others enjoyed a fileted fish. But, almost all of us tried the delicious virgin Piña Colada.
After lunch, we all broke into groups our 3-4 and got to shop for a little bit. We all picked up wonderful items and bonded. After, we headed to the beach outside and competed in the most important competition of our lives. Which group can build the best sandcastle? The groups were the following:
Mrs. W’s group; Quinn, Rowan, Alden, and Jared
Mr. B’s group: Jermaine, Anna, and Citizen
Talia’s group: Zoey, Nevin, and Miranda
There was originally no winner selected, but we wouldn’t let that stand. We insisted we get a random judge to determine the truly best sandcastle builder. So, we found a ready and opportunistic judge, a very friendly child and told them to pick their favorites. They ultimately choses Mrs. W’s group, crowning them the winners of this very prestigious title. We then enjoyed some beach time before heading to our new home, also known as Casa Coral. We settled in at the house and enjoyed the beautiful view. (Woah, the bathrooms each have two showers!!) While some people enjoyed playing a card game, which Zoey ultimately won. (Nevin and Jared weren’t too happy they lost). As a few of us enjoyed some hammock time, others enjoyed the river near the house and swam for hour(s).
We all then gathered in the hall and did a reflection activity to see how all of us were doing in Puerto Rico. After, we enjoyed a delicious meal of chicken or beef, salad, beans, and rice. We then got ice cream as a treat that the Double A’s picked. Finally, Talia opened our end of night reflection by talking about the service project for tomorrow. Then, we did an open word story activity that went very well! (Definitely). Now, we are all calming down and preparing to rest for the night to prepare for our service project tomorrow and the bioluminescent bay!
This place is so beautiful,
From: The Loco-Coco-Coconuts, Miranda W. and Jared H.
March 5th, 2025
We started of the day with a delicious breakfast consisting of omelets, pancakes, fruit, ham, and bread. This was our first full day living here in Casa Coral, and we absolutely loved it! After breakfast we changed into light, long-sleeved shirts and pants and packed our pair of works gloves for the work ahead. Afterwards, we all loaded into the van with our incredible driver, Fernando, and headed off to the Northeast Ecological Corridor, the nature reserve we volunteered at. We met a worker at the nature reserve named Ramon, who discussed how we were going to work today. We were instructed to clear out specific areas of the trail, removing the debris with our hands and rakes.
After 3 hours of hard work, we took a break to eat our sandwich-filled lunches. We had the option to eat any of the following for lunch: roast beef sandwich, chicken gyro, falafel gyro, cuban, vegetarian wrap, or a turkey sandwich. After our lunch, we talked with Ramon and asked him some questions about the importance and worries of the reserve and Puerto Rico in general. Because we worked so diligently, we were able to finish up our work only 10 minutes after our lunch break.
Now that our service work was completed, we headed back to Casa Coral to change into our swim suits and enjoy some time swimming in the river nearby. Before we jumped into the river to play, though, we played a couple rounds of a popular game of Sister Sister. While half of the group was having fun swimming in the river, Jermaine accidentally discovered a dog bone in the ground while digging around in the sand, looking for crabs.
After that exciting discovery, we headed back into Casa Coral, where we showered and got ready for dinner and our bioluminescence kayaking. For dinner, we got takeout pizza and watched the waves on the beach while eating our tasty dinner. We even found a couple of cats, which we couldn’t help but pet. With our swimsuits on, we got in the van and headed to the kayaking establishment. Since we had some free time, we went over the schedule for the next day and played a couple of basic games, including an exciting game of Duck Duck Goose. When the time came for us to start kayaking, we lined up along with the other groups and the instructor discussed basic kayaking technique and what our dark trip was going to look like. At this point, we were in our pairs and were stepping into our kayaks with full excitement! Our leader led us down the dark, twisting river leading to the bioluminescent bay. When we finally reached the bay, we were taught different constellations in the sky and, with a tarp covering us, we saw the bioluminescent lights in the water. After enjoying the bioluminescence, we kayaked back to the starting points. After a long ride back, we showered and went to bed.
By The Coconut Crackers, Nevin & Citizen
March 6, 2025
To start our day we had a nice French toast and cheesy egg breakfast leading quickly into the main event of the day. After a 45 minute drive we made it to the beach were we learned how to catch some waves. Jermaine and Nevin really exceeded in surfing catching some nice massive waves. Pine Grove did an exceptional job teaching us how to surf. After surfing the instructors gave us some very delicious coconuts that really fueled us up. We went to the bathrooms to wash our feet and we felt very good with the sand out of our shoes. UNTIL Jared Hopgood realized he forgot his hat. (He asked us to type this part). Quinn Shelton being such a nice and amazing gentlemen went back with Jared across the long beach to get his hat. From there we went to lunch at a really good restaurant were everyone could chose what they wanted. Quinn was able to eat his whole big plate of chicken mofongo and vanilla flan. After we got home everyone went to sleep or laid down except Jermaine Edwards who was trying to catch iguanas with oranges and a canoe paddle. He got very close until the iguana got distracted by the water and decided to take a swim. Jermaine still got some very good photos on Mr. Bushong and Mrs. Wilikofsky phone. After that Jermaine, Rowan, and Alden went on a beach walk with Talia and they saw an extreme amount of crabs it was actually crazy. They also found burrows with iguanas in them and they think the iguanas have eggs. On the way back Jermaine caught a tiny lizard that was just chilling on his hand until he had to force it off his hand to go back into the wild. And while all that was happening people like Anna were sleeping in a slinging chair for 3 hours. Our next main activity was a paddle boarding tour done by Ramon. We paddled around the river learning about mangroves and leatherback turtles. While we were on our way back thinking we were all safe suddenly Nevin lost balance and fell in the water. We had a nice chicken and fries dinner to end off the day really just solidifying today as a good day. We are all truly sad to be heading back soon but with the time we have left we all are gonna make the most of it.
By: Quinn, Jermaine & Jared
March 7, 2025
Snorkel Adventure-Also known as a very special birthday!
Waking up at 7:00 for breakfast, we enjoyed waffles, eggs, bacon, and fruit, and got ready for the day by lathering on sunscreen, and heading out to the Marina. Once we arrived, we got checked in with Sea Ventures, and headed out to our boat. There were a few other people also heading out on our tour.
The majority of the group headed up to the top deck as the boat started, which led to a very great view of the limitless ocean and distant islands. While our captain, Miguel, was playing music on the deck, there was a request to play Fireball! by Pitbull, and we all sung along as we rocked with the boat heading out to Culebrita for snorkeling and beach time.
After snorkeling out to the reefs, where we saw plenty of different types of coral and fishes, we took a rocky path with Alvin up to a few natural pools. We spent some time playing in the pools, talking about anime, and trying to catch the few waves that came through the pools.
Once we got back to the boat, some of us went back out to the water and played with the floating pad. While others dried off and got some snacks, we soon started heading back to the main island. Another song request came, this time, “I love it!” By Charli XCX, our birthday girl’s “favorite song” (really wasn’t). On our way, we saw the whales in the ocean, a baby and its mother, apparently a very rare occasion for the area where we were. We all oohed and ahhhed, and we got tons of photos and videos of the whales jumping. While on the boat we met a man who was a HUGE Eagles fan where Quinn and Zoey chanted the loudest to show Eagles pride. We continued on our journey back to the dock where we rated all of the Spanish boat names.
When we got home, we had smoothies that were amazing. After all of our showers, we started our closing ceremony, where we talked about how we overcame our fears and our best memories. After that, we did an appreciation circle where at least everyone was picked for different categories like leadership, funniest, and other categories. Lastly, we wrote letters to our future self where we wrote about our trip to ourselves.
After dinner, a cake was brought out to celebrate Zoey’s birthday. Now me, Zoey, I’m going to talk about that. So, when I saw the light illuminating Talia’s face, I knew I was going to get some sort of dessert. I knew I was going to get a dessert and a happy birthday, yet it still made me cry. That was simply the best birthday I could ever get. I got a beautiful card, that everyone signed. Jermaine wrote a ton of ways on how to write “six seven” on the envelop. That was the best birthday card I’ve ever received. Everyone got a cupcake and I really enjoyed it I had the best birthday I could ever hope for, and it was awesome. I want to thank everyone so much, it meant so much to me.
Puerto Rico was an amazing trip, everyone had such a good time, and it meant so much to us all. Puerto Rico is an amazing place I want to keep open to everyone and to be a safe place where everyone can have a good time. This was an amazing experience. This trip wasn’t truly about Puerto Rico though. Puerto Rico is a beautiful place. But, this trip was about the memories we made along the way.
Written by all Puerto Rico travelers.
