Rainforest Rick and Jace took a trip to Puerto Rico! Their national animal is El Coqui, a specific type of frog that lives in the trees, and serves as the national symbol of the island state of Puerto Rico. This is also a species that is bred within our frog rooms, and ours share the same beautiful calls of “Co – qui, Co – qui” that they do in the heart of El Yunque, which is North America’s only National Forest that is also a tropical rainforest.
Puerto Rico is unique because it is an island of multiple biomes, including another type of jungle, a dry one…called a tropical deciduous forest. Similar to how maple trees lose their leaves in Wisconsin, these deciduous trees lose all of their leaves at certain seasons. Surprisingly, this area is also home to cacti and a special type of endangered toad.
On top of that, Rick and Jace were able to see bioluminescent algae in the wild, Puerto Rico is home to 3 bays in which the algae lives and glows at the late hours of the night.
The island has many other unique species of birds, bugs, small mammals, and of course frogs. Overall, this educational experience served as Rick’s first time in the jungle, with a plethora of learning from frogs to farm.
By literally being within the tropical rainforest habitat, one can get a better sense of what we strive to emulate for our tropical frogs in our frog rooms. It was like walking and driving in a gigantic frog vivarium on a continuous basis, endless jungle plants, animals, and of course frogs.
At the edge of the rainforests, one of the hosts practices permaculture on the property. It was a wonderful experience to see the fresh produce, chickens, ducks, goat (for fresh milk and herbed-goat cheese!), and learning about his techniques.
By staying a multiple Airbnbs dotting around the perimeter of the island, we could visit with several of our hosts and learn about the local areas. By stopping at many fresh farmstands, it was possible to prepare wonderful fresh foods on a daily basis, even a native Taino beverage, Mavi, that is made from the bark of the snakewood rainforest tree.
The evening sounds of the Coquis and the other tropical frogs was absolutely mesmerizing! We also got to go to a lagoon and view some bioluminescent algae at night! The many beaches, coves, waterfalls, lush vegetation, and great hospitality of the local people makes this beautiful island a “must visit.”
Please enjoy some more photos from the trip ->
Thank you Puerto Rico…viva a el Coqui.
