Lancaster Country Day Puerto Rico 2026
February 28, 2026
We started our journey early and had a fun, calm time at the airport. Once we landed in PR, we met our guide for the week: Lauren! Then we had lunch at a local restaurant overlooking the ocean. We got to try new foods including plantains and mofongo. After lunch we took a tour of old San Juan. We saw weddings, cats, and lots of fascinating history and architecture. We learned fun facts like Puerto Rico means ‘rich port’ after the gold mines filling the island. We also learned about an inspiring woman named Doña Felisa Rincon de Gautier , the first woman mayor of San Juan, she was also a fashion designer and created the idea of the Head Start programs. She was such a woman of the people, that she flew in snow for the Puerto Rican children to play in. Our day ended with a dinner of rice and chicken plus a team meeting. Good first day!
By Siena W. & Grace D.
March 1, 2026
Today our group explored Utuado, the inner rainforest in the mountainous region of Puerto Rico. At the mountains we connected with the elements. We started the hike with a bonfire then we meditated and hiked through the forest. On our hike, we saw some very ancient petroglyphs that represented the elements. We continued our hike to go down to the river and see newly discovered petroglyphs that were revealed by hurricane Maria. We even did masks using 68 million year old clay. On this hike, we all overcame our own fears in different ways. Some tried new foods and others jumped into a river from a short (and safe) cliff. For lunch a very kind local woman made our group lunch with locally sourced and grown ingredients such as sweet potato salad, sprouted lentils with Asian dressing, chayote ceviche, and for desert there was cookies made with local cacao and hibiscus. Everyone tried all of the foods. Then we all went to the beach near the house we stayed at and played various games in the ocean. Then we had dinner and played board games, basketball and volleyball… and maybe lost a few balls over the fence. We ended the day by packing for tomorrow’s move and getting ready for another exciting day to come.
By Shawn N.
