Puerto Rico Foray: Mushrooms on the Island of Enchantment
A Nine Day Immersive Experience from the Rainforest to the Beach
December 5th - 13th
Join four mycologists in Puerto Rico for nine days and be immersed in the culture, food, rain forests, fun, and fungi of the Island of Enchantment for an epic experience.
YOUR GUIDES:
Aubrey Carter - Creator of Mushroom Monday & Stand-up comedian
Gabriela D'Elia - Creator of Fungi Talk & Board Member of the Fungal Diversity Survey (FUNDIS)
John Michelotti - Founder of Catskill Fungi
Kurt Miller - Expert Mycologist of Puerto Rico
COST PER PERSON:
$2750 - Double Occupancy and Shared Lodging
Includes thirteen meals and a bed in a shared double room for five nights. While at the ecovillage you will be sleeping for two nights in shared bunks or camping outside if you chose.
$3250 - Fully Double Occupancy
Includes thirteen meals. This upgrade will give you a private cabin to share between two people while at the eco village for the two nights we stay there. We have 2 of these cabins available. Each person in the couple must book their ticket separately.
ITINERARY:
Day 1 - Friday, December 5th
Arrive at Luis Muñoz Airport in Carolina, and get picked up and shuttled to a palatial colonial home near ‘La Placita’ area of San Juan’s Santurce neighborhood. We ask guests to arrive at the airport between 3pm and 7pm. A room will be available to drop off luggage in case of earlier arrivals.
From the house we can walk to La Placita, known for its food trucks, restaurants, and mojitos. In the evening we will have a meet and greet with some refreshments, and an orientation about tropical mushrooms and Puerto Rican culture. Dinner on your own (oyo).
Day 2 - Saturday, December 6th
After breakfast we will drive to Old San Juan, a designated UNESCO World Heritage site surrounded by the tropical, dramatic Atlantic Ocean. We will have the morning to visit the many cafés, the Saturday farmer’s market, and we’ll look for ‘flamingo chanterelles’ as we stroll through a mushroom trail behind the historic Spanish fortress ‘El Morro’. Lunch oyo.
In the early afternoon, we will stop at Wild Culture Mushrooms in Santurce to learn about mushroom cultivation in Puerto Rico, and we’ll have the opportunity to try their mushroom based snacks and drinks. In the evening, we will have a group dinner curated by a local chef who will explain the typical foods and Caribbean recipes.
Day 3 - Sunday, December 7th
After breakfast and preparing sandwiches for lunch in the field, we will take a day trip to ‘El Yunque’, the only tropical rainforest in the US National Forest system and the area with the most fungal biodiversity on the island. After stopping by the visitor’s center and rainforest café, we will have abundant options of trails to hike in the higher mountain peaks. As we gain elevation, we will experience changes in plant and mushroom biodiversity -- immersed in the song of the endemic ‘coquí’ treefrogs -- that culminate in spectacular views from the cloud forest all the way out to the Atlantic.
In the early afternoon we will have the option to refresh at one of the forest waterfalls such as ‘La Mina’ or ‘La Coca’ before heading back to San Juan. In the evening we will have time to decompress, get a drink in La Placita, or walk to a popular food truck park in the adjacent ‘Miramar’ neighborhood. Dinner oyo.
Day 4 - Monday, December 8th
After breakfast, we will depart San Juan and head toward the ecological sanctuary, ‘Eye on the Rainforest’, nestled in the mountains above the rural town of Patillas. On the way we will stop at a cute, rural coffee shop known as ‘Café Prieto’ for refreshments. We will begin our ascent into the mountains through the famous ‘Guavate’ neighborhood, known for an abundance of restaurants called ‘lechoneras’ which serve local foods – including a mouth-watering roasted pork which Anthony Bourdain described as “the best pork I’ve ever had”. Vegetarians will of course have abundant options such as traditional ‘arroz con gandules’ and many root vegetable-based dishes such as ‘yuca en escabeche’. We will take the food to a nearby swimming hole and nature trail known as ‘Charco Azul’ where we will picnic and have an opportunity to look for mushrooms, relax, and swim in the natural pool fed by a mountain creek.
In the evening, we will have a delicious dinner prepared by Thrity Vakil, the forest steward at Eye on the Rainforest, while we discuss the next day’s bioblitz and how to document biodiversity on the citizen science app ‘iNaturalist’.
Day 5 - Tuesday, December 9th
Sunrise/morning "Deep Imagination" Walk on an ethnobotanical trail led by Gabriela D’Elia. All-day foray/bioblitz led by tropical mushroom expert Kurt Miller with home cooked meals catered by Thrity Vakil. During the day, every group member will have the chance to contribute to vital citizen science efforts to better understand tropical fungi by making collections that will be preserved for DNA sequencing.
After dinner, there will be a nighttime hike through the woods to experience the magical phenomenon of mushroom bioluminescence and talk about mycorrhizae.
Day 6 - Wednesday, December 10th
After a final breakfast at Eye on the Rainforest, the group will head to Puerto Rico’s west coast. On the way we will enjoy lunch at a local panadería (El Mesón Yauco) in the southern part of the island. After lunch oyo we will take a brief hike out to ‘El Pilón’ waterfall where we’ll swim in the falls while immersed in one of the most unique and well-preserved forests in western Puerto Rico. This area is renowned for its plant and mushroom biodiversity.
In the evening we’ll arrive at Villa Cofresí, our homebase for the next two days. Dinner oyo at the hotel, downtown Rincón, or nearby at the food truck park.
Day 7 - Thursday, December 11th
All day to visit Rincón! Opportunity to relax at the beach, swim, take a catamaran & snorkel tour, or visit the town plaza. Those who are up for a hike/foray can join Kurt as he guides a group through the unique limestone-karst trails behind the Rincón lighthouse or through the Guajataca state forest, depending on the rainfall. Breakfast and lunch oyo.
In the evening we will all reunite at a sushi bar to indulge in delicious rolls and maki prepared with locally caught fish.
Day 8 - Friday, December 12th
Breakfast oyo in Rincón before we depart for San Juan. On the way, we will explore the unique geological region of Puerto Rico’s northern limestone hills, full of diverse plants and other organisms adapted to the porous rocks and sheer cliffs. Sandwiches for lunch will be provided from the iconic ‘Ricomini’ bakery. A local guide will show us a centuries-old Spanish colonial railroad tunnel surrounded by mature forest, where there will be many opportunities to see rare epiphytic plants and mycorrhizal mushrooms.
In the evening, we will arrive at the Pelican Posh Hotel in Isla Verde and have the last group dinner at Ocean Lab brewery with views of the ocean.
Day 9 - Saturday, December 13th
After breakfast, the group will depart for Luis Muñoz International airport (or you’re welcome to keep exploring the island on your own – you don’t have to go home, but it’s time we all part ways). Check out time at the hotel is 11 am and participants will receive complimentary shuttles to the airport.
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BOOKING & DEPOSIT
An $800 deposit is required for each person on the trip. If you cancel, half (50%) of your deposit is held for administration fees.
Please note to fulfill your registration you must submit the Booking Form and pay for your trip deposit.
100% of the registration payment is required (paid in full) by November 1st.
TERMS OF BOOKING
Payment plans are available. Please contact us directly at gabrielacatskillfungi@gmail.com if you are interested.
Payment of deposit and registration represents your acceptance of our terms and conditions.
CANCELLATION
45 days or more to departure: you will receive a refund for half (50%) of your deposit plus a full (100%) refund on the registration cost.
45 days or less to departure: no refunds on any payment towards registration or deposit.
In the event that the trip does not happen due to insufficient reservations, the deposit and tour price will be refunded in full.
VARIATIONS
Occasionally, circumstances beyond control of our team necessitate changes to itineraries. Our team reserves the right, at our discretion, to make such changes if required.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
By completing the trip Booking Form, you acknowledge and accept the terms of our trip. You acknowledge and agree that there are general risks associated with traveling, which are beyond our control and therefore we cannot legally be responsible for any loss or damage you may incur as a result of these general risks.
Click here to fill out the Booking Form.
After we hear from you, we will contact you with details for the deposit.
