I always dreamed of taking a spring break trip in college, however Covid-19 made traveling feel unsafe in previous years. Considering this is my senior year at Cal U, I knew it was now or never. My boyfriend, Matthew Bean, and I packed booked a three-day stay in San Juan, Puerto Rico because we wanted to go somewhere new with a tropical climate and lots of beaches. I brought my newly purchased GoPro along to document the experience.

The island was far more beautiful in person than I could’ve ever imagined, and it truly exceeded my expectations. As soon as our plane touched the ground we were surrounded by lush, green vegetation. The pastel color palette of the buildings in Old San Juan looked like something straight out of a painting. The ocean was so warm, and the 80-degree temperatures were so nice that I never wanted to return back to the cold, spring weather in California, Pennsylvania.

I experienced so many amazing things while on this trip, like being inside of a rainforest for the first time at El Yunque National Forest. I spent hours soaking up the sun at Luquillo Beach, which was one of the prettiest beaches I have ever visited. It was the first time I’ve ever had sunburn in March and I’m not complaining. One of my favorite parts was kayaking to a bioluminescent bay called Laguna Grande. It is one of five bioluminescent bays in the world that you can visit year-round. I was advised not to bring my camera on this journey since it is not able to pick up the light of the bioluminescence, but it was incredible to swish my hand around in the water and watch the algae glow like little white sparks all around it.

Watch my video to see all of the highlights of my trip including where I stayed, what I ate, what I saw and more. I am thankful to share what this experience was like with others, and I hope to return to this island one day in the future to make more memories.