Day 5 - Puerto Rico Leadership Retreat

Day 5 - Puerto Rico Leadership Retreat

May 24, 2023

Written by Nate Talley

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After having to reschedule due to weather, we were finally ready to go on the excursion that I was looking forward to the most. It was time for us to go Icacos Island. I had been to Icacos Island before, and I was super excited to return.

We left the Airbnb around 8:00 am. On the way to get on the boat, we stopped at Subway to grab lunch that we would eat later on the island. I had serious fomo at Subway and ended up ordering a lot because they have a lot of things that are not available at Subway in the continental United States, such as omelets, pasta, and waffle fries. The pasta shocked me. It was may more delicious than I expected it to be.

As soon as we got in the boat and arrived at the island, I knew it was going to be a great day. I got to experience things this time that I did not get to experience the first time.

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We had the privilege to take a guided tour of the island and to learn about its history. We got to see structures left behind by the Spanish that used the island to mine limestone that would be used to build many things like houses and roads. We also go to try the icacos fruit from which the island gets its name. I will say that the island was much more enjoyable than the fruit. We also had the opportunity to snorkel in the reef right off the coast of the island. The tour guides that guided us on the hike and the snorkeling trip were very nice. They even let us stay on the island for an extra hour, which was amazing.

After spending the day on the island, we went to one of my favorite places in the whole world, Fruit Paradise. Fruit Paradise is a little stand that serves frappes, lemonade, and acai bowls. We went back three times throughout the trip because it is just that good. When I found out that I was going back to Puerto Rico, I knew that I had to return to Fruit Paradise.

That evening, the women and the men separated. The women went on a bioluminescent kayaking trip while the men went out to dinner.

We decided to walk to dinner because the restaurant was only a six-minute walk from the Airbnb. We had a six-minute adventure that included getting chased by a pack of street dogs. Thankfully, they turned out to be all bark and no bite. The restaurant we chose was named after the island where we spent our day. It was named Ikakos, with k’s instead of c’s. It was just as delicious as I remembered it was in 2019. After dinner we had another six-minute adventure back to the Airbnb with more street dogs, and then we called it a night. I would give the day a 10/10.

The whole trip was full of firsts that I will never forget. I am very thankful for the FUTURO Select 100 program. I was able to earn a leadership retreat by doing something I love, being an active FUTURO student. Going to all the meetings and events was worth it for many reasons. I have gotten to work on my professional development and meet people that would become very close friends. FUTURO means a lot to me, and I plan to be involved with FUTURO in some way as long as I am able.