With too many places to fit into one article, Helen Raine shares the second part of her multi-generational family holiday to a striking Caribbean island.

Twenty years ago, if you’d told me I’d be booking into a gated community with a lazy river, five kids’ pools and a minigolf course, I’d have probably wept with dismay.

Two children later, Aquatika is more dream than nightmare.

Fort at San Juan, the capital of Puerto Rico.Fort at San Juan, the capital of Puerto Rico.

The Puerto Rican resort in Rio Grande might score nil points for culture, but it was perfect for keeping the kids happy in the morning and therefore more inclined to tolerate historical sights and long hikes in the afternoon.

Check-in wasn’t exactly seamless, with a grumpy gate attendant reluctantly slapping on our wristbands after we’d played hunt the paperwork on the phone for 20 minutes.

Our three-bedroom apartment overlooked the sea, but the kids were drawn like kamikaze bees to the pools.

Massive water guns, buckets of waters that emptied erratically on swimmers’ heads, a slide so fast that it skinned exposed flesh and a resident giant iguana were endlessly interesting diversions (Aquatika, www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/649921.

Our first trip back into the real Puerto Rico was the El Yunque sub-tropical rainforest.

The resident giant iguana can be spotted at Aquatika resort.The resident giant iguana can be spotted at Aquatika resort.

We followed a potholed, windy road up into broad spires of mountainous rock, thick with oversized trees and creepers, the green broken only by the curious spikes of red heliconia flowers.

A well-paved trail led to the kind of waterfalls usually reserved for TV adverts, except the ads would never show a handful of middle-aged tourists stripping off to have their shoulders pummelled into advanced relaxation by the falling water.

We joined them for the kind of bracing swim that leaves your skin zinging for half an hour afterwards.

From the Rapunzel-style Yokahu Observation Tower, we looked out over acres of woodland as it merged with the dwarf forest, twisted tree trunks shortening as they piled up with mosses and epiphytes.

A traditional mask of the Vejigante, which is usually worn at festivals.A traditional mask of the Vejigante, which is usually worn at festivals.

We’d hoped for a sighting of the Puerto Rican parrot but the 85 remaining individuals were in hiding. And somewhere, deep in the jungle, we knew that a bioluminescent fungi glowed, but by that point, the kids had had enough and we reluctantly abandoned the idea of staying until dark to hunt for it.

Dinner that night was at Richie’s Café, hiding its culinary light under a poor-choice-of-name bushel.

The shrimp gumbo was packed with Puerto Rican flavour and the view across the plateau on a moonlit night was as romantic as you can get with three grandparents and two kids in tow (richiescafepr.com).

Puerto Rico’s capital, San Juan, is a World Heritage Site.

Unfortunately, it’s also a major cruise ship destination. Passengers flood the free shuttle transportation, so expect to use your own legs if you want to get anywhere.

We marched the kids down a claustrophobic, dank tunnel to the dungeons of the San Jeronimo Fort. Hapless sailors had scratched detailed pictures of their galleons into the sandstone walls, catching the imagination of my own miniature pirates centuries later as we pondered their fate.

The shopping there was wonderful and it’s possible, among the tourist tat, to find some genuine treasures. We bought the traditional masks of the Vejigante, which are worn during festivals, above costumes with giant bat wings as their owners dance to a deep African bass.

Spain’s King Philip IV described it as ‘the front and vanguard of my West Indies... the most important of them all and most coveted by my enemies’

The idea is descended from the native Taino people. They are made of papier-mâché and painted in fantastical colours, usually with several horns sticking out.

San Juan overlooks a critically important trading route that runs all the way from Spain to the New World. King Phillip IV described Puerto Rico as “the front and vanguard of all my West Indies… the most important of them all and the most coveted by my enemies”.

The English, among others, were rather keen on capturing this strategic port island for themselves.

Braving the waterfall at El Yunque sub-tropical rainforest.Braving the waterfall at El Yunque sub-tropical rainforest.

Elizabethan explorer Sir Francis Drake attacked in 1595, but came away without any treasure.

Another attack by George Clifford also failed after the Brits were stricken by a stomach bug.

Twice bitten, thrice shy, the Spanish began work on the fortifications that would eventually become Fort San Cristobal, the largest fortification they ever built in the New World.

It eventually enclosed San Juan in a protective wall and repelled invaders for more than two centuries. A poke around the solid fortifications and you can quickly see why; it looks impregnable from the sea even today.

That ocean has always been an important resource for this island nation, and not just as a form of defence. The waters are full of fish.

We went to check them out with Sea Ventures Diving Centre (divepuertorico.com) near Fajardo.

It was a rough day and several of the novices on board looked distinctly green as we harboured in a sheltered bay and completed an uninspiring first dive.

But the second dive was spectacular, dropping down over a coral atoll that was home to Hawksbill Turtles, Nurse Sharks and a grumpy looking Toad Fish.

Having worked up quite the appetite, we headed to the island’s infamous strip of kiosks behind the sandy beach at Luquillo (just off route 3).

The startling green landscape of El Yunque rainforest.The startling green landscape of El Yunque rainforest.

There are about 50 different eateries here, most with open-air tables, serving everything from an aromatic beans and rice with black pudding to gourmet pizza.

They range from chic(ish) to exceedingly shabby, but prices are generally rock bottom and in our mixed group, it was easy to find something that everyone liked.

However, judging by the broken bottles in the street, it gets quite rowdy at night.

It was here, in Luquillo, that I discovered one of Puerto Rico’s most entertaining culinary quirks.

Yes, this is a country that has created a delicious but potent sangria, called it ‘Gasolina’ and stuck it in a plastic container with a straw to expedite its consumption. Its strapline is ‘A Party in a Pouch’.

After a couple, there was a party going on in my brain and the ‘enchanted island’ was an even more beautiful place.

I can only exhort you to step on the gas and go there.

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