Wearing a straw hat,he points to a container filled with bamboo walking sticks and tells us to take our pick."Did you all pack lunches?"he asks."It's a 20 kilometre hike round-trip."
We load into the back of his white pickup truck and bump along,chased by dogs,until reaching a gate blocking the rest of Route 191.
About three kilometres up,landslides make the road impassable.
Signs by a riverside warn about the dangers of hydroelectric dams along the trail. In the 1990s,a US Navy sailor from now-closed Roosevelt Roads Naval Station fell off a dam and was swept away by raging waters,Phillips says.
"Very few people come to this side of the rainforest,"he says."And the ones that do make it alone,most are deterred by these signs."
We walk on the road for a while before veering right onto a path where the forest's lush but porous canopy allows rays of light to stream through. Phillips explains that hurricanes in recent years stripped much of El Yunque's veil-like covering.
The forest suddenly becomes hushed except for the two-tone chirp of tiny tree frogs called coqui and the twitter of birdsong,though there's no sighting of the endangered Puerto Rican parrots that live in El Yunque.
A panoply of giant ferns,banana trees and royal palms fan out overhead,among some 240 native tree species fed by the 378 billion litres of rainwater that falls here each year.
Phillips points to a nearby stream of crystal-clear water and cups his hands for a drink,then invites guests to fill their water bottles.
"This is some of the best water in the world,"says Phillips,who's lived in Puerto Rico for 20 years."People from nearby Humacao and Fajardo fill up 20-litre drums at a source near the edge of town."
Snails,large and small,crawl on the forest floor. A few minor landslides block part of the trail,forcing us to climb over.
Though not marked,the trail is easy to follow beside an aqueduct pipe covered with moss and,later,abandoned rail tracks.
Phillips picks a green fruit which he identifies as parcha,or passionfruit. He slices it open with a pocket knife and lets us taste the sour tang of its flesh.
Crossing another stream,he points to a felled hardwood ausubo trunk embedded into the rock. Ausubo has traditionally been used for the wooden ceiling beams of colonial houses in Old San Juan. Over the centuries,loggers have chopped down many colossal hardwoods,leaving the forest vulnerable to hurricanes.
We eventually reach a 27-metre ladder with metal rungs and climb slowly to the dizzying top without backpacks. The ascent is not over. We scale a maze of rocks until we reach a 33-metre waterfall with several levels.
At the base of one is a large pool. We strip out of our sweat-soaked clothing and into bathing suits to step into the pristine water."Sometimes honeymooners come up here with me,"Phillips says with a chuckle."They ask for some privacy. I go wait down below the rocks until they're done."
The cooling effects of the water quickly wear off as we lumber down the face of the mountain under a baking sun. By the time we stagger back,fresh muscle aches and a raw sunburn appear - a small price to pay for a day on the lost side of the rainforest. -- AP
IF YOU GO
El Yunque is also known as the Caribbean national forest. The northern half of the park is easily accessible from San Juan by taking PR Highway 3 to PR 191;many hotels can arrange taxis or tour buses.
Robin Phillips leads 20km hikes from Naguabo in the southern half of the park for $US75 ($A99) for each group of five;details at http://www.rainforestsafari.com/Phillips.htm or (from Australia 0011-787) 874-2138.
The Casa Cubuy inn in Naguabo (www.casacubuy.com or 787 874-6221) has rooms starting at $US90 ($A119) a night and also serves breakfast and dinner.