Puerto Rico

Well, to start at the beginning… We decided to head first to a marina in Fajardo as we had friends arriving the next morning from Boston via San Juan. Customs & Immigration was by far the most straight edge we had encountered after visiting, the French, Dutch, Dominican, & even the English islands. If you’re wondering, yes, Mike and I are both Americans. The whole welcome back to America team must be in JFK airport somewhere because before we could even put a credit card down for the night, the C/I officers were called and summoned. So we awaited C/I to come board Gaia. 20 minutes later three large men with big black shoes, guns, holsters, & gleaming badges came aboard Gaia opened their big black briefcases and thus began the questions and triple carbon copied paperwork. Easy enough questions, we had nothing to hide but what if they suspected something, what if they found an error in our paperwork, what if we accidentally threw away a receipt they required….. All these what if questions whirled through my mind and it was mainly because there were three guns in MY home, three intimidating-looking officers, and I don’t care much for that.

The officers eventually left with smiles and what they had come for, our money and documentation in their triple carbon-copied papers. But just a warning to other cruisers – don’t mess with the letter of the law, the second your docklines catch in PR or your anchor settles, hustle on over to the C/I with your boat papers and passport.

IMG_0068The following morning, we met up with more Boston friends, Talia, Julia, & Nate, in Fajardo. We filled the tanks with FREE water and set sail for Vieques in search of some campgrounds for our 4 friends and brilliant beaches. Vieques did not disappoint.

For $5 a night/tent, there was a wide open grassy-fenced off field complete with amenities. We anchored just off the main fishing dock in Esperanza. We hid behind the small island along some smaller local boats. Guidebooks and park rangers told us the mooring balls were free but they’re NOT! The anchorage was a bit dicey but we managed to hold. In Puerto Rico, the main waterfront drag is called the malecón, and is home to some pretty great eateries & bars. WIMG_7796e trended towards the smaller joints for breakfast & enjoyed those places greatly. Our first day was finding our bearings so not much to say there but the second day was far more successful. We found the beaches, we did the snorkeling, and made the picnic. We fell in love with the seclusion of Plato Negro, a calm white sand beach, and camped out on the beach for the night. We joined forces with even more friends, Jeff & Erik Lambert. And then there were 6 friends of Gaia in the Caribbean!

IMG_7798We all signed up for a night kayak tour of The Greatest Bioluminescence Bay In The World in ‘Mosquito Bay’ or ‘Bio Bay’. The gentleman pictured to the left was very passionate of the tour and explained why Mosquito Bay, Vieques won such a prestigious title.

We first begin with Dinoflagellates (the drawing behind our new friend), these organisms, when disturbed, emits bioluminescence. Dinoflagellates survive off of and thrive around red mangroves, which happen to surround Bio Bay. Secondly, the mouth of the bay is in an ‘S’ shape which makes it difficult for these microscopic organisms to find their way out. The bay is also shallow and has a tidal change of only a few inches. Bottom line, these dinoflagellates ain’t goin’ nowhere. The best time to see these tours were on nights like the ones we experienced. We had a downpour of rain in the morning and then nothing but sun for the remainder of the day; at night, we had no moon allowing us to have the best visibility of the bioluminescence. We assembled into our clear-bottom two-person kayaks and followed our guide (who wore a blue light on his kayak) to the middle of the bay. At first, with a splash of my paddle, I was dismayed not to see a single reaction. But as we paddled out, I noticed random streaks of light through the water! They were fish. With each flick of the fishes tail, the dinoflagellates sprung to life, illuminating their path! It was phenomenal, I looked down and it was like champagne bubbles flooding underneath the kayak and when I splashed my hand in the water a wave of bioluminescence erupted. When I took my hand out of the water, it was still wet and there was bioluminescence on my hand! Ah!

Mike said he’d seen amazing bioluminescence in Luperon, DR that was impressive, but this, this was a whole different league. Our guide told us to stay in our kayaks or else the shark will get you. We laughed but then…. We spotted a flick of a very large tail shaped like a nurse shark tail. We kayaked over to the light that had now faded and sure enough, Mikes paddle dove into the water and the bioluminescent outline of a nurse shark jetted out from under our kayak. We sprang into action and gave chase to the agile bottom feeder. Kayaking after schools of illuminated fish and a nurse shark was such a highlight of our trip. I strongly recommend experiencing Bio Bay first hand.

Vieques was fun-filled with beaches but Culebra is where I fell in love.Read more