After hiking El Yunque and soaking in the natural pool near Casa Cubuy, and after one last delicious breakfast, we headed to the tiny airport to catch a tiny plane to the tiny island of Vieques.
The big debate was Culebra (great beaches) or Vieques (kayaking in a bioluminescent bay).
Vieques won.
The flight lasted about 10 minutes. The pilot taxied down the runway with his elbow out the window!
And then read the instructions ...
But the view on the way there was great!!
Upon landing, we (eventually) got our jeep, dropped our bags at our guest house (Casa Ms. Brown), and found a place overlooking the beach for lunch.
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| We liked Bananas so much that we ate there twice! |
Next up, SNORKELING!
The water was a little rough, and we had to watch out for leftover explosives from when the U.S. Navy used the island as a bombing range. But it was a great time anyway!
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| (I wasn't kidding about the explosives!) |
We didn't see any bombs, but we did see all kinds of cool things!
Finally, the skies darkened, and it was time for our kayaking adventure!
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| J, B, K, & D |
The sun had been bright all day, and the moon was a mere sliver, which made for a dark night with the brightest bioluminescence possible. The kayak paddles left streaks of light in the water, and dripping water left streaks of light through the air. The fish (even the one that jumped into B!!) left streaks of bioluminescence everywhere -- including on B!
The best place for seeing the light? Under the branches of the mangrove trees, where it was the darkest of all!
Alas, our trip to Vieques was for only one day, and the next morning, we flew back to the mainland for our final Puerto Rican adventure: Old San Juan.
We visited the San Juan National Historic Site, Castillo San Felipe del Morro, and then wandered around a nearby cemetery before heading back to the hotel for one final nap. (B kept wandering around much longer than the rest of us, missing his nap!)
For our last night in Puerto Rico, D stayed at the hotel, while the rest of us coaxed dinner recommendations from the most excellent Miguel, who worked the front desk of the Casa Blanca Hotel and (literally) ran our luggage up to our room on the 5th floor. We chose a nearby restaurant and loved it! We watched silent black-and-white movie playing on one wall and enjoyed delicious -- and beautiful! -- drinks while we waited for our meals.
After dinner, we headed back to our hotel rooftop with cocktails to enjoy the lovely view of Old San Juan. After a while, the rain came, telling us it was time to go home.
The next morning, J and K had breakfast in the hotel while B and D slept. J and K got the better end of the deal: complimentary breakfast "Passionate Red" cocktails!
The next morning, J and K had breakfast in the hotel while B and D slept. J and K got the better end of the deal: complimentary breakfast "Passionate Red" cocktails!
Finally, though, it was time to go. We packed our things and headed to the restaurant next door for one last delightful meal in Puerto Rico. No mofongo this day -- we were all plantained out!
But we are all ready to return. To snorkel, to swim, to hike, to eat, to drink, to explore ... we are definitely all ready.
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