If you missed yesterdays post about the San Juan segment of my fabulous Puerto Rican vacation…you can check it out here. Because now…it’s on to Vieques!
In case you’re unfamiliar with it (as I was until recently), Vieques is a little island about 8 miles from the main island of Puerto Rico. Until 2003 most of the island was controlled by the US Navy, so it is fairly undeveloped at this point. The population of the island is only about 10,000 people and while one large resort has recently come to the island most of it is untouched beaches, wildlife preserve, 2 small towns and a handful of guesthouses.
Vieques can be accessed from Puerto Rico either via a ferry from Fajardo or a speedy ride in a teeny tiny plane from San Juan. We opted for the second option, although we definitely were not prepared for just how tiny the plane would be!
It only seated 6 people!!
The first thing that we did on Vieques after we picked up our rental car and checked into the guest house was go rent some snorkeling equipment. There was a dilapidated old pier a short walk from our guest house that we were told was home to some cool fish. And it certainly did not disappoint! It felt like swimming in someone’s fancy salt water aquarium! Steve stayed in the water all afternoon while I got out and did some photography.
That night we wandered around The Malecon, aka the main drag in the tiny town of Esperanza where we were staying, had some dinner, and spent the night relaxing in our guest house Esperanza Inn.
From the roof deck at the guest house the stars were among the best I’d ever seen in my life. We sat up there watching the sky for a good chunk of the evening. We also got a little relief from our kitty withdrawal by playing and snuggling with some of the dozen cats that call Esperanza Inn their home.
It’s a wonder none of them just happened to find their way into our luggage at the end of the trip. 
The next morning after breakfast we set out in our rented Jeep to one of the island’s many practically deserted beaches. Since there are so few people and so many beaches on Vieques you can literally just drive along the coast on little dirt roads until you find one that suits you.
Just be careful not to run into any of the 20,000 horses that call the island their home. Yes. 20,000. That is double the number of people on the island!
After a bit of driving down the bumpy roads Steve and I ended up at Red Beach, another highly recommended snorkeling spot.
There were maybe twenty other people dotted a long the sand…and we could have found a beach with even fewer people if we’d wanted to. But Red Beach delivered the excellent snorkeling promised and honestly, having a few other people around is nice sometimes. Especially when they offer to take a picture for you!
After our fill of sun we headed back to Esperanza for a late lunch of fried plantain fritters and mahi mahi (for me) and got ready for the #1 thing that brought us to Vieques in the first place — kayaking in the bioluminescent bay.
Bioluminescence occurs when tiny microorganisms living in water emit their own light when touched or disturbed by motion. This incredible phenomenon occurs in a handful of places on this crazy planet of ours…but Mosquito Bay in Vieques has the highest concentration of bioluminescent microorganisms in the world…and therefore the brightest glow.
When we met up with our kayaking tour group we were ridiculously excited but also a tad skeptical. Would it be as amazing as we’ve heard it is?
The answer? Yes. The bioluminescent bay in Vieques is one of the most mind-bending and unforgettable things I have experienced in my life.
We paddled out into the bay while the sun was setting, a lightening storm off in the distance to entertain us while we waited for darkness. Then as this sky became black, I could see a little glitter to the water as I dragged my hand through it. Then over the next 10 minutes as the darkness became complete the glitter turned into a bright aqua glow. We hopped out of our kayaks and swam around in the bay, the water lighting up around our bodies. I lifted my forearm out of the water and could see the glowing water drip from my skin. I hadn’t seen anything like it save for special effects in SciFi movies!
Unfortunately, photographing the phenomenon is nearly impossible…so I’ve snagged a few pictures from another source just to give you an idea of what it looked like.
It’s really that bright. And truly that surreal.
As we kayaked back to the shore I saw what looked like a big bolt of blue lightning shoot past us in the water. It took me a minute to realize it had actually been a fish, creating a trail of bioluminescent magic behind him as he swam.
So.Freaking.Cool!
The next day was our last day of vacation. Coming down off the high of the biobay (and scratching the over 40 mosquito bites we each received while kayaking) we decided to venture up to the north side of the island and check out the other town – Isabel Segundo.
We walked along a truly deserted beach…
…did some shopping, and returned our rental car. The highlight of Isabel Segundo? I purchased what was, without a doubt, the most delicious mango I have ever eaten…picked from one of the many mango trees on this island. This is some seriously amazing fruit I’m talking about. If we hadn’t been to the biobay the night before that mango would be my favorite vacation memory.
That afternoon we decided to return to the pier we had snorkeled at before. We spent our last few sunny hours in Puerto Rico swimming with the fish and I even got in a little back-bending yoga on the sand!
For our last night of vacation, Steve and I each enjoyed a rum cocktail as the sun began to set at one of the little bars in Esperanza and enjoyed a lovely seafood dinner. We also met a little lizard friend on our way there.
The next morning we arose bright and early and headed back home. Le sigh.
This vacation was so close to perfection. I didn’t do an once of academic work. I worked out ZERO times (although we were certainly quite active). I enjoyed food & drink that don’t normally have much of a place in my life — fried plantains, sugar laden girly cocktails. We did memorable things, I took a ton of photos, and just tried to have the best time I possibly could.
I knew real life would be waiting for me when I returned…and it was…of course. But I am reaturning to that real life a bit happier, a little tanner, and oh so relaxed.
