After a short time on mainland Puerto Rico it was time to board a ship and let the fun begin. We were greeted by Rene, our local escort. He carpooled us to our island beach house on the north side of the island. We loved our little home. It was right across the street from the beach and had a balcony that had the most unbelievable view. A lot of time was spent out on that balcony...doing a whole lot of nothing and a little bit of talking. By the time we got there it was pretty late, so we were off to bed not too long after our arrival... 9 people in a six person accommodation...yet somehow we all got a bed. Amazing.
First thing on the agenda was to rent scooters. Within the first half hour we had a major crash but no major injury. Luckily. But with a group full of handy boys, all ended up being well. There's something about being on a scooter, in what seemed like a foreign country, that makes you feel free and unstoppable. Maybe that had something to do with the fact that we rolled 9 deep, but whatever. We had a blast on those things. Especially Matix. He had no fear and did not like "not winning" the race. Matt and Anne were nominated to be the fearless leaders. But Matix thought he deserved the title and wouldn't take no for an answer. Poor Devin. He heard the words "faster, faster" about a hundred too many times.
We headed to Duffy's for breakfast and then we were off to some beaches for some fun in the sun. We all were really intrigued by the black sand beach (also known as the playa negra), so we were determined to get there. The journey was a struggle but it ended up being through a jungle, in which we found the biggest hermit crab I've ever seen...which was awesome. The beach itself was cool, but we were mostly entertained by the abundance of conch shells we found. Matix loved snorkeling (minus the snorkel), exploring, and sand castle building. Four year old little boy heaven.
Our main reason for visiting Vieques was to see the Bioluminescent Bay, or "glowing water" as Matix calls it. If you don't know what it is...google it.
Freaking awesome. Right?
Obviously the pictures are a little bit photoshopped, but the water really does glow like whoa. We even went on a full moon night, which is not recommended. However, Matt, Anne, and Devin have all been before and didn't seem to think that the light of the moon made a difference. Plus we got a free tour instead of $35 each...so I think we scored. And we all got to swim in it, which is illegal. Bucket List: CHECK! Another thing on my bucket list (if I actually had a physical list) would have been skinny dipping. That may or may not have been completed that night as well. We were on a roll.
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| This was the best glow picture we could get with our waterproof camera. Iagine that...times 5. |
The next day we found a last minute scuba dive excursion. Good thing, since I got certified so I could scuba dive in PR. haha. We had the most amazing tropical smoothies and then took one last trip around the island on our scooters and saw this 400 year old tree called Le Ceiba before meeting up with our scuba ladies. We were all pretty sad about parting ways with those beloved scooters. Scooter Crew 12 what what. 5 of us went diving and the other half of the group went to a secret beach not too far, that coincidentally was called secret beach. They said they had the best time entertaining Matix on the most perfect beach. I am so happy that they were willing to watch that little one for me so I could scuba! What great friends I have.
Before too long it was time to say goodbye to our beautiful island and set sail back to mainland Puerto Rico. It was hard to say goodbye to this beautiful place. The boat ride was a little bit somber. But that may have had something to do with how hungry and tired we were... :)
Adios Vieques.
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