Puerto Rico Part 3: Beaches, Bays and Bioluminescence

Puerto Rico offers a diverse range of activities, many of which are on land and include hikes, tours, golfing, horseback riding, and zip lining. I have a strong preference for water though, so after leaving Old San Juan (where I got my fill of the island's history) and Santurce (where I enjoyed the city's art scene), I headed straight for the coast to drink in Puerto Rico's beautiful beaches.

Condado

I relocated to Condado, a San Juan neighborhood, that is all about beachfront beauty.

Condado Ocean Club

Consequently, I wanted a waterfront hotel and the Condado Ocean Club was the perfect venue. With ocean view bars, restaurants and lounges, you never miss an opportunity to enjoy the crashing waves or the salt air.

View From Hotel Room

The beaches in Puerto Rico are so beautiful that I decided to splurge and book an oceanfront room. Besides, for me, there is nothing like falling asleep to the rhythm of the ocean.

If you aren't a beach person, the Condado Ocean Club also has a great pool where you can enjoy a swim sans waves and salt water, but with a view of the ocean nonetheless. Even on a rainy day, it was warm and beautiful.

Culebra Island

For more beach time, I decided to escape the busy city and head to Culebra via boat. Located off the east coast of Puerto Rico, Culebra Island includes a small, sparsely populated main island and a group of cays.

The entire island of Culebra is about ten square miles and is divided into six districts.

To reach Culebra from San Juan required a 90 minute drive, following by an hour long boat ride.

Culebra Port

The main port for Culebra is located in Dewey (also known as Culebra Pueblo), the island's only town.

Tamarindo Beach

From the port, we drove to Tamarindo Beach to snorkel. Tamarindo Beach is known for its clear, calm waters that make for great snorkeling visibility.

Tamarind Tree

As the name conveys, it is also known for its plentiful tamarind trees.

Tamarind Pod

Tamarind fruit comes from a tree that is native to Africa and Asia, but also grows in tropical climates worldwide. If your experience with tamarind is through Thai or Indian food, you might describe it as sour, which is the flavor of the fruit when it is dried or unripe.

Tamarind Fruit

When the fruit is fully ripe however, it is mostly sweet with a hint of sour, and is perfect for snacking on straight out of the pod, as we did right before our snorkel adventure. Then it was time to jump in and enjoy the underwater scenery while our tour guide photographed the wildlife we encountered. The pictures she took are below.

Green Sea Turtle

It didn't take long to see a green sea turtle because this area is teeming with them, an additional reason why Tamarindo Beach is a very popular snorkeling site.

Another reason is the vibrant, coral reef located a reasonable swimming distance from the shore.

Black and White Clown Fish

Once we got to the reef, there was plenty of underwater activity. We saw many black and white clown fish, ...

Jellyfish

... too many jellyfish, which we tried to avoid, ...

Sea Fan

... beautiful coral like this purple sea fan, ...

Fire Coral

... dangerous coral like this fire coral that will burn you if touched, ...

Brain Coral

... and brain coral, known for its dome shape and distinctive surface that looks like the grooves and folds of a brain.

Sea Anemone

We also saw several sea anemones, and ...

Stingray

... this seemingly sleeping stingray, hiding under the sand that ...

... woke up and swam away as soon as we approached. After nearly 90 minutes of snorkeling, we left Tamarindo Beach to head to an even more famous beach a few miles away.

Flamenco Beach

Flamenco Beach

Flamenco Beach is named after nearby Flamenco Lagoon, named as such because it once attracted flamingos.

Flamenco Beach

This beach is considered one of the top 50 beaches in the world, according to many lists, and was once deemed the second best beach in the world by the Discovery Channel.

One look at the soft, white sand, swaying palm trees ...

... and crystal-clear, aquamarine waters, and I understood why.

Amidst all of the natural beauty is an incongruous sight: this tank left on the shore by the U.S. Navy.

Following Spain's cedeing of Puerto Rico to the United States (more on that in my first Puerto Rico post), the U.S. Navy took over the island and shores of Culebra, regularly conducting test landings, ground maneuvers, and practice bombings there.

In 1970, the residents of Culebra began seven months of non-violent protests, which culminated in the activist's success in stopping the Navy's testing activities. Left behind, and bearing witness to history however, is this and one other rusting tank that have been painted over time and again by locals.

Carne Frita

Post snorkeling at Tamarindo Beach and swimming at Flamenco Beach, it was time for some sustenance. In the Flamenco Beach parking lot, you will find several kiosks selling various types of food. I opted for the carne frita, or fried pork chunks, which were both crispy and tender.

Arroz con Frijoles

They came with arroz con frijoles or rice and beans. The beans were flavored with sazon, a Puerto Rican spice and sofrito, a blend of garlic, onion, green bell pepper, cilantro and tomato sauce.

After a very full day in the water and with full bellies, we boarded the boat to return to San Juan.

As if the day hadn't been perfect enough, we were fortunate to catch the sun setting over the water as a bonus.

Fajardo

My final water adventure in Puerto Rico took place in Fajardo.

Fajardo, known as a destination for water activities, is located about an hour east of San Juan.

View from Hotel

The approximately two-hour, roundtrip travel from San Juan is reasonable to do in one day, but I decided to stay at a hotel in Fajardo for one night because the particular water adventure I chose, didn't conclude until almost midnight.

My Fajardo hotel stay gave me an opportunity to explore another Puerto Rican city, as well as to meet this usually vociferous, tropical bird that decided to pipe down and start preening as soon as I turned my camera on.

The most important reason I was keen on visiting Fajardo is because it is home to Laguna Grande, a bioluminescent bay. In bays such as these, the water glows due to microscopic organisms called dinoflagellates.

There are two catches, however. First, the dinoflagellates must be disturbed in order to emit light, and second, it should ideally be pitch dark to see the glow cast by these organisms. For that reason, we waited for a near moonless night and then set out into the bay on our kayaks after about 9:30 pm.

Once on our way, we had to paddle against the current through a mangrove, with only a sliver of moonlight to guide us. After about 40 minutes, we reached an area where dinoflagellates were known to amass.

Laguna Grande Bioluminescent Bay

Because we were no longer under the cover of the mangroves, there was still some visible light in the sky, making it more difficult to see the bioluminescence. As a result, our tour guide covered us and our kayak with a tarp to create absolute darkness. We then agitated the water beneath us and a magical, bright, blue-green glow surrounded our kayak. It's an experience I won't soon forget.

I also won't forget the downpour that began as soon as we started paddling back to shore and continued until we arrived, or the mangrove branch that slammed into my forehead as we tried to navigate our kayak through the darkness, under a constant cascade of rain.  (I don't have great pictures of the experience or any of the bioluminescence because I don't have a sophisticated enough camera or skills to capture photos in low light. Sorry.)

Drenched and amazed, I returned to my hotel safely. Exhausted, but still too exhilarated from my adventure to sleep, I took a midnight stroll on the beach. That concludes all my water adventures in Puerto Rico. Coming up next are my culinary adventures and all the evidence for why it is so easy to fall in love with Puerto Rican cuisine.