I FINALLY made it to Culebra! I'm obviously very excited about it as well. I know I said in my last blog that this would be up sooner, but I've been pretty busy lately. I only have 12 more days here! That's so crazy to think about. Because of that, I've been trying to take advantage of what little time I have left. Tomorrow we're going to a cave and then the bioluminescent bay in Fajardo Tuesday night. Hopefully I can catch up tomorrow or Tuesday on my weekend, but now for the blog on Culebra. I'm going to try and make this quick because I am about ready to fall asleep, but I really don't want to get anymore behind on my blog than I already am. And I also have a ton of pictures to post later as well.
Well we headed to Fajardo, which is where the ferry is to get to Culebra, right after the achievement ceremony. We didn't actually get out of the ceremony until about 11, even though it was supposed to get done at 9:30, so we were already behind on time. But we wanted to go to Wal-Mart to get snorkeling gear, snacks and more sunscreen. So by the time all of that was done, we were pretty late getting to the ferry. It was only around 12:15 a.m. but we had wanted to get there before midnight. Luckily we found a spot close to the pier where we didn't even have to pay! But we got to the line and this time we were actually inside the gates by quite a few people this time. Last time there were probably about 50 or 60 people in front of us before that same point. It was a really long night though. We played a couple rounds of Briscas while waiting, got rained on, and didn't really get to sleep. Eventually we got to the front of the line: there were only 3 people in front of us. As we were asking them about their trip though, we found out that there were actually 15 people in their group... So after them, there were no more tickets for the 6 a.m. ferry so we just thought to ourselves, "Okay well we'll just get on the 9 a.m. ferry. No big deal."
So around 5:30 in the morning, we heard an announcement over the loud-speakers that said that all of the boats were full until 3:30 p.m. because the big boat broke down. That meant that we would have had a 9 hour wait until we could get on the next ferry... We could not catch a break! was very tempted to just throw in the towel right then and there but we had already made the reservations for the hotel that night and I didn't want to throw away over $100 because the hotel was non-refundable. So we waited in line. I was feeling so beaten by this point and complaining to my mom about all of the trouble that we were having just to get to this island. She was just kind of trying to help me look on the positive side, but it was still really hard; this was our 3rd attempt at going...
Around 6:30 or 7 a.m. (when they were supposed to be selling tickets for the 9 a.m. ferry again) a worker made an announcement at the front of the lines. He told us that there was room on the 9 a.m. ferry but the tickets were to be sold in order of: residents first, people who worked on the island second, people with reservations (which was us), and lastly anyone else. As they were selling tickets, we noticed that there were some ladies that were trying to cut in front of us. When we asked them what was going on, they told us that they had paid the 3 ladies that had been standing at the front of the line (not actually really in line) to stay there for them since 7 p.m. the night before. If that wasn't frustrating enough, they had 12 people total in their group! Maria was getting so frustrated by this point and about ready to give up. I don't blame her either. But I kept trying to be positive, and I told her that we were getting on the 9 a.m. ferry. When she looked doubtful, I told her that I was declaring it. Side note: the workshop that we had just attended that weekend talked about how if you declare something, it will happen. Well turns out that it works! We were actually able to get tickets to the 9 a.m. ferry as well as quite a few people behind us. And after waiting in another line to actually get onto the ferry, we boarded and were off to Culebra!
Well we headed to Fajardo, which is where the ferry is to get to Culebra, right after the achievement ceremony. We didn't actually get out of the ceremony until about 11, even though it was supposed to get done at 9:30, so we were already behind on time. But we wanted to go to Wal-Mart to get snorkeling gear, snacks and more sunscreen. So by the time all of that was done, we were pretty late getting to the ferry. It was only around 12:15 a.m. but we had wanted to get there before midnight. Luckily we found a spot close to the pier where we didn't even have to pay! But we got to the line and this time we were actually inside the gates by quite a few people this time. Last time there were probably about 50 or 60 people in front of us before that same point. It was a really long night though. We played a couple rounds of Briscas while waiting, got rained on, and didn't really get to sleep. Eventually we got to the front of the line: there were only 3 people in front of us. As we were asking them about their trip though, we found out that there were actually 15 people in their group... So after them, there were no more tickets for the 6 a.m. ferry so we just thought to ourselves, "Okay well we'll just get on the 9 a.m. ferry. No big deal."
So around 5:30 in the morning, we heard an announcement over the loud-speakers that said that all of the boats were full until 3:30 p.m. because the big boat broke down. That meant that we would have had a 9 hour wait until we could get on the next ferry... We could not catch a break! was very tempted to just throw in the towel right then and there but we had already made the reservations for the hotel that night and I didn't want to throw away over $100 because the hotel was non-refundable. So we waited in line. I was feeling so beaten by this point and complaining to my mom about all of the trouble that we were having just to get to this island. She was just kind of trying to help me look on the positive side, but it was still really hard; this was our 3rd attempt at going...
Around 6:30 or 7 a.m. (when they were supposed to be selling tickets for the 9 a.m. ferry again) a worker made an announcement at the front of the lines. He told us that there was room on the 9 a.m. ferry but the tickets were to be sold in order of: residents first, people who worked on the island second, people with reservations (which was us), and lastly anyone else. As they were selling tickets, we noticed that there were some ladies that were trying to cut in front of us. When we asked them what was going on, they told us that they had paid the 3 ladies that had been standing at the front of the line (not actually really in line) to stay there for them since 7 p.m. the night before. If that wasn't frustrating enough, they had 12 people total in their group! Maria was getting so frustrated by this point and about ready to give up. I don't blame her either. But I kept trying to be positive, and I told her that we were getting on the 9 a.m. ferry. When she looked doubtful, I told her that I was declaring it. Side note: the workshop that we had just attended that weekend talked about how if you declare something, it will happen. Well turns out that it works! We were actually able to get tickets to the 9 a.m. ferry as well as quite a few people behind us. And after waiting in another line to actually get onto the ferry, we boarded and were off to Culebra!
It takes about an hour and a half to 2 hours to get to Culebra by ferry, and I hadn't slept at all that night, so I decided to try and take advantage of the time by sleeping. Part of that was also to help me with the nausea I always get due to motion sickness. But as you can see from the photo, we were on top of the ferry and I forgot to put on sunscreen... sorry Mom! I'm still paying for that. So far my nose and my entire forehead have peeled and are continuing to peel. But I have been using sunscreen and putting it on every 2 hours or so as to not get any more sun burnt. I'm going to return darker than I have ever been. And I thought that I was going to fail Puerto Rico by not getting a tan at all. At least that's how it looked for the longest time. I didn't actually start getting out to the beach until the very end of the semester. But back to Culebra. |
So we arrived onto the island around 11/11:30 a.m. that day. The fist thing that Maria wanted to do was shower (and I was there with her) but we weren't able to check into our hotel until 4 p.m. To me that didn't make sense because checkout was then at 11 a.m. I really think those times should be switched so that we could enjoy more time at the beach without having to worry about everything. But we ended up first eating at a little vender called Vibra Verde. At least I think that's what it's called. I had a yogurt bowl with blueberries, strawberries and granola with a little bit of honey sprinkled on top, and then a smoothie. |
After we enjoyed our meals, we decided to try and find a ride to Flamenco Beach. When we had first gotten off the ferry, there were buses and vans everywhere that were taking people to different places on the island, but when we got there this time, we didn't see anyone. So we asked one of the security guards what to do and he called us a ride. I didn't realize how close the beach was to where we were staying but we got there in about 20 minutes/half an hour because the driver needed to get gas. But we finally arrived at the beach around 12:30, so we still had about 4 hours before we needed to be back at our hotel.
The beach was seriously so beautiful! I can see why it's the world's 3rd most beautiful beach! The sand was so fine and white while the water was so clear that I could see everything. None of these pictures have filters on them or any editing done, so you know that it's a beautiful beach! I spent my time mostly hula hooping and randomly swimming in the water. I did also snorkel for a little bit but I couldn't really find all that many interesting things. Maria and I also did hang out and talk int he water for a little bit. Around 4 we decided to find a ride back to the hotel so that we could take a shower, go get something to eat, and then go to bed.
Well we ended up sleeping 12 hours that night. And truthfully I don't think I have yet to get caught up on missing a night of sleep. I will try to never do that to myself again. But the next day we got ready and we went to Tamarindo Beach which was suggested to us by our hotel manager, Dave. He was seriously the best. Not only did he suggest a great beach for us to see, but he also let us keep our stuff with him while we spent our morning at the beach and helped us find transportation.
Although Flemenco beach was incredibly beautiful, I would have to say that Tamarindo was my favorite. This was the beach that Liana wanted to take us to last time when we didn't get to go. it was definitely worth the wait! I went snorkeling looking for turtles and found a whole bunch of coral reefs with different types of colorful fish swimming everywhere. It took me awhile, but I finally found a turtle which then lead me to about 15 others. It was so cool! There was also a guy that showed my a sting ray that was more closer to the other side of the beach. Eventually Maria came to join me and we spent a bit more time looking at the turtles before we had to leave and go get our stuff before Dave left. But once we got our stuff, we did a little shopping (I got a pin and a bracelet), and then we got on the 1 p.m. ferry because we didn't want to wait until 8 p.m. I would have wrote in more detail but I can barely keep my eyes open and I don't know when I'll be able to write next. Hopefully it's soon. But we finally did it! We finally made it to Culebra. I'd definitely have to say that I took advantage of pretty much everything that Puerto Rico has to offer me. But it's time for me to go to bed. I had a long day today and I'm sure tomorrow will be the same.
XOXO Ericka
Oh and if you missed it, I have a new video of my time hooping at the beach. It also shows Flamenco Beach and Tamarindo Beach.
XOXO Ericka
Oh and if you missed it, I have a new video of my time hooping at the beach. It also shows Flamenco Beach and Tamarindo Beach.