I finally got to go to the bioluminescent bay in Fajardo!!I thought I had written a blog about going to the bio bay in Lajas with my family but I guess I never did. Well first, a little background. One of the main reasons that I wanted to come and study here in Puerto Rico was actually because I wanted to be able to go to one of their 3 bioluminescent bays.
Back in middle school and high school, whenever we had to do a project on a Spanish-speaking country I always chose Puerto Rico. This was partly because we never really learned about it in school and I had known that my dad had lived her for about 2 months at one of the bases. But once I had seen that they had bioluminescent bays, I fell in love. That was about 6th grade. So it has been my dream to see one of the bays since 6th grade. If you don't know what a bioluminescent bay is, here is a paragraph from 'biobaypuertorico.com':
"Marine microorganizms that glow at night, when water is disturbed, make visiting bio lagoons a unique experience. Bioluminescence is truly a special representation of rare and fragile environment. Even though the luminescence appears all over the planet, only few places are categorized as a biobays. There are only five of them in the world. Three actively glowing bays are luckily located in Puerto Rico." |
So I'm pretty lucky to have 3 of them to choose from. When my family was here, we really wanted to go to the one in Fajardo because I had heard that that one was the most bright out of the 3. I think it's actually the brightest one in the world. But sadly it was all booked up, so we decided to try the one in Lajas since we were on that side at Playa Sucia. Luckily we didn't need reservations for that one and we were actually able to swim in it. It wasn't really that bright so I was a little disappointed, but we did get to swim in it so that was pretty cool. Although I finally got to live out my life's dream of visiting the bio bay, I still wasn't satisfied because I had seen pictures from the one in Fajardo, and that's what I had wanted to experience.
So I finally broke down and asked Maria if she'd go with me if I bought both of the tickets. She said yes, we made our reservations, and last night (about a month later) we got to go! We went through Kayaking Puerto Rico Tours, although there were other groups as well. And as the name suggests, we went on a kayaking tour. This part scared me because back in high school when I took an adventure class, we had a canoeing unit and I had a panic attack almost every time I got in the boat. This time, I was nervous at first but I was more excited. Once we were in the kayak and on our way, I was shaking a little bit and I'd give out a small yelp whenever the boat tipped to one side, but once I got the hang of it, it was actually pretty fun.
In total, the trip was about 45 minutes to the bay and 45 minutes back. We also had some free time to play with the water once we were at our destination. Here are the maps of where we kayaked. I don't know how my arms and shoulders are not sore today because I was definitely not used to that!
**Click on the pictures to enlarge them**
In total, the trip was about 45 minutes to the bay and 45 minutes back. We also had some free time to play with the water once we were at our destination. Here are the maps of where we kayaked. I don't know how my arms and shoulders are not sore today because I was definitely not used to that!
**Click on the pictures to enlarge them**
Apparently that is 2 miles but it really didn't feel like it was. Partly because we were talking almost the entire time. It was funny because the guides didn't seem to think that anyone was actually from Puerto Rico on the tour or even spoke Spanish. Maria had said something to one of the guides about being from Puerto Rico and I told him I was Puerto Rican at heart. He laughed at that. Even once we were at the bay, the guides still thought that no one could speak Spanish because they were joking in Spanish. I guess the tours aren't something that Puerto Ricans typically do. Maria was definitely amazed. She was having a blast! I don't think she really understood what it was going to look like. Even under the moon it was still really bright. We also got to go underneath a tarp so that it was darker and we could see better. It looked really cool when we threw it on ourselves! It looked like little stars falling all over us. I think that was Maria's favorite part. And she told me that that could count as her birthday present.
I don't remember how long we got for free time, but we spent most of our time over by the trees where it was darker. But that also meant that we hit a few other people who wanted to go into the same area as us. There was even a time where we were kayaking out of the area and we started getting really close to a branch and I just started yelling "palo," which means branch or stick in Spanish. Maria just about lost it. She said that she loved how instead of yelling "tree" or "branch" or something in English, that I started yelling in Spanish while I was scared. I guess I really am Puerto Rican! But it also happened on the way back where we almost ran into a branch and I had to pretty much lay down in the kayak in order to not be hit by it. In the process I yelled "palo" again and the guy in the kayak ahead of us just started laughing.
Once we got back to the tour site, we had to line up and wait for the guides to help us out of the kayaks. When they got to us, the main guide remembered that I was from Wisconsin and said, "What up, Wisconsin?" as I was getting out of the boat. Apparently he has a best friend from Riceville. There are now a lot of people that know me as Wisconsin. But we were telling them about how I'm actually Puerto Rican in a gringa's body. They seemed to enjoy that. I don't think they realized that I could speak Spanish either. But I'd have to say that this was one of my favorite things that I got to experience here in Puerto Rico! If you are ever coming to Puerto Rico, try and go to the bio bay in Fajardo! It is so worth it! Just make sure to make reservations way in advance or they'll fill up. They were also taking pictures throughout the tour that I think they're going to put up on their Facebook page so once that happens, I will put them on my photos page. I'm pretty sure that my eyes are going to be closed in all of the pictures though. My eyes are too sensitive to taking pictures with flash; especially at night.
XOXO Ericka
I don't remember how long we got for free time, but we spent most of our time over by the trees where it was darker. But that also meant that we hit a few other people who wanted to go into the same area as us. There was even a time where we were kayaking out of the area and we started getting really close to a branch and I just started yelling "palo," which means branch or stick in Spanish. Maria just about lost it. She said that she loved how instead of yelling "tree" or "branch" or something in English, that I started yelling in Spanish while I was scared. I guess I really am Puerto Rican! But it also happened on the way back where we almost ran into a branch and I had to pretty much lay down in the kayak in order to not be hit by it. In the process I yelled "palo" again and the guy in the kayak ahead of us just started laughing.
Once we got back to the tour site, we had to line up and wait for the guides to help us out of the kayaks. When they got to us, the main guide remembered that I was from Wisconsin and said, "What up, Wisconsin?" as I was getting out of the boat. Apparently he has a best friend from Riceville. There are now a lot of people that know me as Wisconsin. But we were telling them about how I'm actually Puerto Rican in a gringa's body. They seemed to enjoy that. I don't think they realized that I could speak Spanish either. But I'd have to say that this was one of my favorite things that I got to experience here in Puerto Rico! If you are ever coming to Puerto Rico, try and go to the bio bay in Fajardo! It is so worth it! Just make sure to make reservations way in advance or they'll fill up. They were also taking pictures throughout the tour that I think they're going to put up on their Facebook page so once that happens, I will put them on my photos page. I'm pretty sure that my eyes are going to be closed in all of the pictures though. My eyes are too sensitive to taking pictures with flash; especially at night.
XOXO Ericka