Puerto Rico!

After reconnecting with Jody and Carter in Creede, we decided that we should all venture out together for a beach vacation. What better place than Puerto Rico! Beautiful beaches, tropical rain forest, and apparently no threat of poisonous spiders or snakes (big plus in Marc's book). 

It was a no-brainer.

We flew into San Juan and stayed for a night before meeting up at the art museum to pose for some artsy photos. 

San Juan is a vibrant, colorful city full of good food, music, and active people. The art museum was beautiful as were the many street art murals that we encountered on our walks. 

After our night in San Juan, we met up with Jody's friend Victorino and his wife Gloria. They were very gracious hosts, putting us up in their beach condo and taking us on a tour of their beautiful island.

One of our day trips was to El Yunque forest. This is the only tropical rain forest within the national forest system. We enjoyed a breathtaking hike up through the forest to a peak overlooking the vast expanse of trees.

Arriving at the top, the clouds were as thick as a wall making it impossible to see the land and sea below. But as we sat to catch our breath, the clouds suddenly cleared revealing a lush landscape of green covered mountains cascading down to the piercing blue water of the Atlantic.

 

 

Puerto Rico is a island steeped in rich culture, much of which revolves around food. We enjoyed tender white fish with savory coconut rice, decadent mofongo, and of course, our share of pina coladas. Mm-mm! Now I am not much for too-sweet drinks, but a pina colada made with fresh pineapple juice and cream of coconut, that's island life.

Puerto Rico is a fascinating crossroads of American conveniences and tropical island nuances. We were incredibly comfortable traveling here, a short flight- no currency exchange, and even though I wanted to practice my Spanish, I was hard-pressed to find someone who didn't want to speak English with me.

On the other hand, the Puerto Rican people identify strongly with their culture, their history, and their island. Although they are enduring an increasingly difficult economic situation, the sense of pride was palpable. And we were, in turn, proud to visit such a place.

After a few days on the main island, we boarded an island hopper and flew the eight bumpy miles to the Isla de Vieques. 

Vieques is a small island measuring 21 miles long and 4 miles wide. Many wild horses and roosters call Vieques their home, and the island is mainly undeveloped, free from any large resorts or fancy hotels. 

One of the most stunning sights on Vieques is the bioluminescent bay. This bay full of microscopic dinoflagellates was recorded as the brightest in the world according to the Guinness Book of World Records in 2008. We were fortunate enough to book our kayak tour of the bay on a moonless night in February when the sky was clear and the stars mirrored the water in a glittering show of lights. This was by far the highlight of our trip to Vieques, although it's something you will have to go and discover for yourself as cameras do little to capture this phenomenon.

If the tiny Isla de Vieques isn't on your vacation radar, you're not alone. This island has only been open to the public since 2003. Before 2003, Vieques was home to the Puerto Rico Naval Training Range. The eastern end of the island was used for live training exercises, ship-to-ship gunfire, air-to-ground bombing, and US Marine amphibious landings starting in the 1940's. Over ten years have passed since the departure of the Navy, and the island is still undergoing the slow cleanup process. Sadly, the residents of Vieques suffer from higher than normal rates of illness such as cardiovascular disease and cancer. The US Navy eventually conceded to using depleted uranium and Agent Orange on the island but to this day fail to acknowledge any link between the use of these toxins and the increased rate of illness on the island.

Hearing this may deter some visitors, but there is a flipside to the US Navy's sordid past in Vieques. The eastern half of the island has been set aside as a National Wildlife Refuge as the Navy continues to clean up its mess. This area is free of development and is home to some of the most beautiful beaches in the Caribbean. 

The past is never far from your mind, however, as signs like these warning of the dangers that may lay on the ocean floor are posted throughout the Wildlife Refuge. We can only hope that the Navy will continue to try to rectify its actions and do right by the beautiful Isla de Vieques.

No beach vacation is complete without a human sandcastle! 

Vieques is a colorful island in many ways. 

"My mother taught me to love this land."

This tree deserves a jump. It is the revered Ceiba Tree, and it is just over 300 years old!

Some of the local residents of Vieques having lunch.

We hike through the ruins of a sugar mill...

and visited a spooky old military bunker that reminded us of something out of the show Lost.

We enjoyed our time in Puerto Rico and on the Isla de Vieques. It definitely makes the list of places we will return in the future. We bid farewell to Jody and Carter as they headed home and we headed to Puerto Rico's western neighbor, the Dominican Republic.