Yes, I've been back from my honeymoon for three months already, but I still fully intend to finish these recaps before forget all the fun details!
We were up with the sun again. We started the morning so early that it wasn’t quite time for coffee or tea, so we settled for watching the day begin in the rainforest, and catching up on some reading.
Breakfast was obscenely delicious. An orgy of carbs, sugar and meat. Mystery sausage (maybe a pork and turkey mix with peppers and something else), with platanos and blueberry pancakes. Heaven.
After breakfast, we played around the pool for a bit.
Then we headed into Fajardo- our first stop was the Seven Seas beach. It was beautiful, but DEFINITELY a party beach, and not really our scene.
We hung around for a while, grabbed some pinchos for lunch, and learned that if we walked along the shallows we’d find the trails to Playa Colora and Playa Escondida. Off we went.
Playa Colora was desserted, and absolutely stunning. The surf was significantly rougher, and it was easy to imagine we were in the middle of nowhere. Perfect.
The water was absolutely divine- crystal clear, slightly cool and choppy enough that Joe could play in the waves.
We swung by Playa Escondida as well (following the trail through the mangrove forest). The current there was INSANELY strong, but the water was relatively calm. You could lay back to float and drift hundreds of feet in a matter of minutes.
On our way back, we spotted this guy.
After the beach we headed to the Puerto Del Rey Marina in Fajardo to get ready for our trip to the Vieques Bio Bay!
We used East Island Excursions for our tour. Shortly after signing in, we boarded the catamaran for the 45 minute trip to Vieques.
Vieques is a small island approximately 8 miles from the mainland.
After arriving on Vieques we hopped into passenger vans and took a scenic drive through the island. We ended up at East Island Excursions' restaurant, where we were served dinner. I went with the chicken and mofongo. Not bad, but not the best (and I LOVE me some mofongo).
After dinner we were briefed on our trip into the bio bay. We boarded one of the most tight-busted school buses I've ever ridden on, and we were off through the mangrove forest!
EXCITED!
We switched to an electric catamaran and slowly cruised into the enclosed bay. As we approached, and the concentration of dinoflagellates (the tiny microorganisms that light up when disturbed and make the water appear to glow). Mosquito Bay on Vieques is one of the few bays you can still swim in... It. Was. Magical. The water was perfectly calm and almost identical to the air temperature. As soon as your skin touches the water, it begins to glow. It was like swimming in stardust! As our tour guides had warned us, photographing the biobay was darn near impossible. Even without photo momentos, I will undoubtedly remember swimming in the biobay for the rest of my life.
Tips from Day 4:
-Talk to locals- we would have never discovered Playa Colora or Playa Escondida if we hadn't chatted up the friendly pinchos guy!
-When renting a car, pack everything you'll need for the whole day- some of our best experiences came from impromptu stops, and if we hadn't been prepared we wouldn't have had time to veer from our itinerary.
