We began our Monday by getting lunch at one of the most popular kiosk style restaurant areas in Puerto Rico. All 20-30 restaurants had beach front property and almost all served authentic Puerto Rican food. Our group dispersed to try out several different restaurants, and reconvened in time to head to Luquillo Beach where we spent a few hours soaking up the sun and admiring how beautiful and clean the beach and water were.
Once we had all gotten our daily nap (this time on the beach rather than the bus) we headed to our most anticipated activity- the Bioluminescent Bay. This bay is one of only three currently functioning bioluminescent bays in the world. These bays have special micro-organisms in the water that illuminate when they come into contact with movement. To reach the bay we had to kayak through a dark and heavily wooded channel, this is the best form of transportation that does not disturb the organisms. The kayak ride there was harder for some than others (some were towed by the professionals), the hardest part was communicating with your partner to ensure you were paddling together. Once we reached the bay, we killed a little time since it needed to be absolute darkness to see the light of the micro-organisms (this allowed us to practice our kayaking skills for the ride back).Once completely dark we were able to move our hands in the water and see the glow from the movement which was an amazingly cool experience.
The real adventure for me and my kayak partner was the ride back. Imagine two lanes of novice kayakers trying to navigate in complete darkness…slight disaster. The real kicker came when the instructor flicked on the flashlight to reveal the many bats that were dive bombing our kayak, which of course led to a series of screams from me and my partner as well as some serious navigation issues. As terrifying as the kayak ride was, it was definitely an entertaining experience. The best part of the day was being able to see yet another unique facet of Puerto Rico. This island is so rich in diversity, even when it comes to nature and ecosystems, especially regarding the bay since it is only 1 of 3 functioning bioluminescent bays in the world. It is also important for tourism in Puerto Rico because it is a huge draw for people around the world. All in all I’m grateful that I was able to enjoy this once in a lifetime experience.