Friday - Vieques Beaches and Biobay
Dorks At A Big Chair! (Slightly squinty in the sunset.)
Day 2 began with hotel-provided continental breakfast and the beautiful blue Caribbean. After that, we took a quick walk down the malecón for provisions, then got our beach gear provided by the hotel (chairs, umbrella, cooler, towels, and ice), packed our snorkel gear, sunscreen, and rash guards, and headed out for a Beach Day!
There are dozens of beaches on Vieques, but we only had one day, so stuck with trying some closer to home, so to speak. First on the list, after a bit of a trip down a road that turned from thin paved into rough gravel: La Chiva, also known as Blue Beach from the days when Vieques was a navy testing ground*. Despite the sargassum (seaweed), it really was an iconic Caribbean beach, with white sand and turquoise water. I had heard that snorkeling was great out near the small cay, so we geared up and tried. Irony: after having bought a (knockoff) GoPro specifically to have something to film snorkeling, I forgot the batteries! But as it turned out there was just too much seaweed once you got further out to really see anything, so we gave up and headed to our next beach, Caracas ("Red Beach").
If I'd thought La Chiva was an iconic Caribbean beach, Caracas blew it away. Pristine white sand and the most vivid turquoise water. Unlike La Chiva where for a while we were the only people there, there were quite a few folks out enjoying Caracas beach, but it still wasn't what I would consider busy. The best part about Caracas in my opinion was that you could choose your sea experience by where you were at. Like a calm sea with few waves to swim in? Go to the left. Want more waves to play in or boogie board? Move to the right until the waves are at your desired height. So much fun and I could have played in those waves all day!
Our third beach we had planned to visit was Sun Bay, a bigger beach with more facilities - but just as we got parked, the sky clouded over and there was a sudden downpour! We'd intended to spend more time "toes in the sand, drink in hand" here, but didn't feel like putting up our beach umbrella in the rain, so instead we hung out at the little cafe where we had a strawberry daiquiri (which needed to be slightly sweeter for me) and what might have been the best frozen piña colada of the whole trip. We watched the guy go hack up fresh pineapple and coconut and throw it in the blender, and you could tell! We also had delicious stuffed arepas (fried dough), one ground beef and one pollo (chicken), and that was all lovely enough that it was OK that we missed our third beach.
Returned to the room for quick showers to rinse off the salt, then out for a quick bite at Duffy's, another of the restaurants along the strip. Their menu was very seafood-centric but Toph was able to get a burger and I just got a small order of fish bites since the arepas weren't too long ago.
Finally, the star event of the day: kayaking Mosquito Bay, the brightest bioluminescent bay in the world. I was told it was unlikely I'd be able to capture anything in pictures. I tried a couple times: they were right.
So you get a link to someone else's YouTube video in comments. It was an amazing experience, the glowing waters from the Avatar movie in real life. Mind you - the trip TO the bay was an... adventure, as the tour guides take the rutted and rough road at speed, making you wonder if you'll get whiplash before you fall out a window. And, to get into the kayak, you have to walk barefoot through stinky, squishy mud. And, it's called mosquito bay for a reason, so you may get eaten while you wait to start paddling. But all that disappears from your mind when you see each paddle splash light up like stars in the sky, and splashing water glitters down your arms like diamonds, and sparks beneath your kayak dance like fireflies. Mind-blowingly beautiful -- and clear skies so I could see the Southern Cross above and the dancing waters below. Worth it!!After we got back, we ended the day with a nightcap of painkillers at Lazy Jack's (not pictured), and a final evening walk along the malecón.
**As noted above, Vieques was a testing ground for the US Military for many years... making the 'it's complicated' relationship of the main island of the US look somewhat calm by comparison. In fact, Vieques has some of the oldest archaeological artifacts in the Caribbean, indicating that the Taino were here for at least a couple thousand years before Columbus! Vieques was controlled by the Spanish and then the US after the Spanish American War, just like the rest of Puerto Rico -- but in the 1940s the US Navy took over most of the island, and used it for bombing and artillery practice. This led to some forced relocations and many protests, and the military didn't leave until 2003! Given that, it's stunning that they are as welcoming to tourists as they are - but we had a fantastic time drinking and talking with some locals, and would love to return here!
TL;DR - Pictures!
Breakfast, as provided by the hotel - super tasty pastries! I might have went back for seconds after this picture was taken.
Breakfast companion! At this point we'd already seen a few geckos, a couple iguanas, and at least one set of crabs, but most were not kind enough to pose like this one was.
And breakfast view. I could get used to this *happy sigh*.
After breakfast, a morning walk along the malecón; a ceiba tree, the national tree of Puerto Rico; and almost invisible in the dark space in the middle of the tree, a coqui frog, the national animal of Puerto Rico!
Along with more horses, and more art.
And a lot of roosters!
And a bar for sale, which was very, very tempting as a retirement plan.
In a small shop, we grabbed souvenirs and some drinks for our beach day, and I'm including this picture because I didn't come across it during my trip planning: this was a really tasty local soft drink. It almost tasted a bit like sarsaparilla to us!
After our walk, it was beach time. First beach: La Chiva. La Chiva is an iconic Caribbean beach with white sand and turquoise water. (And seaweed, sometimes.)
Reportedly, swimming out to the small cay (island) you can see here leads to fantastic snorkeling. Unfortunately, with the seaweed we were not seeing enough to make it worth going out that far.
Reportedly, swimming out to the small cay (island) you can see here leads to fantastic snorkeling. Unfortunately, with the seaweed we were not seeing enough to make it worth going out that far.
Along the way to the next beach, we saw this sign. Remember: Vieques was an ordnance testing location all the way until 2003. When they tell you not to dig, they mean it!
Next location: If I'd thought La Chiva was an iconic Caribbean beach, Caracas Beach blew it away. Pristine white sand and the most vivid turquoise water! While there were many people enjoying the beautiful beach, it was still not even slightly crowded. In addition, it had something for everyone: great waves to play in on the right end of the beach, but very calm over to the left. (Note, the plastic in these photos is from the waterproof sheath I had over my phone to protect it - so disappointing that I got it in all of my shots!)
We also appreciated the signs - I particularly liked the hurricane plan! 😁
At the cafe at Sun Bay beach, one guy was running the whole place - yet we had some of the best food and drinks of the whole trip here!
Guest commentary from Toph: That handle of "rum" in the first photo is obviously not actually rum. It's this café's pique, Puerto Rican hot sauce that's often homemade and different per location (or household). Toph actually tried it despite not being a hot sauce aficionado, and enjoyed it! It got your attention but didn't linger, and added actual flavor as well.
In a reasonable amount of time, we got our lovely, LOVELY food and drinks: a piña colada (that had a healthy floater of dark rum - from a bottle stored in the freezer!), strawberry daquiri, and beef and pollo (chicken) arepas sandwiches that were light and flaky and delicious.
And leaving Sun Bay, we saw a beautiful double rainbow.
On our walk to dinner, we realized why the local rum distillery (to which we didn't go, sadly) is named Crab Island! 
(You can return to the index to see another day's post, here: Puerto Rico 2024 Index )
A lovely dinner drink at Duffy's - La Playa (Puerto Rican Rum, blue curacao, coconut cream, and pineapple juice - so almost another piña colada.)
At the end of the evening, it was too cloudy and too late for another pic of the Southern Cross, so have this night shot of the seaside swing instead.
BONUS LINK (NOT MINE): a video by someone who actually was able to capture some of the bio bay tour! Mosquito Bay Bio Bay Tour Video
Next stop: the highly anticipated bio bay tour! (Of which I was not able to capture photos.)
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