El Yunque Rainforest and Fajardo Bio Bay

Saturday, February 21st

Saturday was a packed day full of adventure!  We drove from Isabela to the El Yunque National Rainforest, which was about a two and a half hour drive.

There are a few toll roads on the way.  KC's parents rental car had an auto expresso (easy pass) so they could just go through the toll roads.  We didn't have that for our car yet, so we had to stop at every toll and pay.   This created a problem.  Jake felt like he had to keep up, but he couldn't, so- this is what we saw in our rear view mirror...

Yes, objects in the mirror are closer than they appear...

This was something we never wanted to experience in Puerto Rico, but we survived.  The police officer didn't even speak to us, so there was no way out of this one...  After that, we caught up with KC's parents, and Jake was a much more cautious driver.  (We also found someone who could speak English and sold us an auto expresso pass for our car on our second try.  The first try got us a five dollar card, the second try was successful!)

El Yunque
El Yunque National Rainforest is the only tropical rainforest in the U.S. National Forest system.  The rainforest gets over 200 inches of rain a year in some areas, and it looks like a jungle.  There are waterfalls, river, and lush green foliage everywhere!  This was the first time to a rainforest for everyone except Jake.  It was worth the drive!

Our first stop was this waterfall

It rained on and off a little while in the rainforest, but that was to be expected!

One of our stopping points was this tower.  We climbed up to the top, and took in some gorgeous views!

After the tower, we drove up a little higher to do some hiking.  It started to downpour at this point, so we stayed in our cars for a while.  When the rain stopped we went hiking and exploring for a bit.  

Fajardo Bioluminescent Bay

When we finished exploring the rainforest we got in car, and drove to Fajardo.  We had a few appetizers and changed into our suits.

There are only five bioluminescent bays in the world, and three of them are in Puerto Rico!  This was something we really wanted to check out.  In a bio bay the water glows when it's agitated from the microscopic organisms (dinoflagellates) which create a spark of light.  It depends on how dark it is how much you'll be able to see.

When our tour started we had a quick lesson by one of our tour guides on how to kayak and what to expect.  The answer, "The North Star" came out of someone's mouth when answering a question- hint, hint- the North Star will NOT help you when you're this far south. ;)

A sign showing what you might see glowing

After we were all suited up, we got into our kayaks.  They told us not to carry any personal items (car keys were left at the stand) because we would get wet from the waist down.   We were able to bring our phones and cameras in a water proof cases so we could get a few pictures.

Bio bay selfie

One of our hilarious tour guides said kayaking would be a true marital test.  He was right!  It was all fun and games until we reached the mangroves, and had to make quick turns so we wouldn't run into the embankment or tree branches.  Then, things got a little hairy, but we made it through.

Once we got past the mangroves we came to the Laguna Grande.   It was still light out, so we were able to snap a couple of pictures.  The tour guides rounded us all up and gave us a short lesson on the unique ecosystem and the Pyrodinium Bahamense, the microscopic plankton that produces light at the touch of your hand or a paddle.  The tour guide said it was the perfect night to be in the bio bay!

Next, they let us explore the waters.  It was amazing!  Any time you put your hand in the water, or moved your paddle the water lit up bright white.   We spent a lot of time moving our arms and legs around in the water to watch this phenomenon.  If you splashed some water on your legs you could see tiny flashes of light shining!

When it was time to head back we had to maneuver through the mangroves in darkness.  This was a little more challenging than when it was light out.  But, everyone was a little distracted by the glowing lights in the water that it didn't really matter.  Since the mangroves provided an even darker area, the glow was brighter!  We wanted to play with the water as long as we could.  

Unfortunately, most of the pictures we took were black- those microorganisms don't photograph very well.  This was the best shot that was captured.

After getting out and changing, we had some chicken pinchos (kabobs) from a stand.  They were delicious!  We also tried tamarind for the first time, and it tastes like a fig.  Then, we started on the long drive home.