Puerto Rico Day 4 - Cabo Rojo, Snorkeling, and Bio Bay Swim

We started the day in Cabo Rojo, in search of pink sand salt flats, but it looked like they'd been destroyed by a hurricane or other storm. Trees were down; the boardwalks going onto the salt flats, which we'd seen in pictures, was nonexistent; and there were no designated parking areas. If we squinted, we could discern traces of pink in the distance, but that could have been more optimistic than realistic.

Luckily, our next stop was literally just up the street. We parked on the road and walked a mile or two up a gentle rise to Faro los Morrillos, most of which was a paved road that had been closed off to vehicles.

We walked past a large puddle with scores of fiddler crabs.
And Cat made a friend.

The path we walked on was beside this bridge, which looked like it hadn't
been used as a bridge in a very long time.

Stay on the sticks if you don't want wet feet...

I could hardly believe the scene that awaited us at the top of that hill: stark rocky cliffs with sheer vertical walls cascading into turquoise water. Oh, and iguanas.

It wasn't too hard to find the main attraction: a lovely natural bridge in a picturesque bay. After walking around, exploring, enjoying the beauty, and taking some pictures, we headed back to the lighthouse and descended the hill to the road. We took a short detour to a lovely playuela that looked straight out of a movie before getting back to the car.

We had just enough time for a quick (late) lunch at our AirBNB before heading to the dive shop in La Parguera for the main attraction, and what we'd planned the entire first portion of the trip around: a snorkel and bioluminescent bay swim excursion. First was snorkeling at a reef near Cayo Mata La Gata, where we'd explored on our chiliboat excursion a couple of days before.

Snorkel Buddies

One of the tour guides kept bringing up sea creatures for us to look at and hold.
Here, Liza has a sea urchin.

Luke with a different sea urchin.

I think this was a spider crab.

After snorkeling we went back to shore and enjoyed hot empanadas
while a few more people boarded the boat for the next adventure.

Sunset at shore!

As darkness descended, we made our way to a small, secluded bay known for its high concentration of dinoflagellates (bioluminescent algae). Puerto Rico has 3 such bays, which provide ideal conditions for these organisms to thrive (including very steady temperatures and nutrient-rich water due to the mangroves along the edges of the bays). There are only 2 other bioluminescent bays worldwide (source). Of the 3 bio bays in Puerto Rico, the one in La Parguera is the only one you can swim in. And it truly was magical.

It is thought that the microscopic dinoflagellates light up as a defense mechanism to scare off possible predators. The light is a result of a chemical reaction that occurs when the water is disturbed, so as soon as you get in to the black water on a dark night, you begin to see a bluish glow. It was amazing to be in the water, swimming or treading water, seeing light emanating from your extremities. One of our favorite things was to hold a fist under the water, then quickly open our fingers so that it looked like we were shooting sparks and beams of light from our hands; it felt like we all belonged at Hogwarts, or at least had the Force.

Even when we were getting back in the boat, we could see individual sparks on bathing suits or on the deck of the boat. We were in awe of the entire experience and I think the best single word to describe it is magical. (Unfortunately, it's nearly impossible to get good pictures because it's so very dark and the glow doesn't last very long, but I did my best.)

Cat making a bioluminescent water angel.

It was awesome to see this bluish glow appear whenever we disturbed
the water. Here, the boys are sitting on the back of the boat kicking the water.

The glow behind the boat when we were leaving the bay.

We were all hungry after the adventures on the water (especially Ben, who didn't eat much for fear of getting sick on the boat) so after the tour we spent a little time on the malecón, getting food, looking for souvenirs, and just checking it all out.

Jack bought a conch shell to be used as a horn and got a lesson in proper technique.
We've been home for a week and he's still practicing.

Liza found humor in Ben's stance when he was ordering pizza for the kids.

So many of the towns we visited had a big Christmas tree on display.

Bonus Scenic Pics: