Puerto Rico Day 6 (Christmas Eve) - Exploring Vieques, Traveling to Dorado

There were a few things we wanted to do on Vieques but instead of trying to get up early for a hike or beach excursion, Cat opted for sleeping in, and nobody complained.

My view of our little hotel from the cement table out front where I
had a brief morning quiet time.

We walked to the malecón for breakfast, a delicious little restaurant with a young waitor who's appearance was a not to another singer associated with this region - Bob Marley. Then we walked back to our hotel to pack up and check out.

Not a bad view on the walk to breakfast.

Snorkel gear available for rent right across the street.

Perfect photo op on the way back to the hotel.

We rented snorkel gear and headed out on an adventure, in spite of the rental guy's warning that the whole island was under a riptide warning. On our way to Mosquito Pier, we stopped to see this Ceiba tree, which is estimated to be 375 years old.

Even though we rented gear for everyone and hoped the current would be calm enough for snorkeling, when we arrived at the pier, we could see that it wasn't a safe place for Luke to snorkel, even in calm conditions. The entry point was very rocky and a little tricky to navigate. But some of the kids really wanted to snorkel, so I joined them, snorkeling under the pier in hopes of seeing something interesting. The tide wasn't too strong, thankfully, but it did stir up the water enough that it was pretty cloudy and we couldn't see much. And we learned quickly that snorkeling under a pier is dangerous in and of itself, with lots of concrete pillars dappled with barnacles and such. Most of us ended up getting cut somewhere.

After that little adventure we drove back to the other side of the island for a little beach time. We spent about an hour at Caracas Beach, soaking up the scenery and sun. Jack and Liza found a horse eating out of a trash can, and some generous beachgoers offered them some of their snacks to feed the horse. When the horse wanted more, it nudged the beachgoers' cooler open with its muzzle.

The Jimmy Buffett aspirant at our hotel told us we could use the beach towels for the rest of the day and use the showers when we came back to return the towels. We gratefully took him up on his offer (we didn't see any beachside showers on the entire trip), got cleaned up, and drove back to the little airport to fly back to the main island.

Arriving in Ceiba at sunset

It was about an hour and twenty minute drive from the Ceiba airport to our AirBNB in Dorado (on the other side of San Juan). We were all tired and hungry, and with it being Christmas Eve, many places were closed. We ended up eating at this little Puerto Rican restaurant in a strip mall, and the boys were excited to get pizza empanadas for the first time. We also really liked the arepas de coco - coconut fry bread. There was more of the roasted pork and rice similar to what we'd had the night before in Vieques, but this version was extra salty.

We spent some extra time at the restaurant while Cat and Liza got a bachata lesson from a couple who seemed to really know what they were doing, and the boys played some pool.

By the time we got back on the road to get to our rental house, everyone was pretty tired. Knowing we would just want to crash as soon as we were settled in the house, we decided to do our traditional Christmas Eve program on the drive. I read the scriptures and narration, and everyone who was awake sang along with the Christmas carols. It was different, but still beautiful.

Note to self: Next time we go to Vieques, be sure to see the Black Sand Beach, Green Sand Beach, and Secret Beach; hike at Cerro Playuela; and snorkel at Playa La Chiva and Isla Chiva. Also, take a jetski tour. And maybe a beachfront trail ride. And take more pictures.