The coolest part of our trip to Puerto Rico was definitely the Bioluminescent Bay in Vieques [side note, bioluminescence is a big word, mostly it just means stuff that lights up but scientifically it means 'bio'-life, 'lumin'-light, 'escence'-to put forth. So, life that puts forth light!] It was an experience that I cannot easily put into words. The night started out a bit strange. We got picked up at our hostel at 9pm, along with 5 other girls, by a thirty-something, long-haired gentleman. He walked us about a block to the van that would transport us to the bio-bay. The van was, well, to put it nicely, a fixer-upper. It had bench seats which were collapsing, the roof fabric was falling down, it puttered around and squeaked during turns. Ty and I joked that we were paying 40 bucks to get murdered in this van especially when we turned down a dirt, side street that was full of pot holes. We slowly lumbered along this road for a few minutes until we made it to our stop. It was sprinkling and mosquitoes (hence the name mosquito bay which is what it was called) so it wasn't the best of conditions...
Everyone helped put the kayaks into the bay and then we set off. Ty and I were in the same kayak and got in first (cause we are pros) so we went out a bit into the bay, near the shore, and tried to notice the bioluminescence. There was a little bit and it was kinda cool but once the rest of the people got in their kayaks, we started heading out into the lagoon. Yeah it was neat kayaking at night and then our guide told us to watch our paddles and around our boats. Thats when I looked down and could not believe what I saw. Everyone went "WOOOOOW!" almost in unison! It was like our paddles were glow sticks under the water. Tyler immediately started paddling so fast so that we could get the most light. It started to downpour and the droplets hitting the water started to glow! I hate being wet but it was so perfect that I couldn't be mad.Then once we slowed down a bit we noticed that there were things under the water that were glowing... Fishes!!! We were a little bit ahead of the group when we saw something really big glow under the water so we followed it and it moved again, it was the shape of a stingray!! We saw the stingray glow up under the water as it moved away from us. It was spectacular. So amazing.
Once the initial excitement slowed, (but lets be real, Ty and I were freaking out the whole time) we gathered the kayaks so we could talk about what was causing the glowing and a little about the history of the bay. Tyler and I wanted to get into the water so bad and be surrounded by glowing lights, but unfortunately all the tourists entering the water wasn't good for the dinoflagulates and they started dying off. Now that there is no swimming, the glowing has gotten more bright due to more dines. We could however put our hands and feet in the water which Ty and I did most of the time. I would keep my hand still and wait for all the sparkling to stop and then start shaking my hand vigorously to create so much light! I felt like I had magic powers. It was like glittering light was pouring out of my fingertips. Our guide also make us splash each other to which we all noticed that for the few seconds after we got splashed, we sparkled!
At one pout we also saw a stingray underwater and you could see its wings swimming through the water because they were lighting up as it moved. It was amazing. As we were headed back, Ty and I paddled super fast and then turned quick so that we could see all the bioluminescence under the boat. I could have kayaked around that Bay all night and not gotten bored. I loved watching the fish glow as they swam away from the boat. I loved watching my hands create glittery light as I moved them. I loved trailing my feet in the water as we paddled. And I loved just staring into the glittery bioluminescence. It is a memory that I will never, ever forget and I was glad I was able to share it with Ty.
Everyone helped put the kayaks into the bay and then we set off. Ty and I were in the same kayak and got in first (cause we are pros) so we went out a bit into the bay, near the shore, and tried to notice the bioluminescence. There was a little bit and it was kinda cool but once the rest of the people got in their kayaks, we started heading out into the lagoon. Yeah it was neat kayaking at night and then our guide told us to watch our paddles and around our boats. Thats when I looked down and could not believe what I saw. Everyone went "WOOOOOW!" almost in unison! It was like our paddles were glow sticks under the water. Tyler immediately started paddling so fast so that we could get the most light. It started to downpour and the droplets hitting the water started to glow! I hate being wet but it was so perfect that I couldn't be mad.Then once we slowed down a bit we noticed that there were things under the water that were glowing... Fishes!!! We were a little bit ahead of the group when we saw something really big glow under the water so we followed it and it moved again, it was the shape of a stingray!! We saw the stingray glow up under the water as it moved away from us. It was spectacular. So amazing.
Once the initial excitement slowed, (but lets be real, Ty and I were freaking out the whole time) we gathered the kayaks so we could talk about what was causing the glowing and a little about the history of the bay. Tyler and I wanted to get into the water so bad and be surrounded by glowing lights, but unfortunately all the tourists entering the water wasn't good for the dinoflagulates and they started dying off. Now that there is no swimming, the glowing has gotten more bright due to more dines. We could however put our hands and feet in the water which Ty and I did most of the time. I would keep my hand still and wait for all the sparkling to stop and then start shaking my hand vigorously to create so much light! I felt like I had magic powers. It was like glittering light was pouring out of my fingertips. Our guide also make us splash each other to which we all noticed that for the few seconds after we got splashed, we sparkled!
At one pout we also saw a stingray underwater and you could see its wings swimming through the water because they were lighting up as it moved. It was amazing. As we were headed back, Ty and I paddled super fast and then turned quick so that we could see all the bioluminescence under the boat. I could have kayaked around that Bay all night and not gotten bored. I loved watching the fish glow as they swam away from the boat. I loved watching my hands create glittery light as I moved them. I loved trailing my feet in the water as we paddled. And I loved just staring into the glittery bioluminescence. It is a memory that I will never, ever forget and I was glad I was able to share it with Ty.
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