Day 221: El Fuego

365/221: El Fuego, originally uploaded by riekhavoc.

Max and I made it to Vieques, the small island off the coast of Puerto Rico that used to be a US military bombing practice zone, but is now a place where people can come enjoy beautiful beaches without all the tourist mess. Well, ok, just a little bit of the tourist mess.

This is the view from the roof of our hotel. Tonight, the sunset was pretty amazing, but so short, because major storms rolled in. They almost threw off our evening plans to go on a tour that took us swimming in the bioluminescent bay. But the storms moved on, and we got to have one of the most amazing adventures ever! The Bio Bay is full of tiny little dinoflagelates that are phosphorescent. So, any movement in the water, like waves or fish, cause them to glow. We got to swim in the water, which meant every time we moved, we created a glowing trail around us. And the little dino guys stuck to you, so if you moved slowly, it was like glitter or a laser light show on your skin. Absolutely one of the most amazing things I've ever done! Unfortunately, it's practically impossible to take photos of the phenomenon w/o a really good camera, and I only brought my p&s in case it fell in the water!