Day 222: La Playa Negrita

365/222: La Playa Negrita, originally uploaded by riekhavoc.

Before arriving in Vieques, Max and I heard about a black sand beach on the island, and we vowed to find it. Rumor had it that it was accessible by walking along a dry riverbed for about a mile, and it would let you out there. So, we rented a car (b/c you had to have one to get to the river bed), and we parked where we were told (around the big corner, after the guard rail and before the house), and we walked out to the black sand beach. The walk was full of adventure. First off, it was not a dry river bed. It had a small stream and tons and tons of plants and trees and bugs all over it. A few times, we had to climb over fallen trees. Then, when we were almost there, we encountered a large pond of stagnant water with algae growing all over it - basically a giant mosquito primordial soup! And there was no way around it. So, do we turn back? No! We decided to push through - literally - and go see the beach. And it was so worth it! Black sand is finer than white or yellow sand, and it was so unique. However, next time I'd put more bug spray on before embarking on an adventure through a giant stagnant water pond!