Taking a tiny commuter plane from Nevis, Vieques was our next destination. Like Nevis, Vieques has good snorkeling and beaches, but also has other things to see, too. Vieques is also populated with wild horses, so we drove by them a lot. A man told us that even those that are tame, are often let loose to wander, so people can just grab one and ride where they need to go! Waiting for our rental car, we saw a man riding by, bareback.

The jungle was just amazing, so green and lush, and here and there, dotted with amazing, flowering trees. Just a little different than Colorado! We drove through it, exploring, and a couple of times, went on a crazy, rutted, dirt road out to Green Beach, where you can see Puerto Rico across the water. It’s a really isolated beach, which makes it feel all the more exotic. We took a cooler and chairs and spent hours, floating about and snorkeling.

But by far, our favorite stop was the bioluminescent bay, supposedly one of the best in the world, and the reason we came out to Vieques in the first place.

Bioluminescent Bay:

There is invisible algae (teeny tiny) in the water makes it light up at night when it senses movement. It’s not gross, I promise. It looks like any other water you’d swim in. But at night, it becomes something amazing. We rode a bus out to Mosquito Bay with a tour company, and then all loaded onto pontoon boats. The guides pointed out constellations and told us how the bay came to be so fantastic. Then, in the middle of it, they let you out to swim in the water. It lights up as you move around in it! REALLY COOL! Even as we were riding the boat, you could see fish swimming by because the water lit up around them! It was so fascinating and different that it just blew my mind! The only sad part is that they limited our swim to twenty minutes. We could’ve stayed in a lot longer, but there were other groups wanting to come out. Also, check out the moon’s schedule before you plan your trip. If it’s too bright, they don’t go out. We got in on the last day possible. Trust me, it’d be a serious bummer to miss it.

Your parents can read more about Vieques HERE. If you ever get out there, check out Island Adventures, the company we went with for the biobay tour. (They have some cool pics of the water; we couldn’t get any with a normal camera!)

Have YOU ever been swimming in a bioluminescent bay? Or would you like to? What’s your coolest tropical swimming experience? Plz comment below!