The next stop on our Puerto Rico adventure was to Vieques, a small island about 8 miles off of the Puerto Rican mainland. We stayed at 2 different hotels on the island. The first was Hectors by the Sea.
As we drove up we were greeted at our Jeep by horses who are allowed to roam the property. Next we met Mary, Hector's wife, who showed us to our casita and immediately invited us for a drink at the pavilion. There was another couple, visiting from Minnesota, also at the pavilion. We enjoyed a few drinks in the sea breeze with great company.
Our Casita. There was a hammock on the patio where we relaxed and enjoyed the beauty surrounding us
The view from our casita. We slept with the windows open and could hear the waves and horses while we laid in bed.
Horses right outside our casita
Inside our casita. Excuse the mess, this was taken right before we checked out.
The pavilion where we enjoyed drinks with Mary and Hector
One of our favorite things about Vieques was the beaches. There were practically more beaches than people so it was possible to enjoy a beach secluded from any other people.
Relaxing on the beach
We did have one visitor on our private beach
The next day our good friends Ryan and Amie arrived on the island and we attended a party on the beach, hosted by Mike and Elizabeth, for all of their wedding guests
Elizabeth's parents enjoying the water
Me and John - I'm not sure what is so funny
Still laughing, must have been really funny
Sun Bay
Amie with me and my lobster legs
Amie doing back flips on the beach
Dead Face
Good Friends - Amie, Ryan, Mike, Elizabeth, Me and John
Mike and Elizabeth's wonderful friends and family
Ryan and John decided they wanted to knock a coconut out of the tree...by throwing another coconut at it
Ryan looks like he is flying
Move out of the way boys, let the girls try
Someone please cut me off
John and Ryan doing a puzzle??? Apparently that is what you do on a tropical island
Navio Beach - This was our favorite beach because of the awesome waves
There was nobody on the beach until right before we left
Another little friend
John trying to stay out of the sun...by wearing a pink floppy hat
Ryan found a little fort on the beach
John had to give it a try as well
John and Ryan were not about to give up on their mission to get a coconut out of the tree. One of the locals offered a giant stick to help.
Success
Another amazing adventure was the bioluminescent bay. Mike and Elizabeth arranged for all their friends and family to visit the bio bay one evening. The bio bay is filled with tiny micro-organisms that glow when they are disturbed. It is impossible to take pictures so I had to find some on the internet to share. Apparently these pictures were photo-shopped to capture the glow.
This picture is kind of creepy. They glow was more sparkly than these photos. We were given the opportunity to jump out of the kayak and swim. At the time we were totally comfortable, but looking back, it seems a little scary to jump into a dark, glowing bay.