"There's a Phosphorecent Bay here in La Paraguera, we should go see..." said Dave.
"Oh yes, we should, yup yup, we should indeed" I replied.
I guess conditions are quite right for this most amazing phenomenon to exist in Puerto Rico, and the three most spectacular bays happen to be in La Parguera, Mosquito Bay and in Fajardo.
And in case you haven't been following along, we just happened to be in La Paraguera (Puerto Rico). I have recently had to give my head a shake, and my whole body a shake, as I scarcely believe it myself ! Anyhow, a Phosphorescent Bay (or Luminescent or Bioluminescence) is an area of water typically surrounded by mangroves, that is inhabited with millions of microscopic organisms, called DINOFLAGELLATES, that sparkle when disturbed.
Dino-flag-e-what-elates? One of my friends comically wondered if "dinoflaggelates" is the act of a dinosaur passing wind? Or, as when my kids were young, I used to say "having a fluffy". Somehow I don't think dinosaurs would, could "fluffy". I didn't know how to reply "NO" without laughing. And I do believe I'm still laughing.
Our last day here was shaping up to be rather gorgeously beautiful, but first order of business consisted of a morning of chores. The wifi was cooperating, the roosters were singing, the cows were grazing (you can sort'a see them as white "things" hidden among the dried out grassy mountain);
and we noticed that of the 5 boats on the anchorage with us, 3 were Canadian. We met Richard (Indian Summer, from Montreal) and he was so kind to provide us with his no longer needed package of tourist-y type information that he's amassed while he visited Puerto Rico, all of which will come in handy to us I am sure, as we are heading there "next".
Dave changed the fuel filters and performed what we like to call "a spa day for the engine"
and when that was done, it was an afternoon spent snorkelling and swimming. Although the water was perfectly warm (almost warmer than the air outside), the snorkelling um, not so great. I guess nothing will ever compare to the Bahamian gin-clear waters and white sandy beaches. Here we found the water a tad murky with nothing spectacular to report.
Celilo did spot a turtle tho !
Dinner onboard
Blue Moose featured Mutton Snapper that Brian had caught the other day, accompanied with
Celilo's cheesy cauliflower. Beyond Delicious ! I think I enjoyed this fish much more than the last Mahi Mahi catch...
A half hour after the promised 7:30 pick up time,
Johnny's Boats arrived to pick us up and take us to the Phosphorecent Bay.
At $6 apiece we figured it would be fun to have someone else drive us, especially in the dark of night, as we didn't have a clue where we were going, local knowledge and all that. Surprisingly they turned left, and not to the bay on the right which is where we were expecting to go.
We were two boats that engined our way through the mangrove maze and once there, the driver jumped in for a swim, demonstrating how his hands and feet glowed a bit as he moved them around. After that we could all jump in, and Michael and Dave were the only ones of our group that bit the bullet. I was ready to get in right behind them but I quickly climbed back down as I heard Sally remark that she had just showered. I realized, as we were very low on water, that I didn't want or need shower number two in one day.
I have to admit that I was a little disappointed. Even in the darkness, the water looked cloudy. You could see a faint dim light around the hands and feet of the people swimming. I guess I was expecting for, or rather hoping for more of a bright glow. And that comes from our numerous experiences seeing the phosphorecence in Banyan's wake, little bits of bright sparkling stars in the water as we glide through the ocean at night and so this seemed much less dramatic.
However, still fun to experience and before we knew it, the one hour tour (or rather 45 minutes to be precise) was over and we were already dropped off.
I heard the young fella sitting next to Michael ask him:
"So where do you live?" to which Michael replied
"on that boat over there" as we dinghied by Celilo.
The disbelieving fellow responded
"Yeaaah, oo-kaaay, riiiight" and didn't much continue the conversation, thinking perhaps he was being ridiculed. Which leads me to smile as I reflect on the many responses we have gotten when we sometimes tell people what we are doing, living on a boats, exploring "the world" via the waterways, doing something "different".
And so, just like the dinoflagellates, remember that no matter where you are or what you're doing... SHINE !! No matter what, just shine, as brightly as you can.
Some people will "get you"...
some won't...
and you know what, it really don't matter !