Travel by Any Means Necessary

Tag: Island

Visiting Vieques

Sunset from Playa Punta Arenas

After our time in Rincon was complete, we headed back across the island to catch the ferry to Vieques. Vieques is an island off the east coast of Puerto Rico and is popular with beachgoers and those looking to see the brightest bioluminescent bay in the world. Vieques is accessible by ferry from Cieba, just south of Fajardo. We bought our $2 ferry tickets online about a month in advance so when we got to Cieba, we parked our car and waited for our time to board.

Wild Horses of ViequsThe ferry ride to Vieques was a little rough but it wasn’t long before we were docked on the island of Vieques. We booked a Jeep from Coqui Car Rental, which was a short walk from the ferry terminal. We picked up our vehicle that was ready for the rough roads the island is known for, dropped off our bags at our Airbnb, and went out to explore the island. We quickly discovered that maneuvering our big Jeep through the narrow roads of Isabel Segunda was a challenge, but we ended up needing the off-road capacity the Jeep provided later on in our exploration of the island. I was surprised by how many wild horses roam the island (left).

Playa Negra

We downloaded a Vieques History Audio Tour that helped get us acquainted with the island and its history. The tour took us from near the ferry terminal in Isabel Segunda to the sugar mill ruins, the breakwater, the lighthouse, and the black sand beach. The black sand beach on Vieques is unique because the island is not volcanic. If you have seen the black sand beaches in Hawaii (or in our case, the Azores), this is different because the beach is mostly normal beige sand with black streaks. Those streaks are tiny magnetic rocks (mostly magnetite). The brown sand gets pulled out to sea with the waves, but the black sand stays behind. It’s a very unique sight to behold. The black sand beach is accessible from the road by a trail that runs along a creek bed, so waterproof shoes are a good idea if you plan to make the trek. The beach is very rocky and not recommended for swimming.

One of the things we learned on the audio tour is that three-quarters of the island is inaccessible because for 60 years the U.S. Navy used it as a live-fire range and it is full of unexploded ordinances. In 1999 a local man was killed in an off-target bombing and the people of Vieques lobbied global human rights forums to end the bombing on the island. In the early 2000s, the weapons training area was shut down and the land was transferred to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service which is working on cleaning up the residual bombs.

After exploring the island, I wanted to experience the sunset on the westernmost beach on the island, Playa Punta Arenas which is located in Vieques National Wildlife Refuge. We climbed in the Jeep and were jostled over the rough dirt roads in the park. Prepared for a lot of people jostling for the best sunset spot on the island on New Year’s Day, we parked and were shocked to find that there was no one else around except for hermit crabs on the beach. I still can’t believe how serene that experience was (top)!

If you are looking to have a pristine Caribbean beach all to yourself, consider a trip to Vieques. What it lacks in amenities, it makes up for natural beauty. Be sure to check back next week when I detail our experience in Vieques’ bioluminescent bay! Thanks for stopping by! To read more about our time in Puerto Rico, check out my Circle Tour of the Island. To read about some of our previous trips, visit my Trips Page. To read campground reviews check out my Michigan Campground Reviews page. If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page and follow me on Instagram! For my list of gadgets to make your travels easier, click here. To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page.

Snorkeling Puerto Rico

Tres Palmas Marine Reserve
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Tres Palmas Marine Reserve in Rincon on the west side of Puerto Rico is a popular snorkeling destination on the island. We booked our snorkeling tour through Rincon Diving and Snorkeling. We met at their shop where they gave us a safety talk and explained all of the marine life that we may see. As someone who wears glasses, probably one of the best things about this tour is that they had magnifying goggles that were included in our rental. I have never been able to see so well while snorkeling. It was amazing!

After our instruction, we headed to Steps Beach and geared up for our snorkeling adventure. It was tricky getting the fins on while the waves moved us around, but eventually, we were ready to explore. Tres Palmas is a great location for beach snorkeling because of its proximity to the reef. It is an easy swim from the beach to the reef. The water was pretty calm and we saw a lot of fish and unique coral formations. Our guide was very knowledgeable about the reef and the creatures that call it home.

Elkhorn Coral at Tres Palmas Marine Reserve

The Tres Palmas Marine Reserve was founded mainly to protect the Elkhorn Coral (above). Elkhorn Coral is a fast growing reef-building coral, but its population has decreased by 97% since the 1980s due to disease and is now considered critically endangered.

One thing I learned on this snorkeling adventure is that the iPhone doesn’t work well (in a waterproof case) underwater. The touch sensitivity is nonexistent underwater and the only way to take photos or video is by using the side buttons, which are hard to access in the waterproof case. Since the touchscreen doesn’t work underwater, it is nearly impossible to get the camera to focus so I have a lot of blurry shots on my camera roll. I need to remember to pick up a GoPro or similar for our next underwater adventure!

Tres Palmas Marine Reserve

If you are considering snorkeling while visiting Puerto Rico and you will be spending time on the west side of the island, I highly recommend a tour through Rincon Diving and Snorkeling.

Thanks for stopping by! To read more about our time in Puerto Rico, check out my Circle Tour of the Island. To read about some of our previous trips, visit my Trips Page. To read campground reviews check out my Michigan Campground Reviews page. If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page and follow me on Instagram! For my list of gadgets to make your travels easier, click here. To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page.

Casa Bacardí

Casa Bacardi

Our flight to Puerto Rico was scheduled to get in late, so we booked a room at the San Juan Airport Hotel. It ended up being delayed so we didn’t get to our room until after 3 AM Puerto Rico time and I was very glad we didn’t have to navigate to an outside hotel. The Airport Hotel is located inside D Terminal and it was just a few minutes walk from the gate. The room was small, but we weren’t planning on spending a long time so it was perfect for our needs. It also included a hot breakfast which was much needed after getting in so late. After breakfast, we checked out and picked up our rental car from Aqui Coqui, which is Puerto Rico’s car-sharing platform, similar to Turo. It worked well, they met us outside the Airport Hotel and we were on our way to our first stop, Casa Bacardí.

Fort San Juan De La Cruz

Casa Bacardí is located across the bay from Old San Juan in Cataño. We were a little early for our reservation so we made a stop at Fort San Juan de la Cruz, a part of San Juan National Historic Site. There were only a few other people at the park and it was very quiet, but the views of Old San Juan were beautiful. It was a great first stop on the trip to soak in the sunshine. After enjoying the views, it was time for our tour at Casa Bacardí.

On our last trip, we did a tour of a smaller distillery, Ron del Barillito. This time, I was excited to check out the biggest rum producer in the world, Bacardí through their Legacy Tour. We arrived right before our tour and received a token for a free drink and we boarded our tram for a little tour of the grounds. When we arrived at the Visitor Center, we were led into a theater where they showed up a film about the company’s history.

Inside the Bacardí Visitor Center

Bacardí was founded in 1861 in Santiago de Cuba by Don Facundo Bacardí Massó. Shortly after opening his wife, Doña Amalia, found a colony of fruit bats in the rafters of the distillery. Bats are a symbol of good health and fortune to the Spanish and Taino people of Cuba so they decided to make the bat the symbol of the company. In 1920, when prohibition became law in the United States, Bacardí began advertising Cuba as a tropical destination to escape the “dry” U.S. In 1960, the Cuban assets of the company were confiscated by the Cuban government, and the family was forced to flee. Luckily, they had already moved the company’s trademarks and yeast strain out of Cuba.

After learning the history, we proceeded along on the tour to learn how the rum is distilled from sugarcane and made into two different distillations that are mixed together to become the final product. Our guide explained to us that the traditional white Puerto Rican rum is filtered to get a clear color because people at the time wouldn’t drink dark-colored liquors out of fear of cleanliness or because they didn’t like the way they looked, which makes me rethink drinking white rum. We got to sample the Casa Bacardí reserve, which is a mix of rums aged 8-12 years and is only available for purchase at the Casa Bacardí Visitor Center. The tour ended at the gift shop where you could pick up a bottle of Special Reserve or any of their other rums that you could get at your local liquor store.

Overall, I am glad we did the tour of Casa Bacardí, but the tour at Ron del Barillito was so much more authentically Puerto Rican and their rum is not as easy to find back home. When purchasing tickets to Casa Bacardí, you can add the ferry from Old San Juan to your ticket, allowing you to visit without a car. But, if you have a car and are interested in something you can’t find at home, I recommend visiting Ron del Barillito instead. For tickets to Casa Bacardí and information about their other tours, visit Bacardi.com.

Thanks for stopping by! To read more about this trip, visit the Puerto Rico Circle Tour page. To read about some of our previous trips, visit my Trips Page. To read campground reviews check out my Michigan Campground Reviews page. If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page and follow me on Instagram! For my list of gadgets to make your travels easier, click here. To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page.

Puerto Rico Circle Tour

Paseo del Morro

We are back from another wonderful trip to Puerto Rico, our third visit in less than two years. It is safe to say that we love the island. We wanted to explore more of the island this time, spending time on the west side of the island as well as one of the outer islands. Here is a preview of what is to come on this trip report:

Waves Crashing near Castillo del Morro

It was another wonderful trip to an island paradise. It was very hard coming back to frigid, cloudy weather. I miss the beautiful Puerto Rican sunshine! I’m sure we will be back before too much longer.

Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to check back next week when I land in San Juan and head to Casa Bacardi! To read about some of our previous trips, visit my Trips Page. If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page and follow me on Instagram! For my list of gadgets to make your travels easier, click here. To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page.

One Day in Madeira

Câmera De Lobos overlook

Câmera De Lobos overlook

After a wonderful day exploring the Azores, our next port stop was Madeira. Originally, I booked a third-party tour for the day, but a few days in advance, I was looking at the tour and comparing it to our times in port and I realized that the tour was scheduled to get back two hours after the ship was set to depart. Obviously, I canceled it and quickly booked one of the available tours on the ship called “A Taste of Madeira”.

Church in Madeira

Our tickets said to meet in the theater so we headed down a little early and were shocked to see the line for the theater stretch all the way to midship. We waited at least half an hour to get a sticker that told us what bus to board. We have taken several ship excursions on other cruise lines in the past year and I have not experienced anything like this. This was not how I wanted to begin my day in Madeira.

Cabo GirãoWe followed the line of people to our enormous bus where we stopped at a few roadside pullovers to look at the view. Our last overlook was at Cabo Girão, a popular destination with the highest cliff skywalk in Europe. There were so many people, it was hard to get to the edge to take a picture and if you wanted a picture of yourself, it was near impossible to get one without anyone else in it (left). This was a far cry from our amazing, small group tour of São Miguel at the last port stop with a driver that seemed to take us away from the crowds.

After seeing the sights, we finally got to the tasting part of the tour. There was a snack table of Madeiran cheese and crackers and we got to try Madeiran still wines. The wine was interesting and not something you can find in the States. This was probably my favorite part of this tour, but I’m sure we could’ve found a restaurant to do something similar if we had chosen to explore Madeira on our own.

Funchal to Monte Teleférico

Funchal to Monte Teleférico

After our bus took us back to town, we took the Teleférico up to Monte to see if we could ride the famous toboggan. Unfortunately, the line was too long and we weren’t sure if we would make it back to the ship on time. So, we took the Teleférico back to Funchal and walked back to the ship.

Funchal Countryside

While Madeira is a beautiful island, I feel like we barely got to see it. Part of that was because of my poor pre-planning and part of that was the limited time we had. We will have to return sometime with time to wait in line for the toboggan and really get to experience the island. This experience compared to our day in the Azores really has me thinking about how great third-party excursions are and how people who are afraid to step out from the cruise ship’s safety bubble are missing out on some truly amazing experiences. Expect a post on this in the near future!

Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to check back next week when I review the Norwegian Getaway after 12 nights onboard! To read more about this trip, check out Cruising the Atlantic to Portugal and Spain trip report. To read about some of our previous trips, visit my Trips Page. If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page and follow me on Instagram! For my list of gadgets to make your travels easier, click here. To see inside my camera bag, check out my updated Gear Page.

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Flashback Friday: Great Stirrup Caye

B&B Trip Report: Ocracoke Island

Ocracoke Island LightAfter visiting the ponies, we headed into the Village of Ocracoke. Coming from Hatteras, the first thing you see when you get to Ocracoke is just road and dunes. Once the island widens out, you get through the Cape Hatteras National Seashore and you reach the Village of Ocracoke. Of all the towns in the Outer Banks, Ocracoke has the most character. The small size of the island causes the village to be kind of tight with cars sharing the roads with golf carts, and in some cases, pedestrians and bikers too. There are quirky shops, boutique hotels, and interesting restaurants all without walking distance of each other.

Located in the heart of Ocracoke Village is the The Ocracoke Island Lighthouse, the second oldest operating lighthouse in the US. It is the smallest of the lighthouses of Cape Hatteras Lighthouses, standing at only 75 feet tall (NPS). Like Hatteras Lighthouse, it is an inland lighthouse, but unfortunately, The Ocracoke Lighthouse is not open for climbing. If you plan to check out the lighthouse, be aware there are only 2 or 3 parking spaces nearby. If possible, I would recommend walking or biking to the lighthouse.

Located in the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, a short drive from the Village of Ocracoke is the Ocracoke Campground, where we camped for two nights. One nice thing about this campground is that they have a generator-free loop, meaning you won’t be hearing air conditioning all night long. It seemed like when we were there, most people chose that loop, so we traded generator noise for people noise. We chose a dune-side site so we were able to walk over the dunes right onto the beach which was really nice. One thing that was tough about all of these National Seashore campgrounds is that there was no tree cover and our second day at Ocracoke was rough because it was 92 degrees at ten in the morning and we had to pack everything up. The heat was really starting to take it out of me. I don’t know that I would tent camp on the beach in the summer again. Luckily, we had an hour ferry ride back to Hatteras to cool down and relax.

Thanks for stopping by! If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram, and Flickr! To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page. For information about our new Guided Photography Tours, visit GuidedPhoto.com.

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