Jim and Katie were scheduled to dive in Guanica, Playa Santa which was about 50 miles south of where we were staying so they had to get up at 5:30 am to be there for their 8 am scheduled dive. Everyone else slept in but I saw them out the door at 6 am.
Casa Blanca was definitely a step up from our last place! It is a four story building that is literally right on the ocean. Our apartment was the top floor. It had two bedrooms with double beds and a third double bed that was on the front porch so you can sleep outside and listen to the surf. Nicola and Tyler decided they didn't really want to be out in the elements so they brought the bed into the living room. The porch extended the length of the front and provided us with multiple places to take in the view.
Casa Blanca not only had a beautiful view but it was really clean and well equipped so I decided I would make a nice breakfast the next morning. Nicola, Tyler, Matt and I went into Rincon to get groceries; eggs, milk, bacon, cheese lunch meat fruit and beer. We planned to pick up Katie and Jim at their dive location at Noon and then we all would go together to La Parguera for our afternoon and evening snorkel.
It ends up that there were very rough waters where they were diving and Katie got really sea sick. The only time she wasn't sick was when she was under water. She's a trooper and made the best of it but I felt really bad for her. As a result she didn't feel she could get on another boat that day so she and Matt drove back to our Casa Blanca in Rincon.
Our afternoon snorkel was in La Paraquara which was a 30 minute drive. We found the dive shop where we scheduled the snorkel tour and the Bioluminscent tour. We were early so we went down the street to a restaurant for empanadas, mofungo and paella. It was pretty tasty! Katie and Matt took off to try and see the the light house and the rest of us went back to the dive shop. Our snorkel tour ended up being with a large group of college students from Nebraska. They were in Puerto Rico for a Wildlife and Fisheries course. They were all pretty excited to be there but it was obvious that they were all at varying levels of abilities for snorkeling.
At first the tour seemed really unorganized - the kids all jumped in the water and were supposed to be following a specific person but some were reluctant to get in and had difficulty with their snorkel stuff. The dive operators were trying to deal with them all so we spent a good 20 minutes just waiting in the water - but once we actually started moving toward the reef it really was pretty. The dive operators (there were probably 4 or 5 of them in the water helping everyone) pointed out various things like: tarpon, sea cucumbers, jelly fish. It was overcast so the colors in the water was not quite as spectacular as I know it could have been but it was still pretty.
Back in the boat they gave us drinks which were refreshing. As we made our way back to the dock I noticed this weird looking large structure of sorts that was right next to the water. I asked what it was and the Professor from Nebraska said it was "CIA" - a surveillance balloon to detect drugs coming and going.
We docked and stayed on board the boat. They brought us empanadas for our break. If I had known I would get empanadas at dinner I don't think I would have ordered them for lunch. Oh well, they were really tasty!
We needed to wait until dusk before we set out for the Bioluminance tour. We had a 30 minute boat ride south to a small lagoon. Once we got there we sat in the boat and the captain told us about how the Bio Luminance are dinoflagellates that light up with the disturbance of the water. This lagoon has a very high salt concentration which is why these dinoflagellates live there. If it rains too much, the rain layer can force the Bioluminance further down making it difficult to see them. But we were very fortunate. We jumped in the water and saw them immediately. As we moved our arms you can see them moving all around. And when we pulled our arms or head out of the water you see them glowing on your arms and hair. I had a white rash guard on and when I got out they were glowing all over me. It was amazing!!! Unfortunately there was no way to capture it on a camera so I have to simply remember the images in my mind.
It was a nice ride back to the dock. The Nebraska kids were all pretty keyed up and excited after the Bioluminance. For some of them this trip was their first time on a plane and to experience something Ike this for them was life changing, I'm sure. The dive operator did a great job. Plus, they all wanted to get back to see the Puerto Rican Baseball team play the US team. So it was imperative that we get back by 8:30 pm so they didn't miss the games. After we docked we headed back to Casa Blanca tired and wet but exhilarated.