Bio-Luminescent Bay at La Parguera, PR

One of the unique tourist attractions in Puerto Rico are the bio-luminescent bays. Small bodies of water along the coast, with restricted connections to fresh ocean water, develop large populations of phosphorescent marine organisms. At night, when you disturb the water, the organisms glow. It is quite fun to jump in the water on a dark night and watch the glow around your feet and hands as you tread water. You can even float and make glowing "snow angels" in the water. Aunt Ginny and I went with Paradise Scuba from La Parguera to the nearby bio-luminescent bay. At $32 dollars apiece, it was okay to do it once, but we probably won't make a career out of it. The following link takes you to a Google Map to show where it is: Bio-Bay at La Parguera

Snorkeling at La Parguera, PR

Aunt Ginny and I went snorkeling with Paradise Scuba in La Parguera, Puerto Rico, yesterday afternoon. We went with a group of about 20 people, mainly 20-somethings, many of whom had never snorkeled before. Stepping on the boat, it was obvious that it was not Coast Guard inspected, In fact, I never did see a life jacket. I wondered why they only started one engine, then watched later when they got into a situation requiring both engines, how a crew member reached into the engine compartment with a rusty hand file and jumped the starter solenoid to bring a sick engine to partial life. As you can tell, I am not recommending this outfit to anyone. The snorkeling was fun, but definitely not as visually entertaining as we experienced at Steps Beach in Rincon, PR.

Gilligan's Island

Drove to Guanica, Puerto Rico, this afternoon with Aunt Ginny to tour a small offshore cay where the television show "Gilligan's Island was filmed. A short ferry ride dropped us off and we walked around a small picnic area. The cay is pretty small and the real castaways would have quickly gone crazy, or swam ashore. We stayed an hour and caught the next ferry back. Still it was fun to reminisce about the good times spent watching the TV show. And for the record, I preferred Mary Ann.

Afternoon in Rincon, Puerto Rico

Today's first big mission was to go shopping for "frumpy" female clothes. No easy task on a tropical island where the women love to show off skin. But my Aunt Ginny who is visiting for a couple of weeks has a follow-on mission of teaching English in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, just a few days after she leaves Puerto Rico. Dress standards for teachers in Saudi Arabia are unique. We went to the Mayaguez Mall, which never ceases to amaze me. For an island that lives mainly on the largesse of the U.S. taxpayer, there sure does not seem to be any sign of an economic crisis in the mall. Fortunately, clothes fitting the "frumpy" description were available on the sale rack for a tremendous discount. Then we headed North to Rincon, the surf town that is the focus of the well-named book "Derelict Junction." Since hosting the 1968 World Surf Championships, the town is a hangout for worn-out surf bums and a pilgrimage spot for wannabe surfers holding regular jobs in the States. Meeting up with Mike Green, we went snorkeling in the Tres Palmas Marine Reserve. Lots of elkhorn coral and colored fish kept us occupied for an hour, and a tumble in the surf put us back on shore. Next, was a trip to the Rincon lighthouse, sitting on the westernmost tip of Puerto Rico, to watch the sunset. What comes after a beautiful sunset in Rincon? Well, a stop at Calypso's, by Maria's Beach, for a happy hour Rum Punch and a jalapeno cheeseburger, while we listened to a beach band led by a midget and watched tourists. A fitting end to a rough Monday in the tropics.

Radio Telescope at Arecibo

Yesterday, Aunt Ginny and I visited the world's largest radio telescope, which is located in Puerto Rico. The telescope has been operational since 1963. The telescope has been in two movies, the movie "Contact" and the James Bond movie "Goldeneye"

Day at the Mayaguez Zoo

Spent a couple hours at the Zoo today in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, with my Aunt Ginny, who is visiting for a couple of weeks. More photos of the animals at the Mayaguez Zoo are on PicasaWeb at: Mayaguez Zoo

Diving At El Natural, Puerto Rico

Went SCUBA Diving with Mark Worthington, Mike Green, John Pagones, and Maura Benatti at a Puerto Rican shore dive site called El Natural, and known to surfers as Gas Chambers, on the northwestern corner of Puerto Rico. Wonderful visibility and a whole lot of wildlife made this a great dive, especially considering it is an easy shore dive and air fills are only five-dollars apiece. Park the car and jump in for a great time.