Puerto Rico: La Parguera bioluminescent bay

This video is not mine, it’s a screen recording from the tour website to give a. Idea of what we experienced. Since it was almost a new moon, I would say our experience was even better than this little clip. It was pitch black outside and the only light was from the stars in the sky and the stardust glitter of bioluminescence we were swimming in. 

Just incredible. Cool enough to go to Puerto Rico for this one excursion. 

La Parguera Bioluminescent Bay

This was THE COOLEST thing we did the entire trip. No contest. And we did some really cool stuff. But this blows every other experience out of the water. 

At 9pm we boarded a boat with two guides and one other family and rode for 30 minutes or so out to La Parguera bay. This is one of 3 bio bays in Puerto Rico, but the only one you can swim in. We anchored in the middle of the bay and split up into 2-3 man kayaks. Reese and Logan took Sloanie, I took Esme, and Aaron took Bear. Corbin, Ryan, and Soren were absolute menaces of teen boy excitement together and loved this adventure so much, even the tour guides couldn’t stop laughing. On nights like this, I really love being a boy mom. They are so fun and brought the best energy to this excursion. Sloane was not afraid AT ALL, I think because we spent Memorial Day on a boat to prepare, so she was totally fine. 

Bioluminescence is a phenomenon that occurs when living organisms emit their own light. Like fireflies. In this case, the dinoflagellates (single cell plankton) are highly concentrated in the bay and react when disturbed trough movement. So as you run a paddle or hand through the water, billions of tiny specs of light glow around you. Like glowing glitter. It is magnificent. We couldn’t capture it on our cameras, but the reels on instagram are legit. After kayaking for 30 minutes or so in the pitch black night (only stars above and voices to follow and the glow from paddles and moving kayaks) we returned to the boat (following the sound of a conch shell calling us back) and the we were put in life jackets and got to swim for 30 minutes. 

Unforgettable. Euphoric. 

A bucket list experience. 

I’ve never had so much fun with my family as I did doing this. Every one of us was just amazed at what we were experiencing that it was just a half hour of “wow!” “Try this!” “Look!” Really just wow wow wow wow WOW. 

Big gratitude that we got to do this. 

 When we finished the tour, game 4 of NBA finals was ending, so we stood out in a parking lot and cheered excitedly for the New York Knicks. What a game!! We drove home with windows down and Empire State of Mind on blast. It was definitely a dopamine heavy night! All of us on cloud nine.