Emma found some extremely cheap flights to San Juan with a stop over in New York. This gave her a chance to visit friends in that extremely frigid city before enjoying the mid 80's of the Caribbean sea. We took off for St. Thomas to provision for her visit and braved the cruise boat fleet in Charlotte Amalia.
     Ancient Danish fort, rows of megayachts stern tied at the quay and elephantine cruise ships slipping in early mornings and going out, lights ablaze, in the evenings. The crossing to Culebra was uneventful and we spent a last couple of quiet days getting laundry done and enjoying Culebra before the pre-dawn dinghy ride to the town dock and walk to the ferry. Our plan was to ride the 6:30 ferry in to Fajardo from Culebra and meet Emma at the ferry building and then just take the return trip on the same boat. Emma's cheap flights and busy days in New York left her quite ready for some sleep. We went straight back out to the reef and practiced front flips into the water from the dinghy (structural modifications to the dinghy davits having left the transom unsuitable for acrobatics). Next stop was Culebrita where we picked up a mooring just outside the surf line. Rock and Roll became the word of the day as the swells started coming in. A rolly first night is becoming an Eaux Vives tradition. If you sleep through that, you're good to go.
    Vieques was our next stop. We had a wonderful sail across the sound and felt our way in past the reefs to a well protected and completely deserted bay. I suspect that the numerous, large signs warning against high explosives left over from the Navy bombings may cut down on the crowds. Despite walking the deserted beach, no one lost any fingers or toes and we can highly recommend this largely untouched island. The only time we weren't the sole occupants of the day's bay on Vieques was our last day spent in the thriving metropolis of Esperanza. Several other boats shared the large harbor where we anchored near the ruins of the sugar cane pier around the corner from the world famous bioluminescent bay. The bioluminescence of the bay is a truly wonderful effect produced by billions of dinoflagellates who thrive in the highly confined waters of the mangrove surrounded and shallow waters. We joined a tour organized by Blue Carib who provided us with a ride to the bay and sit-upon kayaks. The little one celled plankton called "Pyrodinium bahamense" spend their days using the intense Caribbean sun for photosynthesis to store chemicals for use in the dark of night. These little guys are relatives to the critters who provide the occasional spark in the dark when flushing a marine head. Instead of the usual concentration of perhaps one or two per vigorous flush, this bay holds them in concentrations of up to 750,000 per gallon. When disturbed (as perhaps by marauding fish or kayaking tourists) each releases a short burst of light. It is truly a wonderful experience to venture out in the warm, shallow waters on a moonless night and see a bright glow surrounding everything disturbing the water. Paddles emit bright blue/green sprays of light. Swimmers have clearly visible auras and a hand dipped into the water looks like a special effect from a sci-fi movie.
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