Trip: Puerto Rico – Day 3
Attractions: Culebra Island Reef Snorkel & Flamenco Beach
Date: February 28th, 2022

We left our Airbnb near Rincón shortly after 4:30 AM and were on pace to be at the marina for the catamaran excursion around 7:30, giving us over a half-hour buffer for check-in at 8:05. We assumed there’d be traffic near San Juan. And there was. A lot. We got more and more nervous as we watched our estimated arrival time on the GPS go from 7:30 to 8:00… to 8:30. We weren’t sure if we were going to miss the boat. I tried to remain positive and tell myself, no matter what, I’m not going to have a bad day. I’m in PARADISE!

We ended up making it right at about the perfect time. We checked in, Jill and Lisa got a coffee and pastries, and we were being escorted to the boat as I returned from the restroom. After the first mate’s speech about making sure we let them know if we get seasick, I think I psyched myself out into thinking getting sick could really put a damper on the day. I locked my eyes on the front of the boat so I could see the motion of the ocean and hoped for the best. I was lucky and didn’t get sick but there were 3 or 4 others that weren’t so lucky. We watched the crew do damage control: ushering people to the back/outside, grabbing ice bags for the back of their necks, putting on rubber gloves, and mixing up a bucket of soapy water.

We were assigned to a restaurant-style table on the catamaran and were lucky enough to sit next to a young girl that was traveling by herself by the name of Randi. She was a nurse from Florida and super nice. We hung out with her throughout the rest of the excursion.

The first mate also told us that we wouldn’t make the trip all the way to Culebra if the water was too choppy. Since Flamenco Beach is consistently listed on the top 10 beaches in the world we REALLY wanted to see it and Culebra island. We were relieved when we asked a staff member how much further Culebra would be and she said, “We’re there!”. Our first stop was to snorkel the nearby reef and Jill and I were the first ones in the water.

The reef was beautiful and the footage below doesn’t really do it justice. There were colorful fish everywhere and the vegetation and reef life swaying in the waves was so peaceful. Lisa saw a small shark and Jill attempted to point out an octopus to me, but as she tried to get my attention, it had hidden itself and we were unable to find it again. We were supposed to get an hour of snorkeling, but in what seemed like only minutes, they were blowing their whistle for us to come back to the boat. I guess time flies when you’re having fun.

While we were snorkeling, the crew had prepared us lunch. We had amazing chicken salad wraps with a bean and chickpea salad with vinaigrette as well as a pasta salad side. It wasn’t long before we reached Flamenco Beach and they were serving drinks. Open bar. All the rum and beer you could drink. After a few rum punches and piña coladas on the roof of the catamaran, we decided we would make our way to shore. The boat had to anchor out quite a ways and it was actually a pretty strenuous swim to get to the beach. I’m glad I brought a dry bag for my phone, so we could at least get a few pictures of the beach from shore.

The island used to be used for military target practice, so there are a couple of old tanks along the beach that are now all rusty. Someone on the boat had said that the tank is one of the most posted social media pictures ever. It made for a good picture, so I can see why. The white sand felt great between our toes and the warm waves crashing against us had my serotonin flowing like the salmon of Capistrano.

After a bit, we decided to take the 20-minute walk to see the tanks on the other side of the beach. Along the way, we saw so. many. people. posing for the best picture possible. I’m all about getting good photos, but I couldn’t help but feel like everyone was just trying to instill FOMO in all of their followers rather than enjoying the moment of this beautiful scenery. As we approached the tank, we saw pelicans diving for their lunch. We took a few photos and made our way back to the other side of the beach.

One thing I neglected to think about is how chafed a guy can get going for a long walk on the beach with wet shorts. I was a bit relieved when Jason brought up the same feeling thinking to myself, I’m glad it’s not just my oversized thighs making this super uncomfortable. Once we got back to the beach we decided to go back to the boat for some more drinks. We made our swim back grabbed some drinks and some floaties and just straight chilled in the ocean sipping on rum without a care in the world. I could have done that for hours. Unfortunately, we only got to do it for about a half-hour before the crew asked us to prepare for departure.

Once the way to the island, everyone was really reserved and quiet. After pouring quite a bit of liquid courage down our throats, everyone was laughing and having a great time. We decided to sit in the back of the boat which was “outside”. It was a lot better of a ride in my opinion. We were right next to the only two bathrooms on the boat, and there was a weird lock on the outside that kept confusing people, so Jill took it upon herself to be the bathroom monitor. She’d let people know when the bathroom was occupied and when it was free. She even jokingly locked the first mate in the bathroom at one point.

We got back to our vehicle shortly after 3:00 PM and decided rather than flirting with all of the San Juan traffic again, we would take the southern route. I’m glad we did because it was a beautiful drive. It reminded me of the green mountains of Hawai’i. We got hungry near Ponce and ended up on a side road looking for a suitable restaurant. We drove by one that looked nice and parked a block up from it.

I originally didn’t have much hope for the place because it seemed like a run-down neighborhood. There were many abandoned buildings and we saw some cops talking to a shirtless man in the parking lot next to us. To my surprise, the restaurant we found was super nice. It was called Níspero and had great food and an amazing outdoor seating area. Through some help from Google, we learned that we were sitting under a Níspero tree, which is why the place is named what it is named. There were a few young cats running around out there and, of course, Jill instantly made them her best friends. The lighting and ambiance of the patio was beautiful. Per the server’s recommendation, we tried the cheese balls as an appetizer. Similar to a cheese ball you would order from a bar-type atmosphere back home, but a lot fancier. They served it with a kind of sweet and sour sauce. Jill got Mahi ceviche served with plantain chips. I got the Mahi Mahi and Puerto Rican rice and Jason and Lisa both got different stuffed chicken dishes. It was all very good.

After our meal, we climbed back into our rental vehicle and headed “home”. We showered and headed straight to bed. It was a long, fun day.