Trip: Puerto Rico – Day 6
Attractions: Whale Watching at The Lighthouse, Day Drinking at The English Rose and Steps & Sandy Beach
Date: March 3rd

We slept in as much as we could but once we were awake, we didn’t relax much. We had hoped to catch some whales splashing in the distance from the lighthouse so we got ready and left. We heard it was a good spot for whale sitings and since we had already seen a few plumes of mist and splashing in the ocean on this trip, we thought we would see some good action.

Before we made it to the lighthouse, we stumbled upon a coffee house, Java Jakes, named after a local hero that helped several people escape a burning building after a gas line exploded during a hurricane.

With delicious coffee in hand, we pulled up to the lighthouse, got out, and began walking around the park-like public grounds. Although we were disappointed to not see any action out in the ocean, it was a nice relaxing way to enjoy some joe. There was a trail that lead down to the beach and when I got to the bottom, I found a blocked-off area with a sign that there was a Hawksbill Turtle nest there. I didn’t disturb the area but I did look long and hard for any sign of movement in the sand. How cool would it have been to see a hatching or a turtle or two making a dash to the ocean?

After a while, we started getting hungry and had plans to go to a cool breakfast place with a great view, The English Rose, so I was excited to move on and have a good breakfast. I was also a bit excited for a drink. The day before, we had discussed that this day, March 3rd, would be a good day for day-drinking and just enjoying paradise with a drink in hand since we could sleep off any potential hangover the next day and be in ship shape for the flight the following day. Jill got a mimosa sampler with different types of juices and I tried my first Chi-Chi Rodriguez. The sun had already started feeling very hot so we hid from it as much as we could under the table umbrella. Our omelet and breakfast burrito were delicious and the two couples next to us were nice enough to snap some pictures with the ocean view behind us.

After breakfast, we grabbed our snorkels, packed a cooler, and prepared ourselves to spend the rest of the day at the beach. We stopped first at Steps Beach since the snorkeling was so good. I went out and pretty much immediately got into some huge schools of fish. I was very happy to have my GoPro this time so I could get it all on camera. I also found another Hawksbill turtle. This one was not as big as the one I had seen a few days prior, but still very cool to experience and get on camera.

When I got out of the water, I found Jill having the time of her life talking with other beach-goers enjoying her Topo Chicos. Jason and Lisa jumped in for some snorkeling, but Jill decided that she’d tend to her drink instead of going out swimming. After a bit, Jill flagged me down to ask if I could help Lisa find the snorkel and mask that she lost when a wave hit her as she was trying to get out. I jumped at the chance to help but soon regretted it. As I was wading out on the rocky surface a large wave hit me and I got knocked over. I wasn’t sure what I put my hand on to try to catch my balance but it felt like shards of glass and when I pulled my hand up I already had blood streaming down my fingers. I hollered at Jason that it wasn’t worth it and it was best to just let the snorkel gear go. As I walked back to our towels and chairs to assess the damage, I was met by Jill who helped me pull pieces of what I can only assume was sea urchin out of my hand. We couldn’t get one stubborn piece in my finger, so we headed back to the AirBnB for some first aid and a bit of lunch.

There wasn’t enough rum or patience for me to stomach the pain from us trying to pull that last piece out of my finger, so I wrapped it in a band-aid, put on a fresh layer of sunblock, and we headed to Sandy Beach, the beach directly down the hill from our rental house. As we were parking Jill spotted a few horses in the nearby field and gave them a bunch of attention before we made our way to the beach.

We chilled out on the beach, having drinks and swimming in the waves. We all had a great time, but I hadn’t seen Jill experience that much pure joy in quite a while. She spent what seemed like an hour jumping in the waves, laughing, getting knocked over, and then laughing some more. At one point she attempted to climb up a sandbank and as the sand gave out under her, she fell on her cute little butt. Lisa had her camera and documented the fall as we all laughed hysterically.

Some rain rolled in as we were out there, but we didn’t mind one bit. The air was still warm and we were wet in the ocean anyway so we just put our towels in the vehicle and kept enjoying the beach. Once we had enough beach time, we climbed the hill to our AirBnB and Jill climbed out of her swimming suit as she jumped into the pool. I swam with her for a bit but advised that it might be better if we kept our clothes on so our co-guests could enjoy the pool too.

The night was capped off with a beautiful sunset during dinner. We ate “brupper” or breakfast for supper: eggs, cheese, sausage, and toast as the sky turned from blue to orange to pink. We didn’t stay up too much later after sunset. We crawled into bed and prepared ourselves for our last full day in Puerto Rico.