Puerto Rico Weekend Getaway

So after going to Puerto Rico last week for work, I decided to return for a fun-only trip with Kaitlin.  I took a few hours off of work, and we caught the JetBlue flight out of MCO to SJU.  Upon arrival at the airport, we took the shuttle to Hertz, where we had a rental car waiting.  One thing we didn’t expect, is that Google maps would not do turn by turn directions,  so finding our way to the resort was a nightmare.  After nearly two hours of struggling, we finally made it to the Wyndham Rio Mar Beach Resort and Casino, which I highly recommend for the money.

The next morning we woke up semi early and headed towards El Yunque Rainforest, a US National Park which was amazing.  We drove along the main road, and finally parked to hike to the Peak.  During the hike, it started to rain after not having seen a single cloud in the sky!  By the time we got to the Peak, we were drenched, but the rain had backed off.  After about 30 minutes of enjoying the view, things quickly changed and it was yet again flooding.

 

After a nap back at the hotel, we decided to go kayaking in the Bioluminescent Bay.  To get there, you rent kayaks on a guided tour through a marsh covered lagoon, kayaking in the dark and using glow sticks to keep from hitting each other.  Once you’re in the bay, it’s very dark with surprisingly little light pollution compared to the rest of the island.  Every time you paddle, the bay lights up around the disturbed water and gives off a blue glow, one of the coolest things I’ve seen in a while!

Anacapa Island, Channel Islands National Park, California

Recently I was invited by Marc Blackwood and Chris Hersch to attend a dive on the Spectre, which was one of the best dive boats I’ve been on.  JetBlue currently offers a direct flight MCO->LGB, which was about 30 minutes from Marc’s house, so things worked out and it was an easy non-rev flight for me, with several open seats.  Around 7pm Friday night I arrived at LGB, a very small airport where baggage collection and deplaning are both done outside.  Marc was nearby and within a few minutes we were on the road to a friends house to pickup a scooter for Saturday’s diving.  After that, we went to a burger place which had nearly every imaginable topping you could put on a burger, you simply mix and match…kinda cool, we don’t have that in Florida.

Our next stop was the Spectre dive boat, which is kind enough to allow divers to load gear and spend the night on the boat the night before their dive day.  This was very helpful, especially for those of us who have come from out of town and don’t want to pay for a hotel!  While loading, I met Chris and the rest of our group.