Tales from Puerto Rico- Day 5, Part 2, and the rest

After the rain forest we grabbed some grub and prepared to meet Dave and Glady (some amigos also in Puerto Rico! Bonus!) for a night kayak adventure. This was my favorite part of the whole trip. I was a bit nervous because I haven't really kayaked ever, but the water was calm and pretty shallow, so no problems there. We paddled through a pretty narrow creek into the bioluminescent bay. Here there are a bunch of algae things that light up whenever they're touched. they do this because shimp feed on them, and when they feel movement they light up so that the fish will swim over and eat the fish, thereby saving the little glowing algae from the shrimp. In this bay, anytime you paddled or splashed or moved, the water would light up. Then you could also see glowing streaks shoot through the water as fish swam through the water or when shrimp scattered. It was like seeing/causing fireworks in the water! (Kind of explodey. I'm counting it. 4/5 days.) Tim had some photos of us kayakers, but I need to get those from him still. That night my arms and shoulders were pretty sore from paddling (and using my paddle to accidentally/constantly splash Marie and Julie).

After that it was pretty unadventurous. I had a cold and stayed pretty grounded on Sunday- getting in a long nap and staying pretty much in the apartment. It was rainy in the morning and evening anyway, so I only missed out on the sunny afternoon, and I got in some reading.

Monday, with better health, we checked out and headed back to Condado. We managed to find a good deal at the Hilton Caribe, so had a pretty swank location for the remainder of the vacation. They had parrots in the foyer, and swans and peacocks roaming around the garden. In the water was a giant trampoline, and a giant iceberg/climbing wall thing. You climbed up the side and then could slide or jump off. We watched a kid slip and do a total belly flop on Monday, which was hilarious. Tuesday morning Tom slipped off and nearly landed on my head, which was less funny. Again, the pic doesn't do justice to the size (that's me lying on the top). Pretty fun though, as Monday and Tuesday were sunny and perfect for goofing around in the water. I put sunscreen on every day in Puerto Rico, but missed a spot on Tuesday and now have a red streak on my belly. O well, it was worth it. I'm sure I forgot some stories over the week, but I think you got most of the highlights. Hooray for a great vacation!