To travel is to lose oneself

Overall my trip to Puerto Rico was perfect. There were a few bumps along the way, but I had such a great time while there. I am really hoping that the next time I hop on a plane I'll be heading to Thailand! That is my next dream spot! Look at the views from the airplane in Puerto Rico, I wonder what it'll look like in Thailand!

This is what I have learned through my travels: There are going to be people in your life that are different than you. There will be people of a different color, background, life style, and understanding of the world. It is our job to seek to understand more of the world around us, to first learn before we let the judgment pass. It is only through this open-mindedness that we can change our life experiences and the world we live in.

 I didn't know how much I loved to travel until I got the courage to up and leave one day to live in China for about half a year! I feel so alive when I travel. I am at my happiest when I am meeting new people abroad, trying new foods, and learning more about a culture I knew nothing about. Here are a couple of quotes that summarize how I feel about traveling...

I don't know if I'll ever feed my thirst for traveling. Even when I have just come back from going on an amazing trip my first thought is always...Ok...that was great...where to next? I am constantly looking up airplane tickets and wondering what sort of adventure I'll find myself in next. I walk down this road without knowing where I'll end up or what wonderful things I'll have the opportunity to do, but loving every step of the way I walk.

Barracudas, a coral reef, and a MASSIVE sting ray

My favorite day in Puerto Rico was when we traveled by boat to the island of Icacos, swam there, and then traveled closer to the Dominican Republic to snorkel over a coral reef.  It was about a 30 minute boat ride to the island, and upon being there; I jumped in the water and began swimming immediately! I have always dreamed of swimming in clear waters, and that island had such aqua clear waters it felt unreal. I snorkeled a little bit on that island, but I mostly enjoyed the views around me and the fish I could see swimming around my legs.

Sailing on our way there!

Welcome to my office for the day!

Come sail away...

The water there was so warm; it was like you were taking a bath. It was also exceptionally salty, which is probably what makes the water so warm. After swimming there for a while I enjoyed a lunch of some yummy homemade bread and sandwiches while drinking some ice cold Coke. After that we sailed towards the Dominican Republic, and anchored to enjoy some coral reefs. I have always wanted to see a coral reef, ever since I was a little girl and saw pictures of what one looked like. I remember hearing about how incredibly delicate the ecosystem was, and I was scared I wouldn’t live to see a coral reef. Boy was I in heaven when we anchored! I got my scuba diving gear on and quickly jumped in the water!

Captain fed the fish leftover bread to get them to come up more.

Snorkeling over that coral reef was stunning; there is no other way to describe it. I saw lots of different types of fish, including Dora from Finding Nemo! I saw a Barracuda and a beautiful rainbow fish. Someone spotted a large sting ray, and I quickly went up the ladder on the boat. I let the others that were daring enough to get closer to it get as close as they wanted, I was not getting stung by one!

Dora don't forget to keep swimming!

Brain coral? Can't remember what it is actually called.

This is what a Barracuda looks like...they are FAST!

I didn’t wanna leave; it felt like we were only there for five minutes, when we were really there for an hour and a half. I wish I had purchased an underwater camera, to capture its raw beauty, but I stole a few pictures from Google that captured what I saw that day. Just to give me an idea of what it looked like when I try to picture it later. I was at complete peace, all my troubles drifted away and I felt as though I were the only one there, exploring unknown territory like a God beneath the ocean. It was beautiful.

El Morro and San Cristobal

El Morro and San Cristobal was built between 1539-1540. Over four hundred years ago and the fort still stands! When it was originally built it was not as large, holding only four cannons. But when Puerto Rico became a target for settlers to continue to take and raid, they expanded on the fort and made it the large structure it is today. It was thought-provoking to walk around this fort slowly and with admiration for the hundreds of people who dedicated their lives to finishing this fort to protect their people. Here is a few pictures of the structure itself and of the cannons we saw while there.

 

 

Here are a few pictures of Esmie and I at El Morro. It was pretty stinky in there so we had to hurry and get the shot and then get out! haha

 

Esmie and I were SO sunburnt that we had to wear umbrellas while at the fort! Made us feel like we were in China again as all the women over there wore umbrellas to protect themselves from getting darker. 

 

 There were lots of cool tunnels to see en El Morro as well. They were kinda creepy, but cool. I'm prettty sure there has to be ghosts down there. haha

We didn't have enough time to go down into the cemetery that has been there for centuries but the view from where we were was breathtaking! I never thought a cemetery could be so exquisite but most of the graves are very old! I had to take some pics from Google since I couldn't get my camera to zoom in right to capture what I saw...so here it is!

The angels on the graves were remarkable carvings.

This circular building houses the oldest graves of all, no one can go inside unless you have the proper authority to reserve the graves.

El Morro the beautiful!  I loved it!

Swimming with Squirt and Crush

Esmie and I took ferry from Farjardo to Culebra so that we could visit Flamenco Beach. The ferry ride there was about two hours long on a large ship, packed full of people. I was very ill while on that ship, I ended up putting my head between my knees and tried hard to fall asleep. Quite a few people on the ferry also got sick, some even threw up. It took me an hour to feel like I could walk properly again once we made it on the island. But even though I was sick the ferry ride was well worth the trip!

The ferry!

Here is a little bit of history behind Culebra

President Theordore Roosevelt established the Culebra Naval Reservation. In 1939, the U.S. Navy used this island as a  bombing practice site. It was used as a bombing site until 1975 for the United States involvement in World War II. They recently found a few bombs that were still active on Culebra! I ended up coming at the perfect time because they had just reopened the beach  upon deactivating some underwater bombs. There are still U.S. tanks placed all throughout the island, and old (hopefully now empty) bomb shells.  Here is a picture of a tank that was closest to where we were…

Flamenco beach is exquisite! It is rated one of the top 5 beaches in the world every year, typically it is rated the 3rd best beach to visit in the world.  The mountains surrounding the beach are beautiful. The sky was clear when we got there but all of a sudden the clouds started rolling in and we were getting drenched! Haha We ran for cover underneath the trees but as soon as the storm came it seemed to disappear rather quickly! It was sunny again within 20 minutes.

Having fun in the sand!

Beautiful isn't it?

Esmie and I on our way to the next beach!

After spending some time at Flamenco beach we then went over to Tamarindo beach. This was a smaller, less populated beach at Culebra. We kayaked over to a coral reef and then  snorkeled there for a little while. I am a good swimmer, but I struggled with snorkeling! I finally got the hang of it towards the end but it was still hard! There was a small coral reef there that was beautiful, but not nearly as breathtaking as the coral reef close to the Dominican Republic.

Getting taught how to kayak!

Esmie on the kayak!

Us attempting to get a photo

Snorkel snorkel!

Love this shot that I was able to capture beneath the water.

Me kayaking!

I met two Chinese people while on this particular island! They were from Beijing and they were a family there on business. The mother was at a meeting so the little girl would not let go of my hand as we were snorkeling in the water. It was very cute! She loved me and to be honest she reminded me of one of my 7th grade students in China. Oh how I miss them. It was a lovely reminder of how much I miss China, and the Chinese people. The father was kind to me and we talked and talked the entire ferry ride there and back. I'll never forget her sweet little hands clinging onto mine as we swam with the turtles. 

We were out on the beach so much that we got third degree sunburns while there! We could not put on our clothes the next day after sailing and we could barely get out of bed! I have never been so sun burnt in my life! We were like zombies walking around-moaning and groaning and moving real slow. haha

We then kayaked over to where the turtles were, and swam with them for a little while. For those of you who know me, you know that the green sea turtle is my favorite animal, so you can imagine how giddy I was when I had the chance to swim with wild green sea turtles! I wasn’t able to get a good shot with me and the turtles, by the time my friend could swim down to the bottom where they were at, I couldn’t catch up with them! They were pretty fast in the water. I did get some shots with a disposable waterproof camera though! It has been a life goal of mine to get the chance to swim with sea turtles. I will never forget this experience-I highly recommend it!

My fav. shot

Come back Squirt! I want a photo!

I'm choking on water as I'm trying to get the shot haha