Whole Travel Blog

Off the Caribbean Coast of Puerto Rico, lies one of the most spectacular bio-luminescent bays in the world. Specifically, this bay is off the island of Vieques, which is about 8 miles east of the Puerto Rican mainland. This “Bio Bay” is considered the largest and brightest in existence. It is also one of the only places where you can see the phenomenon every night of the year, others are seasonal. The luminescence is caused by approximately 720,000 micro-organisms (dinoflagellates) per gallon of water. Whenever the water is disturbed, the organisms light up in a beautiful neon blue-green.

I was lucky enough to visit this magical place recently. Along with about 15 others and a couple guides, we hopped in some kayaks and set out across the bay at about 8 p.m. one night.

With each paddle stroke the water lit up with a soft glow, getting brighter and brighter as we traveled on. Fish were flying up out of the water all around us, as excited as we were for the journey. Once arriving to the middle of the bay, we hooked all our kayaks together and jumped out for a swim. The experience is hard to put in to words. Just pulling your arm up out of the water and watching hundreds of tiny specs of light slide down it and disappear, left us in awe. Considering the warm temperature of the water, it felt like taking a bath in the moonlight while floating in glowing stardust.

A small channel that leads to the ocean keeps the organisms in the bay. The Spanish dropped huge boulders in to the bay to create the channel. This was their way of trying to prevent the bay’s waters from entering the ocean. They believed the luminescence was the work of the devil. This plan backfired and has actually helped to preserve and increase the luminescence in the bay.

Unfortunately, this nightly magic show is now threatened. Pollution, dredging, land development, overuse of the bay, and mangrove destruction can kill the tiny creatures. The organisms live off the dead leaves of the red mangrove trees that surround the bay. Local tour companies are trying to protect the bay by donating a portion of their proceeds to protect this natural treasure and to educate people of its beauty and importance, hopefully long in to the future.