Bioluminescence Bay at La Parguera, Puerto Rico

I spent a lot of time looking for things to do during my visit to Puerto Rico. One thing that quickly caught my eye was Puerto Rico's bioluminescence bays. Of course I knew what bioluminescence was - it's light created by living things, either plants or animals. Deep-sea fish are often bioluminescent. But I had no idea what these bays were. So I did some research. PR's bays are "powered" by single-cell plankton-esque critters called dinoflagellates (which I will call dinos). When the dinos are touched, they emit light. The dinos can't move on their own, at least not to any real degree, so they are at the mercy of the current. A handful of places around the world have just the right physical attributes to collect huge populations of the dinos. Puerto Rico is blessed with three.

From what I read, the best bio bays were the ones nearer San Juan: One on the mainland and a second one on an island just off the coast. But there was a smaller one in the southwest, about a 90-minute drive for us. While there was a big glass-bottomed boat tour available, I found a small tour company called Aleli Tours that offered a more personal tour of the bay. It's conducted by Ismael, a marine ecologist, and provided us the opportunity to actually swim in the bay. I emailed Ismael and booked us for a tour on a Saturday night.

The bay is located in the fishing village of La Parguera. It was once a sleepy little town, but the bay's tourist draw has made the town more of a party location now (much to Ismael's chagrin). We arrived several hours before our tour time and spent the day getting a meal and having a wander.

I couldn't get over how big the bougainvillea grow here. I thought my potted plant looked pretty during its summer blooms, but it has nothing on these!

There was a two-story observation platform by the waterfront. I took this panoramic shot from there.

A couple of houses built on one of the tiny islands. The water is very shallow here. Ismael said it's only about five feet deep.

It's a very pretty area. And it's popular with the locals. We saw a lot of families around with coolers during the day. We assume they were out boating from the nearby marina. And in the evening, the party goers come out and hit up the many bars and restaurants.

At 7:15, we went to Aleli's little dock and met Ismael. He told us three other people were joining our tour. They were a trio of friends from Columbus, Ohio. They had reservations to visit one of the eastern bio bays, but it was canceled because of an algae bloom. The algae kills the dinos. Ismael said the dinos would come back, but it would be several months before the population hit its previous numbers. Of course, most algae blooms are a direct result of human interference, so while I was glad the bio bay would recover, I was sad to think of the long-term damage being done to such a unique natural occurrence.

La Parguera's bio bay is about two miles from the town. We all hopped in a small boat and zipped off into the dark night. Ismael was a fantastic guide. He's been doing tours for 28 years, but had been living in La Parguera for 40. He moved there right out of college to work with a marine research lab. As we made our way to the bay, he explained that while the water in the main part of the channel was shallow (as I mentioned earlier, it's about five feet deep), the depth in the bay was about twice that. The bay's relatively narrow opening and sudden increase in depth made it easy for the dinos to be pushed inside, but pretty much impossible for them to wash back out. The surrounding mangroves made the bay a "nutritional soup" that helped the dinos thrive. And while there are regular boat tours to the area, it's far enough away from the town that it doesn't suffer quite as much pollution as the eastern bays.

It was a bit disconcerting plowing through the waves in complete darkness. It was made even more eerie by the sudden appearance of green sparks of light in the water. The flares were about two or three inches long and would last just a few seconds. Ismael said they were a type of sea worm. It's mating season and the females were giving off lighted signals. I saw about six or seven of them before Ismael angled the boat toward the bay's mouth.

Since I had read that La Parguera's bay wasn't as brilliant as the eastern ones, I had low expectations. I kept saying that just seeing the dinos in action was a privilege. They didn't have to be spectacular to be impressive. As we entered the bay, I could see what looked like gold glitter in the water. I put my hand in and was delighted to see more sparks light up around my fingers. It was fascinating, but I had no idea how incredible it was about to get.

Ismael took us about halfway into the bay. He came forward and prepared to drop anchor. He suggested we watch the anchor as he dropped it into the water. A bright eruption of gold dust marked the anchor's descent into the darkness. I put my hand back in the water. The small splashes of glitter I experienced on the way in were nothing compared to the brilliant sparks of gold that erupted beside my moving fingers. Whoever said La Parguera's bio bay wasn't bright had to be blind. It was brilliant.

Ismael bade us to go swimming. We were prepared to do so and got ready. Steve was the first in. As he slid from the boat into the water, he was surrounded in a haze of gold light. That illicited a number of oohs and ahs. Then it was my turn. But I was terrified. The bow sat a good two feet above the water. I was precariously perched on the side, too frightened to jump in the water. Even with Steve right there, I could not get myself to jump into the blackness. Ismael was so kind and patient. He said the water was saltier in the bay, so I'd be more buoyant. That didn't help. It was the whole jump into a dark abyss that had me frozen in place.

Finally I just screwed up my courage and slipped off the side. Unfortunately, I didn't surface as quickly as I expected. I was only under water between one and two seconds, but from my perspective, it was an eternity. When my head didn't surface when I expected, I panicked. I was wearing beach shoes, which felt like lead weights. I propelled myself up with my arms and broke the surface right as a coughing attack hit (I'm still recovering from a nasty bout of bronchitis). The delayed surfacing, coupled with the initial fear, the darkness, and my cough triggered a small panic attack. I held on to the side of the boat, breathing like I'd just run up several flights of stairs. It took a couple of minutes for me to calm down. One thing that helped were the thousands of pinpricks of light that greeted my every move. They were mesmerizing.

I don't know how long I lasted in the water, but I was in the longest. I kept experimenting with different movements. If I kicked my feet or moved my hands quickly, I'd be surrounded in a haze of gold light that extended out about four inches. If I gently fluttered my hands or fingers, or moved them slowly through the water, I'd get a long trail of glitter akin to a comet's tail. And if I let my hands and arms sit still under the water and then slowly raise them out, I'd be covered in tiny pricks of light. When I finally climbed out of the water, I looked like a human disco ball. I was covered head-to-toe in glittering light. I felt bad knowing these dinos were going perish on my swimsuit, so wrung out as much water as I could overboard. :-) 

The ride back was a quiet one as we all contemplated what we had just experienced. There are no photos of the night because it was too dark. And I really wish we had brought our masks. Maybe next time. Our move to the UK has been delayed a month, so Steve will continue working down here in Puerto Rico. I will visit again, so maybe another tour with Ismael is in order. We will have to see. For now, the incredible experience remains in my memory. And it's not one I will soon forget. I recommend everyone put a bio bay on your bucket list.

If you find yourself in Puerto Rico, I cannot recommend Ismael and Aleli Tours enough. Be sure to check them out: