Hi All,

I’m in Puerto Rico and it is gorgeous! I totally didn’t expect this much history in this state. Yes, a state. Puerto Rico is part of the United States. However they don’t pay federal taxes like we do. Population 6 million on this little Island. I woke up yesterday and went up the sixth deck to have breakfast. A bunch of us were sitting outside on the patio eating when we were met by the porter that boarded the ship to help guide us through the harbor. The scenery was beautiful! Largest ruins of fortress that were built in the 16th century with rolling grass lawns covered the hillside. There is a lot of development going on here in San Juan. After we docked, the clearing process of over 800 people takes forever. Luckily, we were off the ship in an hour and 40 minutes after we docked. Four of us, Kate, Shane, Kristin and I toured downtown San Juan. We saw the two beautiful fortresses (they are actually US state parks) San Cristabol and San Felipe de Morro. We also had lunch at a cute little café called Yuga. The people that ran the restaurant were very sweet and kind making us whatever we wanted. I opted for a chicken Quesadilla, I mean it has to be pretty hard to mess up a Quesadilla. The views bright colored buildings, cobble stone roads and arched balconies are mesmerizing.

Last night I had my first field program, the Bioluminescent Bay. I totally didn’t know what to expect. After an hour and a half bus ride we pulled up to this little beach where there were hundreds of kayaks sitting in the water with glow sticks as lights in the front and the back. It was about 8pm. After a quick kayaking 101, 50 of us in tandem kayaks all in a straight lined meandered through this mangrove forest. Kayaking in the pitch black told to just follow the boat infront of you is scary, difficult and frusterating at times. If you didn’t follow the person infront of you, you and your paddling partner found yourself tangled in roots that hung from the trees. We paddled for what seemed like FOREVER and then finally the sky opened up and it turned into a huge bay! The bioluminescent dinoflagellates glowed brightly with ever stroke of your paddle. You could splash water on your leg and your leg would glow!! It was amazing. Needless to say I was exhausted and slept very well last night.

Woke up this morning and had breakfast out on the 6th deck. No one is in the computer lab right now, so I figured I could type up something pretty quickly. I have no plans today, but a couple of us wanted to go to Walgreens to buy some last minute items before we enter real foreign countries. I have a trip tomorrow called the Organic Tanama River and Cave Adventure- sounds intense. Thanks again for all your comments. Again, I don’t know how much I will be able to blog while I’m at sea, but hopefully often, depending on the speed of the internet and availability.