Vieques Honeymoon: The Bioluminescent Bay

There's a bay on Vieques that's different from most in the world.  It is home to bioluminescent creatures called dinoflagellates.  They glow at night when they move.  We took a nighttime kayak tour to the bay and got to see the magic in action.

Caleb tried to take pictures, but they didn't turn out at all.  In lieu of original content, let me show you these pictures of a similar phenomenon in the Maldives.

Photography by Will Ho via Colossal

When our tour guide led us out to the center of the bay where the critters are concentrated, he let us let loose with splashing.  He even said, "If you accidentally fall in, I won't mind."  I was too afraid of swimming in the pitch black water, even if the water would glimmer around me.  Sometimes fish would come shooting through the dark just close enough to the surface for us to see the bright reaction it caused.  My favorite part, though, was laying down in the kayak with my face as close to the water as possible and staring at the brim that was touching the kayak.  I could see the individual sparks of aquamarine erupting on their own.  The splashes were fun and cool, but those more serene moments were mesmerizing.

If you ever have an opportunity to go to one of the few bioluminescent waters in the world, do not miss the chance!  It is enchanting and so worth the price of the tour.  Our guide told us about some of the other bays around the world, and one in Asia glows orange!