Puerto Rico has mystified me since I was a little girl watching West Side Story and listening to Anita sing:

Puerto Rico, my heart’s devotion.
Let it sink back in the ocean.
Always the hurricanes blowing;
always the population growing.
And the money owing.
And the children screaming.
And the natives steaming.

I like the island Manhattan.
Blow on your pipe, and put THAT in!

But their life in New York didn’t seem all that great. At least Puerto Rico seemed exotic. I wondered why in the world they’d trade in a tropical paradise for the city. As I grew, I wondered again and again what Puerto Rico must be like. Then I met a couple of people who went there and talked about the rainforest and the phosporescent bay, and I kept thinking: I want to go!

My husband, daughter, mother and I decided to go for Spring Break, taking advantage of the tropical climate in San Juan, and then ferrying over to Vieques Island where we’d finally see the Bioluminescent Bay I’d heard so much about. Come with us…