The island of Culebra

After Casey's team lost, we jetted off to the island of Culebra for a three-day vacation before heading back home to California. I have been wanting to make this trip for three years now and I was so excited to finally be doing it. We woke up super early to drive to Fajardo so we could catch the ferry that goes to Culebra. You have to get to the ferry terminal really early because there are only three ferry rides a day and the lines get really long. As soon as the tickets are sold out, you are out of luck until the next ferry takes off almost four hours later. We pulled up and got into line and within ten minutes, the tickets were all sold out. Our only other option besides waiting the four hours, was to go to the local airport and try to get on a flight to the island. We took our chances with airport because I was not about to wait for four hours with two little kids at a ferry terminal. Plus the daylight hours were burning and I wanted to get to the beach! We arrived at the airport and luckily we were able to get tickets on the next flight that was leaving within an hour. It was more expensive, but it was an experience we wouldn't forget so we went for it. The plan was so small that it was terrifying, but my only consolation was that if the plane goes down, at least we were all on there together. The flight was 15 minutes from take off to landing. Guy was in the baby carrier and slept through the whole thing. Cash sat next to me and thought it was the coolest thing ever. It was basically a dream travel situation. The ferry takes two hours, so we were stoked to get there early and get started on our vacation.

Culebra, or the Spanish Virgin Island,  is an archipelago consisting of the main island and twenty-three smaller islands that lie off its coast. The remote tropical island is really small, only 3,000 inhabitants. There are no stop lights, one gas pump, and everything opens and closes depending on the owners plans for the day. I loved it. The beaches were beautiful, especially Flamenco beach where we spent all of our time. Clear water and almost white sand. It was a dream vacation for our little family.

The U.S. Navy used Culebra as a gunnery and bombing practice site in preparation for World War II. This is one of several WWII-era American Sherman tanks still stranded in the sand of Flamenco Beach.