Project Description
Thread Living on Isla de Culebra:
Let me tell you about the time I lived in paradise.
Halfway in between Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin islands an otherworldly pristine paradise pokes its heads above the waves.
The Spanish Virgin Islands is an archipelago made up of dozens of tiny islands. Only two of the islands are inhabited. I lived on the second most populated, boasting 1,800 residents, on 12 square miles, Isla de Culebra.
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Photo by me from the highest point on the island
Thread Living on Isla de Culebra:
Culebra has a small airport, but most people travel there from the Puerto Rican mainland by ferry.
I had all my camera gear with me the first time I took the ferry. The terminal worker thought it was camping gear and started screaming at me that it would cost extra. I mean, she really let me have it.
Finally, I asked, “how much extra?”
She said, “It will be $2.50 instead of $2.”
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Photo by me from the ferry. Puerto Rico on the horizon.
Thread Living on Isla de Culebra:
Every day the morning ferries doubles the population of Culebra.
There are no franchises on the island, no fast food, and no hotel chains.
Every night at 7pm the last ferry leaves and the island belongs locals.
The tourist come for 2 reasons: Flamenco Beach and the reefs.
Photo by me of Flamenco Beach at sunrise.
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Thread Living on Isla de Culebra:
When I lived there, Flamenco Beach was the number three ranked beach in the world on TripAdvisor.
Remember when I said all of the tourists leave at 7pm?
Flamenco is a wonderful place for nighttime skinny dipping.
I watched the Perseid meteor shower there. Myself, and the three people I brought with me, were the only people on the beach that night. It was an unforgettable experience.
Photo by me of Flamenco Beach
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Thread Living on Isla de Culebra:
Flamenco Beach was used as a training spot for beach landing tanks during WW2. There are still tanks on the beach, and in the jungle nearby.
Thread Living on Isla de Culebra:
In addition to having the #3 ranked beach in the world on TripAdvisor, Culebra is known internationally as a world-class snorkeling and diving destination.
There are 2 turtle reserves on the island. The green turtles are the most common and are found all around the island. There is also a leatherback turtle hatchery.
My best pickup line ever is, “I have 2 sets of snorkel gear, and I know where the turtles live.”
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Photos by me, Tamarindo Beach
Thread Living on Isla de Culebra:
I’m going to let you all in on my secret snorkeling spot.
It is mile or so down a dirt trail behind the hostel where I worked.
I used to go there almost every day. Only once did I see someone there that I didn’t bring with me.
Around 200 yards from shore is a 50 ft tall reef.
There are three types of coral. You can see all three in these photos. The locals called them fan coral, brain coral, and antler coral.
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Photos by me
Thread Living on Isla de Culebra:
I loved the way the light shone through the waves in the afternoon.
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Photo by me
Thread Living on Isla de Culebra:
This spotted eagle ray was huge. Its tail was probably 20 ft long.
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Photo by me at my secret snorkeling spot
Thread Living on Isla de Culebra:
These fish are called Master Sargent fish. I don’t know why. They never tried to yell at me to tuck in my shirt or anything.
They are larger than they appear in this photo. I got one with a spear gun. It was around 4 pounds. Tasty too.
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Photo by me at my secret spot
Thread Living on Isla de Culebra:
The jelly fish there don’t sting you. My friend, who was a marine biologist, used to grab the jelly fish and feed them to the turtles.
The grass in this turtle photo is the key to finding the turtles there. It’s the main thing they eat. Find the grass, and you find the turtles.
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Photo by me Tamarindo Beach
Thread Living on Isla de Culebra:
This is my secret spot.
Remember, I only once saw someone here that I didn’t bring with me.
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Photo by me
Thread Living on Isla de Culebra:
This is a spot I camped out for a couple of weeks.
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Photo by me.
Thread Living on Isla de Culebra:
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Photo by me Tamarindo Beach
Thread Living on Isla de Culebra:
One of my most memorable moments while living on Culebra was getting to see baby turtles hatch.
Zoni Beach has a hatchery for Leatherback turtles.
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Photo by me at Zoni Beach
Thread Living on Isla de Culebra:
I made friends with some people that worked at a research facility on the island.
There’s a lady that lives on Culebra that has been working rescuing turtles for the last 20 years.
She watches where the adult turtles lay their eggs, ropes off the area around their nest, and keeps track of when they hatch.
These are leatherback turtles. They grow to be 2000 lbs.
1/2
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Photos by me Zoni Beach
Thread Living on Isla de Culebra:
As turtles hatch they loosen up the sand and help the other turtles in the nest hatch as well.
The leftover turtles suffocate if they don’t hatch with the group.
The lady that volunteered there would go back the morning after a nest hatched, dig up the nest, and help the leftover turtles out. She figured she had rescued over 5,000 turtles that way.
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Photos by me Zoni Beach
Thread Living on Isla de Culebra:
The volunteers made a little path to the ocean to help the baby turtles out. They had to walk to the water on their own to build up the strength they needed to swim away.
The woman in blue in these photos is my dear friend Nalani. She was probably my best friend on the island. Rehashing this story has been an emotional experience for me. She passed away in a car accident a few months after these were taken
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Photos by me Zoni Beach
Thread Living on Isla de Culebra:
This is my turtle buddy Lefty.
Lefty is an adolescent, female, green turtle. Lefty was kind of a local celebrity. She always seemed to be at my favorite swimming hole.
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Photos by me Tamarindo Beach
Thread Living on Isla de Culebra:
This is another school of the master sergeant fish. and a photo of the one I got with a spear gun.
That’s a cookie sheet, so you get a feeling for how big they are.
There was a place in town called the Krusty Krab. He charged my around $10 to clean and cook the fish for me. The whole restaurant was a studio apartment with a normal kitchen. The menu was whatever the locals caught that day. Awesome food!
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Photos by me
Thread Living on Isla de Culebra:
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Photos by me Tamarindo Beach
Thread Living on Isla de Culebra:
Sunset Snorkeling
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Photos by me Tamarindo Beach
Thread Living on Isla de Culebra:
Blue Sky through Jellyfish
This might be my favorite photo I have ever taken.
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Photo by me Tamarindo Beach
Culebra:
Happy Easter!
Each small town in Puerto Rico is dedicated to a different Patron Saint.
The Catholic holiday associated with that patron saint is a huge event. On Culebra, they have a boat parade where they transport a statue of the Virgin of Carmen around the island blessing all of the different beaches. Over drinks one night, I made friends with the priest, and he invited me to photograph their festival, Fiestas Patronales de Nuestra Señora del Carmen.
END of THREAD
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THE END