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The current weather in Culebra

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Trip Report
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: Diane (---.112.113.3.stc.mn.charter.com)
Date:   01-04-04 20:59

Trip Report
We were on Culebra Dec. 23-30th. Arriving from Minnesota in San Juan on the 22nd, we rented an Avis van and headed to the beautiful rain forest, El Yungue. We stayed overnight at the Fajardo Inn before flying to the island. Finding the Fajardo Inn (nice) is quite the quest, luckily it was before dark. Had dinner at Rosa’s, good place for local cuisine, yummy breakfast at the Golden Bagle, just down the road.
The flight to Culebra was enjoyable and beautiful. We rented a jeep from Jerry’s Jeep Rental. His hand drawn maps were an asset to our trip, not only covering roads, eating places, beaches, and thankfully covering safety issues and do’s and don’ts of the island. We so appreciated the information he afforded us, and we enjoyed his hospitality and great sense of humor.
I doubt we could have found a nicer place to stay, or a greater location. Vista Bella Apts. was a special treat. The owners are wonderful people. Situated on the hill, with nice evening breezes to keep away the bugs, (mosquitoes to us) a beautiful view of the village and bay, and convenient. From the balcony I enjoyed watching the planes fly in between the mountains and land. I enjoyed watching the everyday life, people coming and going, and listening to the wonderful music of the locals. We brought a puzzle for evening entertainment, and a paint set, which we didn’t even open. The girls, (19. 22 and 26) watched some good movies on their satellite tv. We were just tickled with Vista Bella.
I thought the reef was more beautiful than the GBR, and I saw more fish. Our favorite was Melones. We did venture out to Luis Pena, but the high winds kept us from snorkeling off the sw. tip, where we were informed was best. The island adventure was fun, and the local fisherman that took us was very nice. We did visit nearly all the beaches, they were all wonderful in their own ways, and for different reasons. Zoni was breathtaking, Carlos Rosaria was spectacular for fish, the waves at Flamenco were awesome. It did rain almost everyday at one time or another. It really didn’t dampen our vacation, we snorkeled in the rain one afternoon.
We did bring a bag of oranges and apples with us, and some foods. The stores were very well stocked, I was surprised. The store downtown, on the corner had tasty breakfast sausages made with brown sugar. Our favorite place to eat was Barbara Rosa’s. Everything we had was unbelievably delicious!! The presentation was gorgeous, the large platters were full of food, the prices were way lower than I would have expected for such gourmet meals. Ohhh to be able to eat outside again, candle light, under the trees.
The girls ordered a pizza downtown one night, it was very good. My husband kept the bakery busy, visiting sometimes twice a day. I noticed they made sandwiches, and had various foods and drink in their coolers. The little shop next door served yummy chicken, shrimp, or pork shish-kabobs. We had no problem filling our cooler daily with yummy things before heading to the beaches.
I wish we would have seen this earlier in our trip, instead of the last day. One of the gift shops, (I think Paradise Gifts) has a waterproof bag to put your camera in, for about $30. It looked super cool. Being so close to the reef and fish, with such fantastic visibility, I know we could have gotten great pictures, hmmm … a good reason to go back!
The lack of commercialism, the nice people, the peace and quiet, and ease of snorkeling from shore, is what attracted us to Culebra. It was all we expected and more. I’m glad my husband and girls could experience it while it was still unspoiled. Thanks for wonderful memories.
We flew back directly to San Juan.
I have planned most of my vacations from information I have received here on the internet. This website is phenomenal, as it has a wealth of information. Explore Puerto Rico by Harry S. Pariser was my reference book.

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Re: Trip Report
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: Sharon (---.nycap.rr.com)
Date:   01-06-04 07:56

Diane,
Thanks so much for the great trip report! We are very interested in Culebra and have been absorbing as much information about the island as possible before we travel there. I assume you took the ferry from Fajardo? Any comments about that would be helpful. Also any other accomodations that you thought looked interesting? Would love to hear anything else you experienced there. You can email me directly if you'd like. Thanks again.
Sharon

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Re: Trip Report
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: Diane (---.112.113.3.stc.mn.charter.com)
Date:   01-06-04 11:03

Hi Sharon,
Actually we flew with Viegues Air LInk. My husband didn't want to chance getting sick, and the flight is reaonable. I regret not having the time to get together with Teresa Talevast and volunteer with the turtle study. We were so engrossed in snorkeling we forgot about it until the day before we left, and we couldn't reach her on her cell. I think she would have been very interesting to talk to. She did suggest even picking up litter on the beaches when possible, there was very little. A big surprise to us was how wonderful our skin felt while there. My feet and skin had never been so soft. But now we are back in Mn., -30 today, and skin is dry again. If only they could bottle that!

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Re: Trip Report
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: Angie (---.dwx.net)
Date:   01-09-04 13:47

Thanks for the report, Diane. Did you have a chance to visit Culebra's bio bay during your stay? I think I saw where you were asking about it a while back.

My husband and I will be making our first trip to Culebra in a couple months, and I'd love any information I can get about it.

Thanks!
Angie

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Re: Trip Report
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: Kim (---.try.wideopenwest.com)
Date:   01-10-04 09:50

Diane,

Your husband is a smart man! The last time we went to Culebra on the ferry, EVERYONE got sick because of the water being so choppy. My husband had the gaul to tell me to hang my head over the side of the ferry if I was going to be sick (he was in the Navy for 4 years, he doesn't get sea sick)! It rained on us, we had no luggage for the first four days (my fault), and I would have given anything to film that voyage from Fajardo to Culebra that night. It was AWFUL! If they would have let me just stay in the car, I would have been fine, but they don't allow that on the ferry. :( They do in Cancun though!

Kim

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Re: Trip Report
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: Diane (---.112.113.3.stc.mn.charter.com)
Date:   01-10-04 10:47

We were so tired come evenings, we could barely wiggle. Didn't even think about a bio-bay on Culebra.
It's so hard to admit the husband may be right!! We were fortunate in his choice, as the ferry WAS canceled that morning because of the choppy water. People were coming to catch flights, only to find they were already full. Our flight was smooth sailing. Not sure if the girls enjoyed the good looking pilot or the sites more!?! :)

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Re: Trip Report
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: yayma (---.ipt.aol.com)
Date:   01-11-04 20:48

I was in Culebra this past July and had a blast. Catching a Ferry was quite an ordeal so we tried to fly in from Fajardo. Our group was too large and we would have had to split and go on to different flights. When we finnaly got in the ferry, the kids were scared, and to be honest, so were the adults. But on the return trip, I found out that the two story ferry doesn't move half as much as the small Ferry.

Needles to say, the kids had a blast, and so did we. When I look back at the pictures I say to myslef "To think I lived in Puerto Rico all my life and had never taken a trip to Culebra". Now that I am in TX, I got the chance to go and am already planning our next trip there.

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