Small and perfectly formed
Written: Oct 15 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: An island paradise with stunning scenery, friendly people and turtles.
Cons: Come at the right time of year - and it's getting busier all the time!
The Bottom Line: Visit this stunning slice of paradise before it gets too commercial! Try and see the turtles if you can.
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| ultrahi's Full Review: Culebra |
Culebra, a sparkling jewel of an island located just off the north east tip of Puerto Rico. Miles of golden sandy beaches, friendly people, stunning seas, amazing weather and, at the right times of the year, leatherback turtles dragging themselves onto the beach to lay their eggs. Not only that but at the right time of the year it can be practically deserted. So when is that? Well, you'll have to read on to find out...
Now I have to admit that Puerto Rico was not my first choice for a holiday destination. I'm not a big fan of Ricky Martin for a start and his adverts certainly didn't help. Myself and my friend Tim ended up going because both of us as English ex-pats living in New York had visa issues and couldn't leave the US at that time. So it was either Puerto Rico or Hawaii and Hawaii is pretty darn expensive.. so Puerto Rico it was.
Having arrived in Puerto Rico we were pretty much unimpressed by the huge swathes of American strip malls where the only difference was everyone speaking Spanish. So we decided to take up the advice of our friend Amy who'd been here before and head off to Culebra.. Wow, what a difference.
We took the ferry across, parking our car for what we thought was a couple of days back on the mainland. On the ferry we chatted to some locals and they recommended a small, hotel just off the ferry called Mamacitas. Another wow. Mamacitas is owned by a friendly bunch of folk and the rooms are done up beautifully in a cheerful, un-imposing manner so I highly recommend them to you all. Dumping our bags we set off to hire one of the local runabout jeeps and to explore the island.
The island is pretty small and the roads are generally pretty good until you get near the beaches. We decided to try and get to one of the hardest, Zoni beach, parking the car a bit up the hill and walking down. What a sight... stunning white sand with no people in sight.
This was where we had lucked out - we arrived in Culebra at exactly the right time, between the Puerto Rican and non-locals holiday peaks, in March. Although we found the weather to be stunningly warm apparently it's too cold for the Puerto Ricans at this time, they prefer a month later. Similarly for the American/European tourists it's a bit too warm.
Good luck indeed, because not only is it quiet, it's also the time when the leatherback turtles come up to lay their eggs, hundreds at a time, before dragging their huge, majestic bodies back into the sea until next year. This is a spectacle not to miss if you get the chance, it's also a time to remember to be extremely respectful of the natural event you can easily disrupt so go with one of the local guides who arrange nightly trips down to the protected beaches. I will never forget the night, when lit only by the stars I saw the shadow of my first turtle pull itself slowly, inch by inch up the beach. Awe inspiring.
The rest of the trip was spent enjoying the stunning, almost deserted beaches and also the wonderful local cuisine. When it came time to leave a small island hopping plane took me back to the main Puerto Rican airport in twenty minutes - simple but effective, with stunning views of the island below. A perfect end to a trip I will never forget. Viva Culebra!
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Couples
Best Time to Travel Here: Mar - May
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Epinions.com ID:
ultrahi
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Location: The World
Reviews written: 15
Trusted by: 3 members
About Me:
Bon viveur, photographer and tech geek.
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