Bioluminescent: Dinoflagellates in Laguna Grande

Todd and I also went kayaking in a bio-bay one night in Puerto Rico, and I think it was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever done. This particular bay is filled with dinoglagellates, which are these teeny, tiny micro-organisms that glow when disturbed. Every dip of the paddle, movement of our kayak, or splash with our hand created a blue-green glow. I’ve never seen anything like it. We kayaked first through narrow and slightly windy water before reaching a fairly large estuary. Once we reached that, our tour guide (we were lucky enough to go with just him and one other couple, so it was pretty intimate) had us sit for a while to give us his spiel. The entire time he was talking I had my hand in the water watching the glow. It looked like a special effect you’d see in an X-Men movie or something. And for just a second after taking my hand out of the water you could still see the microorganisms glowing on my skin. So cool!

Todd asked our tour guide if we could go for a swim. Unfortunately, swimming is no longer allowed in this particular estuary. Our guide told us, though, with a wink, that sometimes people flip their kayaks and end up in the water. The other couple with us were not adventurous, but Todd and I took our cue and quickly “fell” into the water. It was so cool to see it all light up around us!

Since we knew we’d get wet, we didn’t take our cameras with us on the tour. I did find this youtube clip that is a pretty accurate representation of what we saw, though the color is a bit different. If you ever have the chance to do this, you should!