That one time I survived on an island off of Puerto Rico...

Okay, I’m about to write a post that has nothing to do with Broward or Palm Beach County’s beaches. I’m having island withdrawals. And I’m about to explore California next week so I’ve been thinking about previous travel experiences.

This past August I went to Puerto Rico for my first time and I now have a special connection to a certain island. This is one story that I love telling from my PR trip that is pretty entertaining so maybe some of you will get a kick out of this…

Taken upon arrival to Culebra Island while we were still in the ferry boat.

One of the days we decided to have a beach day. But not any regular beach day. We decided to go to Culebra Island. After a 45-minute drive to the ferry, we find out that the ferry leaves at 3 p.m. and comes back at 5 p.m. But then I thought, “Doesn’t it take 45 minutes to get there each way?” So technically you are on the island for about an hour.  So we asked when was the next ferry back and she said “6:30 a.m.”

After a quick huddle, we agreed to go. 15 hours on an island, 4 people, and only 2 backpacks.

In my backpack, all I had was my friend’s expensive camera, two towels, and two water bottles. I was wearing my swimsuit with a tank top and shorts over it. We had time to kill so we decided to get some last minute items from a convenience store. Locals told us it wasn’t too far but boy that was a hike! Mind you, it was also scorching hot out too.

It felt like close to an hour of walking until we finally reached a pharmacy. The shoes I was wearing weren’t the best so I could already feel the blisters coming in. At the store, I bought swimming goggles and two flashlights. My friend bought baby wipes, bug spray, and other personal stuff.

There was no way we were going to walk back to the ferry after that hike, so we caught a girl packing up her car and she gave us a ride. We boarded the boat and sailed away. Forgetting one of the bags that had the bug spray and baby wipes in the girl’s car.

After a lot of ocean and tiny island glazing, we finally reached Culebra. Right away we took a taxi van to Flamenco Beach – a beach that we read about online.

It was a mission to crack open a coconut without proper tools.

Never in my life have I ever been so taken back by the view I was looking at. The beach was absolutely gorgeous. I have never seen ocean water so blue and so clear. The sand was so white and the softest I have ever felt.

My friend borrowed swimming goggles from a stranger and we swam around the reefs. It was just perfect. Then I found a coconut that sounded like it had a lot of liquid in it. So I thought, “Why not?” I always wanted to drink out of a coconut so my friend and I spent some time trying to crack it open by smashing it on rocks.

We finally succeeded and I had my first taste of pure coconut water. Then I realized the other two we came with were missing. I called and they said they got a ride back to the town side of the island.

My friend and I thought we would meet up with them later so we went to have a bite to eat at the concession stands by the beach. But I realized I was running low on cash and that is all they accept.

We hung out a bit more and found an older married couple to take us back to town in their rental Jeep. When we got there, we still didn’t meet up with my friends. Instead I got more money out of the ATM and ate pizza and drank some Coronas.

This island had such a small town; You can tell that everyone knew each other. People were riding around in golf carts and jeeps while drinking beers. Even the taxi drivers were drinking!

It was now 9 p.m. and we still had a long night ahead of us. The last phone call and update with my friends was that they were trying to find a hostel for the night. My friend and I were getting tired so we parked it on a bench. But there were too many people around, we had that expensive camera on us, and people were getting more drunk as it got later.

We decided to head back to the beach where it was more peaceful. On the way, we asked the taxi driver when they run in the morning and he said “4 a.m.”

At the beach we took out our towels and laid them on the sand. The only light was from the moon and thousands of stars. It was so beautiful. We would slowly drift into sleep here and there but constantly looked around as there were still wanderers walking around.

My clothes were still pretty damp from my wet swimsuit and I was starting to get cold. The breeze was coming in and I convinced my friend to go sleep in the lifeguard stand.

Crystal clear waters. The dark areas are where the reefs are located.

The little room was locked so we slept on the dock of it. His phone had died and his flashlight was next. We were down to my flashlight and 10% battery on my phone. I set an alarm for 4 a.m. and we took turns changing positions for optimal warmth.

We didn’t want to cuddle but we had no choice. It was too breezy. The two towels were not big enough to cover our bodies.

Finally my alarm goes off and we walk to the parking lot. Crickets.

There was absolutely no one outside. So we waited. And waited.

I called my other friends and told them to look for a taxi or anybody to come pick us up. An hour later and still no luck. My phone died and I was searching near every bathroom and light pole for an electrical outlet. Finally, I found an icebox behind one of the concession stands. I unplugged it and used that to charge my phone.

Time was running out. The taxi drivers lied to us. We continued to Google taxi numbers but every phone call went to voicemail. Then my friend decided to call 911. We told them we had a ferry to catch but we are stranded on the beach side of the island. They said, “Okay okay” and hung up.

“That doesn’t sound like they’re coming for us,” I said.

It was now 5:30 a.m. and the ferry leaves in an hour.

“We have no choice but to walk at this point,” I told my friend.

Luckily, the sun was beginning to rise and provided light. So off we went on a narrow road surrounded by brushes. All you can hear was roosters and rattling, we didn’t look up the animals that were out there but it was wildlife preservation.

Thankfully, I found a huge knife in a cardboard wrapping on the road and took that with us for protection. Remember when I said I felt blisters coming on? Well, they were full blown killing me by this time.

I was in so much pain with every step. But we had no choice to keep walking. And walking. And walking. Two cars and a golf cart drove by but no one stopped for us.  And it was only one road to get to everything basically.

Finally we started to reach civilization. I called my friends and they said the ferry has arrived. At this point I really didn’t think we were going to make it. We only had 30 minutes. My phone died again.

Flamenco Beach on Culebra Island. Look at that clean sand!

And then the answer to our prayers arrived! An elderly man stopped and offered us a ride. We ditched the knife at the side of the road and jumped in. Even the car ride felt like a lifetime. There was no way we would have made it if we kept walking.

With minutes to spare, we boarded the ferry. Exhausted. Ashy from the white sand. Smelling like B.O. Limping from our aching feet. My friends were already at the top, waving (I couldn’t believe they were going to leave us!). Later I find out that they shared a hostel room with some chubby guy and his Chihuahua.

The moment we sat in the boat, we looked at each other and laughed for a good 5 minutes straight. We couldn’t believe we made it or done any of the stuff we did. We got so close on this trip unintentionally.

We fell asleep right away on the boat. I didn’t care to sightsee anymore at this point. The things we did just for a beach day.