Buye beach is several miles off the highway, down a narrow winding road, on which we saw our first iguanas on the island. From the cars parked along the road, we knew the beach would be crowded so we paid to park ($10) but found a shady spot and made our way to the beach past a tiny restaurant and bar. The beach was bordered with trees which provided shade, but it was very crowded with families.
The water was calm and aqua blue and the temperature was lovely. Mojitos and beers in hand we happily spent several hours in the water and reading on the beach.
Buye beach
Then we headed another 15 min down the road to Boqueron.
We’re staying two nights at the Aquarius Vacation Club on Boqueron beach, a two bedroom suite with kitchen and balcony. (carretera 101, KM 18.1)
We arrived early but they gave us the key to the beach gate and we headed out to Ballenario Boqueron, a huge, almost deserted beach backed by a park filled with palm trees. 
IMG_2003
There were hundreds of deserted beach cabins damaged by Hurricane Maria that are apparently going to be restored although we saw no signs of work being done. Millions of dollars of property.
After checking in to our luxurious 2 bedroom balcony apartment on the 6th floor, 
we set out to explore Boqueron, a tiny beach town accessible across a bridge from our hotel. 
It’s one street of bars and vendor carts, which were mostly closed this
Monday after Easter, but we found one place with live music.
Then we headed home to enjoy the leftovers of our meal from last night and, of course, flan and Napoleons from Ricomini bakery.
Day 2
great source of info on Cabo Rojo area
Cabo Rojo Lighthouse, Puerto Rico (2024) – All You Need To Know
You definitely need a vehicle with 4 wheel drive if you want to drive the road to the lighthouse. It’s over a mile of potholes filled with water.
Once there the walk up to the lighthouse is only 20-25 min but there is no shade anywhere so make sure you wear sunscreen, a hat, and bring water.
Faro los Morillos, the Lighthouse, was built in 1882 and sits atop 200 foot high limestone cliffs.
Ponte de Piedra or stone bridge is accessible from a path to the right as you climb to the lighthouse.
The boys climbed down to the rocky beach and JP swam out to explore the natural cave that was 15 feet deep. On the opposite side is another sandy beach.
Salt Flats are visible only if you climb the observation tower on the right on your way out.
The Taino Indians were mining salt here in 7oo DC and Ponce de Leon set up commercial salt extraction using Indians as slaves.
La Playuela, the beach, is accessible from a path down from the lighthouse or from a road at the base of the lighthouse parking area. It’s supposed to have algae in the water but we didn’t find that to be the case. I waded out into the shallow water and saw a ray on the bottom. The boys enjoyed exploring the tidal pools and finding what they hoped were fossils. I hated to disappoint them by telling them they had found chitons attached to the rocks.
We had the beach to ourselves when we were there.
We finished our tour by eleven and headed back to Boqueron for lunch. Unfortunately, most of the restaurants and food carts that line the main drag are only open Thursday through Sunday, but we had a great meal outside at . The sun and mojitos exhausted us and we opted for a nap rather than more beach time before heading to La Parguera for dinner at El Karacol. I had stuffed lobster (a bit pricey at $50 a pound but Steve and I shared one and took half home with us.) I was glad I brought a soft sided cooler and lots of baggies for ice and leftovers because the potions everywhere have been huge.
We had on-and-off showers that magically disappeared by 8 pm when we had booked a one hour boat ride and swim with Caribbean Breeze because La Parguera is the only bio bay where you can swim in the phosphorescence, which is caused by single-celled dinoflagellates that are half plant, half animal. They recommend bringing goggles or a mask to better see phosphorescence in the water. We were skeptical that we would see anything and the group getting off the boat before us was less than enthusiastic but when we reached the bio bay near the Coast Guard station and they brought a bucket of water on board and we saw the glowing sparkles like underwater fireflies, the boys and Steve jumped in. I used the stairs at the back of the boat. It was a magical experience with phosphorescence glowing as we moved our arms and legs and dripping off our arms when we raised them out of the water. A not to be missed experience. We only got 15 minutes in the water but it was well worth it. None of us will forget the experience.
