Part II

If rustic is not what you looking for, then the Harbour View Villas are not for you. They are clean, but they are not the Holiday Inn. We were there for three days and never saw the owners again. There is no room service and the sheets and towels were not changed during our stay. This is not a criticism of the property as we don’t change our sheets at home everyday either, but some folks might expect that type of service for $125.00 a day.
You’re not camping in a tent, but you’re not far from it in these Villas. We were visited daily by the local variety of the lizard, the Gecko of t.v fame. They showed up everywhere and often. Since this is the type of vacation we were looking for, we enjoyed our stay very much and would recommend the property for those who are looking for a secluded rustic setting.

After unloading our luggage, Jerry arrived to bring us our jeep and take us on another brief tour of the town. On our way back to the villas we stopped at the grocery store to pick up drinks, snacks, etc. The prices were surprising reasonable since everything on the island must come by ferry.

By this time of the evening it is dark, and that means Culebra gets real quiet. There are only a couple of bars on the island and no night clubs at all. As a matter of fact several of the restaurants were closed. We dined at the Dinghy Dock. Located across the draw bridge and located literally next to and over the Ensenada Honda Bay, the Dinghy Dock offered a diverse menu at reasonable prices. We ate there two nights and they offer a variety of fresh seafood dishes, steak, pork, chicken and salads. Our meals with drinks (sodas) and dessert ran around $45.00 with tip. Be careful with the tips, one night it had been added to our bill while the second night it had not. We enjoyed meals, the very relaxed atmosphere and the “island time” service. Both nights we enjoyed watching a gorgeous full moon rise in the night sky and cool breeze of the water.

Later the first evening, we enjoyed setting on the deck of the villa watching the full moon and its reflection off the harbor bay, a cool breeze off the water, and the absolute quiet and solitude of the villa’s seclusion. It was one of the most romantic settings I can remember in a long time.

Day two arrived around 5:30 with the sound of the town rooster announcing the new day. Although we were at least a half mile from the town and dock, sound carries very well over the water in Culebra. While my wife slept, I enjoyed the sunrise, watching the cargo ferry depart for Fajardo and solitude of the deck for several hours.

Mid morning we headed into town, picked up sandwiches and ice for lunch, and headed for Zoni Beach on the north east coast of the island. On the road to Zoni you drive over most of the island and pass the bay with its yachts and mangrove trees, climb over the eastern most part of the mountain and see spectacular views of Culebrita and St Thomas Islands. The road had been paved all the way to the beach two weeks before so the drive is very easy to make now. I can only believe that this easy access will change the beauty of what is the most beautiful beach I have ever been on.

The Travel Channel got it all wrong. They rated Flamenco Beach as the second most beautiful beach in the North America. I can only wonder if they made the 15 minute drive to Zoni. Zoni appears to be around two miles long. From one end to the other the beach is pristine white sand surround by crystal clear blue water. Being on the north side of the island I understand the surf can be quite rough. This was not the case on the day we were there. The water was still with almost no surf at all. The beach was two tiered with visible evidence of rough surf cutting the beach in half with a two foot wall of sand. The upper half of the beach was covered with some vines and vegetation while the lower half was gently sloping white sand to the water.

To the east of the parking area, the beach runs about ¾ mile to rock formation jutting out into the water. To the west, beach runs for at least 1.5 miles to a cliff running to the water. To your back and to the west the beach is protected by a mountain running parallel to beach. We walked to the west about a mile and found a grove of Palm trees at the edge of the upper beach. This spot was absolute heaven. The slope of the beach in the water enabled you to walk out about 30 to 40 feet into the water and then was surrounded by reefs. The water appeared to be clear to about 40 to 50 feet deep and was calm enough to snorkel with no problems.

The Palm trees provided excellent shade all day and was a welcome relief from the sun on several occasions during the day. Sitting under these trees and reading a book while looking out at Cayo Norte was the most peaceful and restful day I have experienced in my life.

We spent around six hours on Zoni. During our stay, we saw one person walk past us to the far west end of the beach after lunch. The far west end of the beach has large boulders in the water to the edge of the cliff, creating a “bath” area. Other than that one person we had the beach all to ourselves. While nudity is illegal on Culebra, if one wants to partake, Zoni is the place to do it. The beach is isolated on all sides and if you’re far enough down the beach you can see people coming well before they can see you. If you’ve ever wanted to go a picture perfect beach and have it all to yourself, Zoni is the only beach that I have ever found that is too beautiful to describe.

Late that afternoon we went back to Melones Beach to go snorkeling. Melones is a short five minute walk from the villas. Melones is known for being a good beach for snorkeling beginners. We saw a wide variety of fish and the area was very enjoyable to snorkel. The best spots are about 100 feet north of where you enter the water and then north from there.

Day three arrived much like day two with the awakening by the town rooster. It is absolutely amazing how such a little bird can make so much noise.

Our first stop of the day was Flamenco Beach. A beach of about two and half miles, the beach is horseshoe shaped with a large reef system that protects the beach from rough water. The beach is very wide white sand and surrounded by trees. We walked to the north end and past the tank on the beach that was once used by the US Navy for target practice. The beach was very crowded from what we were told. There may have been 20 people on the whole thing. Don’t get me wrong, the beach is very beautiful and is one of the nicest we’ve ever been on. Just don’t go to Culebra without going to Zoni and Brava.
I’ll leave it to someone else to sing Flamenco praises.

We stopped for lunched at El Batey for lunch and the islands best hamburgers. If you’ve never experienced Puerto Rico you would be afraid to eat there, but the burgers were good.

Our last beach to visit was Brava Beach. Much like Zoni, we saw no one all day and the beach was stunningly beautiful. Brava is much more difficult to get to. Since Brava is a turtle beach, the access is much more restricted. The paved road ends about two miles from the beach and you are supposed to walk over the hill to the beach. We did see evidence of people driving on the primitive dirt road to the beach, but unless you are familiar with driving a four wheel drive vehicle, I would not try it. There is one very difficult washed out section of the road that I don’t think a novice could get through.
At the end of the paved road, park off the shoulder of the road at the house that has the sign on the top for Abraham who is running for some type of local political office. Walk over the hill and then down the other side for about 20 minutes. When the road forks, take the right fork. If you pass an old Spanish well in about a hundred feet you are on the right road. You will enter the beach on the far eastern end.

To your right will be boulders creating “baths” and to your left will be a mile and half of a horseshoe shaped pristine beach. We walked about half way to end and again found a grove of Palm trees to spend the day.

The overall appearance of the beach is much the same as Zoni, the biggest difference being how rough the water is. The surf at Brava was two to three feet in the middle of the beach with waves bigger on the ends. In addition there was a strong undertow that could pull you away from the beach if you’re not a strong swimmer. The water is not as clear as Zoni due to the rough surf, but is still a beautiful cobalt blue. We were there at the end of the turtle nesting season, so I not sure what the restrictions are on the beach during the late spring and early summer. Of the two beaches I would recommend Zoni, but if you’re looking for privacy, most folks are not going to make the 25-30 minute walk to Brava.

Day four meant that our trip to paradise was over. We had a 9:30 AM flight back to San Juan, but “island time” had one more lesson for us. You must arrive at least one hour before your flight time which meant arriving at the airport at 8:30 AM. At 10:00 AM the plane had still not shown up and no one was at the Isla Nena counter. Around 10:15 the flight arrives with the ticket agent aboard the plane and the pilot promptly leaves for a snack. Our 9:30 flight leaves sometime after 10:30 AM. But even that wasn’t all bad. We had another hour in paradise and a beautiful view of the island as we took off for civilization and thoughts off when we would get another chance to come back again.