Have you ever wondered where to spend your summer vacation? Well, we can arrange that. There are many alternatives on where will a person spend his/her time pampering himself. It could be done by hanging out in casinos, traveling around the wonders of the world, etc. But if you want to spend your summer in a nature based ambiance with its beauty and relaxing era, Isla de Caja de Muertos mainly located in Puerto Rico is the perfect place for you. Puertoricodaytrips author writes, “I had heard that Isla Caja de Muertos (or Coffin Island) was lovely, but I think it has been kept a secret just how fantastic it is! Visiting the island has been on my “to do” list for 6 years now, but we never really made the effort to go. We finally made it out there, and I can kick myself for waiting so long. It is a beautiful island and it is too nice to be missed, especially since it is an easy day trip.”
The Place:
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Picture taken in 2006 by David Leitzsey |
According to Wikipedia, Isla de Caja de Muertos (English: Caja de Muertos Island), or Caja de Muertos for short, is an uninhabited island off the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The island is protected by the Reserva Natural Caja de Muertos natural reserve, because of its native turtle traffic. Hikers and beach-goers are often seen in the island, which can be reached by ferry from the La Guancha Boardwalk Caja de Muertos Natural Reserve. Berbería Key belongs to Rio Canas Abajo barrio of Juana Diaz municipality, sector of Ponce Playa. The island measures 2.75 km long northeast-southwest, and up to 860 meters wide (560 meters on the average). It has an area of 1.54 km². Close by are Morrillito Key (180 m off the southwest point, 0.04 km²) and Berbería Key (6.2 km to the northeast, 0.30 km²), both part of the the climate is dry and the island supports dry forest. A still-functioning lighthouse, Caja de Muertos Light, established in 1887 and automated in 1945, sits at top the highest hill on the island.
“Daytrip to Isla Caja de Muertos in Puerto Rico” said by the person who published this video on Youtube.
An author of the website said that Isla de Caja de Muertos is a nature reserve, with beautiful beaches, hiking trails, a light house and a cave. In fact, one of the beaches on the island, Pelican Beach, has been designated as a Blue Flag Beach, which means that the ocean water quality is monitored, there are facilities (composting toilets) and paramedics/guards watching the beach.
With these descriptions of the place, we can say that it is safe to stay with because of it’s good management and is a great place to spend quality time with family,friends and even with a special someone.
The island also boasts hiking trails that lead to an old lighthouse, a cave, and a longer trail that goes to the other end of the island. There are some reefs off the north-eastern side of the island, but you need a boat to get to them. There are other beaches on the east side of the island, but they are roped off during turtle-nesting season. Besides, it looks like it may be too rough to swim on the east side due to sea conditions.
How to get there?
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Picture taken in 2006 by Alan Cressler |
If you then decided to spend your vacation at Isla de Caja de Muertos, Puertoricodaytrips website will help you give the directions on how you could get there. Whether you decided to spend your vacation or you are just nearby and want to get there, the most important thing to know is the directions.
Being an island, the only way to get there is via boat. Island Ventures operates a ferry that runs between Ponce and the island on weekends and holidays. They make 1 trip per day — departing from La Guancha Marina
at 9:00 am and departing from the island at 3:30pm. The boat trip takes about 35-45 minutes.
The ferry has 2 decks, a covered lower deck and an open-air upper deck. They sell drinks and water on the ferry, and it also has restrooms for the guests to take a rest when they got exhausted by exploring the beauty of the island.
There is no extra charge for your “stuff”, which is good because you can bring everything that you might need to be comfortable for the day — chairs, umbrella and hats (there’s not a lot of shade on the island), hammock, and of course your food & drinks in order to regain energy during the strolling around the place. You also need to be prepared to “pack out” the trash you make during the day,in a way that you are being responsible of your trash and to protect the environment as well to the hazards that the wastes may cause. So bring a big plastic garbage bag too.
Tips to remember:
- There is no fresh water available on the island. That means no showers, no sinks to wash your hands, and no potable drinking water. You MUST bring EVERYTHING you need for the day — food and lots to drink. And, you need to be prepared to pack out any trash you generate throughout the day. Better be prepared or else, you’ll end up thirsty and hungry along the way.
- If you plan to hike, wear shoes with sturdy soles to avoid the thorns and rocks. Water shoes may be helpful at the beach because there is a row of rocks at the shore that you have to walk on to enter the water. It’s better to plan well the stuffs to wear before heading onto the field for your own safety.
LIVE-LOVE-LAUGH-LEARN 