Culebra Off The Beaten Path

Travelers wanting to visit an island destination far from the beaten path, away from the tourist areas and luxury resorts, and where there are opportunities for quiet enjoyment of natures glories should consider paying a visit to Culebra Island. Small, lovely, and the scene of fierce political controversy, Culebra is a popular stop-over for the tourist who wants something just a little out of the ordinary.

Culebra is one of three out-islands that are part of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. In addition to the main island, Culebra, Vieques, and Mona are part of the Greater Antilles chain. Mona Island is much smaller than the other Puerto Rican islands and is uninhabited. Culebra, with a year-round population of 1,868, is protected as a natural wildlife preserve and refuge by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Its forests are green, cool, and quiet; more than a few visitors have been startled by the frantic rustle in the vegetation that means a mongoose is scuttling out of the way. The mongoose was introduced to the island to control rats among the sugar plantations of the Puerto Rican Islands. A visitor may pause at night to listen to the lilting song of what sounds like a nightingale. In fact, the song is made by a tiny tree frog, the coqui. As on the main island, night visitors stop in awed silence to gaze at the phosphorescent waters that glow in the dark because of small sea-dwellers that emit a green light when they move. Deep-sea fishermen visiting Culebra find vast schools of tuna, blue marlin, bonefish and amberjack.

The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is a United States territory; its residents were granted US citizenship in 1912. After 400 years of Spanish rule, the islands were ceded to the US after the Spanish-American War in 1898. The main island is the primary focus of trade and tourism. But Culebra has an allure for those looking for a different type of vacation experience; to see for themselves the site of so much political controversy and unrest about such a small island.

The strife began in the early 1970s. Relations between Puerto Rico and the US mainland became severely strained over the use of Culebra Island as target practice by the US Navy. Residents were subjected to constant annoyance by frequent bombing and shelling of their island home. To make matters worse, the navy had placed restrictions on travel between Culebra and the main island. Residents of Culebra were literally stuck, unable to get away from the bombardment. Tourism to Culebra came to a standstill, devastating the islands economy. Resentment rose to a furious height when the navy declared that no other site was available for practice maneuvers. Demonstrators called for the immediate cessation of all naval activities on Culebra. In January of 1971, the firing of Walleye missiles around Culebra was discontinued, but the practice bombardment did not cease. In 1974, Puerto Rican officials filed a lawsuit under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to force the navy to remove Culebra from their gun sights. The suit was based upon the sea turtles that inhabited the island; their nesting grounds and the turtles themselves were at ground zero for the navys war machines. In September, the last navy training exercise was conducted; Culebra had won its freedom from economic and environmental devastation.

The turtles and their nests are still there, having returned to numbers essential for an endangered species. Fortunate visitors to Culebra can see them swimming gracefully in the deep water that surrounds the island, and often observe them as they come ashore to dig nests in the sand, deposit their eggs, and depart back to the sea.

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