Flamenco Beach

Flamenco is on the northern side of Culebra, a small island off the eastern end of Puerto Rico reached by ferry from Ceiba or by a short flight. It is a horseshoe of white sand between two headlands, about a kilometre and a half long.

The tanks are the reason the history is unavoidable. The US Navy used Culebra as a gunnery and bombing range from 1901 until 1975, when a sustained protest campaign by residents forced it out; two Sherman tanks used as targets remain on the beach, rusted and painted over repeatedly by visitors. Parts of the island are still closed because of unexploded ordnance, and the clearance is not finished. The same campaign later fed into the fight over Vieques, the larger island next door, where bombing continued until 2003.

The bay itself is exceptional: fine coral sand, calm shallow water inside the headlands, and a gentle entry. Snorkelling is good along the rocks at either end. Because Culebra has no rivers and little development, the water is unusually clear even by Caribbean standards. Culebra's other beaches take more effort and reward it: Zoni on the eastern side is exposed and usually empty, and Tamarindo has turtles feeding on seagrass within snorkelling distance of the shore.

Facilities are those of a managed public beach — parking, kiosks, showers, lifeguards in season, and camping by permit — and there is very little else on the island. Ferry capacity limits visitor numbers more effectively than any policy.

Two rusting tanks sit on the sand and they are not litter. The US Navy bombed this island until 1975, when Culebrenses drove them off by sitting in the target zone, and the tanks were left as a memorial to that. Parts of the island still hold unexploded ordnance and are fenced.