My wife and I were married in Rincon, Puerto Rico, going to be 8 years ago this February. We spent nearly a month in that little surf town on the West coast of PR. The following Winter, we returned to Puerto Rico, but this time we chose to visit the islands off PR's East coast, Culebra and Vieques.
I was working as a golf pro and she works for the government, so we both had the ability to take a long vacation that Winter. 18 days split between the two islands. We started our trip in Culebra. A puddle jumper out of San Juan got us there. The airport is one of those split the two mountains, with a runway running away downhill, where the plane had to glide sideways until the last moment to combat the crosswinds. EEK! Thankfully the island had beer.
We enjoyed Culebra, but it was a bit small and full of people that didn't seem to want us there. They have one of the best beaches anywhere and there's an old WWII tank half buried in the sand at the North end. It's called Flamenco Beach.
After eight days and two ferries, we landed on Vieques, about ten miles South of Culebra. At the time the ferry service between the two islands had been suspended and one had to travel back to PR to get to the other island.
Upon docking in the main town of Isabel II, we came to realize that the only way around was to take a Publica, one of those 10 man econline vans. We picked one up at the ferry dock and proceeded to the South side of the island, to the only other town, Esperanza.
Esperanza is one of those little enclaves full of very special people. People that left their former life behind them and didn't leave a trail of crumbs. There was a mix of expats, locals and those transitioning to an island life. There were no casinos, no golf courses, no big box stores, no fast food chains, none of the traditional island trappings. The souvenir shop was quite nice and was in among a group of artists and craftsman in what could be called an outdoor strip mall, set to island standards.
We stayed in one of the many small hotels, operated by one or two people. I don't believe any of the guest houses had more than twenty rooms. Which meant that you could actually connect with the other travelers in your lodging, if you chose to. Cocktails around the pool were quite common.
We were in town for ten days and one of the more amazing things I've experienced while traveling, we were able to make actual friends with the locals and the bartenders.
Pittsburgh Joe and his wife sold everything in the states after their son died a bad death and relocated. They had a nice house at the top of the town, with a little casita in the backyard to help keep them in lettuce. He helped us find a rental jeep when we were looking for wheels. Cars are hard to come by on the island. Some guy has a monopoly. Unfortunately, we returned the jeep due to the dangerous play in the wheel.
We looked forward to running into them most nights and had exchanged phone numbers.
The crew that was contracted by the Navy to detonate unexploded ordinance on the Eastern side of the island were a fun lot. The Eastern half of the island had once been a Naval gunnery range and was close in the early 2000's. Blowing up ordinance by day, drinking beer by night.
The detonation crew invited us out on a day trip to one of the beautiful beaches that had recently been cleared of debris. They drove us out and we met another twenty young travelers, workers and expats. A very fun day. From what they told us, the most beautiful beaches hadn't even been cleared of ordinance yet, but they were working on getting them open.
One of the days that we were there, we walked past a few of the beautiful beach options because we wanted to see Luna beach, a little further down the potholed dirt trails from civilization. What a beautiful beach. Maybe a quarter mile wide, the hills on either side ran out all the way to the open Caribbean, making for a narrow mouth and a drop dead experience.
While on Luna beach, we found what appeared to be an abandoned puppy. We played with him for a half hour and there was nobody there to claim him. We named him Moon Man, we had already called our friends on the island to figure out how to bring him back to the states. We were bringing Moon Man home with us. If we had left two minutes earlier, we would have never met his shitty owners that had left him unattended. Turns out they were too busy screwing in the water, leaving this little guy all to himself.
We made offers to buy the dog and they broke our hearts by refusing. I guess they loved him too. If we had only left a few minutes earlier, we would've left with a clean conscience.
They have the world's greatest bioluminescent bay. You can join a tour and go for a night kayak. Your paddle will glow with each stroke from the little organisms in the water. Once in a lifetime type of experience, under a sky full of stars, floating across an inland bay. I fear that storm surge from Maria will wipe this treasure away.
The point of the story is that my wife and I felt a special bond with Vieques and still have intentions of visiting again, yet now we see that the precious little island is going to be run over by a Strong Category 5 hurricane in the early morning. Much of what we remember will be destroyed.
Special places are hard to come by and Vieques was one of them. It seems unfair to lose so much of what that island had to offer in a ten hour binge by a drunken storm.
We wish all the denizens of Vieques a safe passage thru the storm and look forward to seeing those that remain in the near future.
Love,
Wakeupsheeps & Mrs. Wakeupsheeps
