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Hi everyone,

Greetings from Vieques!

So first I guess I need to apologize for never getting my act together to get up a January What’s Happenin'. The family trip to South America was awesome and I am so glad that I had the opportunity to travel there. The traveling from Buenos Aires back to Vieques was long and left me pretty tired. When I got home I had no water due to a pipe having burst while away and friends just turning the water off. There was so much to catch up on and all of a sudden it was the middle of the month and I figured nobody was going to miss the article for one month. Boy was I wrong! People kept reminding me that I had not written the January one! So here I am trying to play catch up!

From what I understand Christmas Week was packed, record numbers of people here and huge quantities of food sold. I also heard that the island was mostly without water for some of that time so maybe I am glad I was not here! It usually slows down then from the first week to the third week of January, then we get hit again with large numbers of people arriving. February is usually the busiest month on the island so we shall see if that holds true. Since the northeast has been buried under snow I have a feeling that people are searching to find that perfect warm getaway spot. Well it is warm and gorgeous here. The weather has been cool, perfect for sleeping and not needing a/c. Those of us that live here are wearing jeans and sweaters, visitors look at us like we are nuts! The days certainly are more than warm enough and it is still easy to get a wicked sunburn if you are not careful. Just because there is a cool breeze blowing on the beach and it might be a bit cloudy, don’t fool yourself, you will burn and it will be painful.

The Mayor held a fabulous party for his re-election. I crashed the formal party, well I had been informally invited back in the beginning of December but they forgot to send me an invitation so…… It was held at the multi-use center in town and was catered by the Wyndham Martineau Bay. Food was great and the entertainment amazing! Melina Leon performed at that party and she is an internationally know merengue singer. What fun I had dancing with my friend Felix from the water company! Outside Grammy nominees Grupo Mania were performing on the main street of town. I did not get to see them but heard they put on a great show. Other local bands performed at both the formal party and the street party. I guess that there were about 200 people at the formal party, heard that several hundred showed up for Grupo Mania. This kind of made up for no music on New Years Eve but to be fair the Plaza is under renovation and closing the main street is bad for traffic and local businesses so……we are lucky we had the opportunity to get great music during the middle of the month.

January had some fun activities. The 3 Kings Day celebration hosted by the Catholic Church was a huge success according to Father Nelson. He thanks all the community and especially Chef Michael, the Bravos Boys, and Wyndham Martineau Bay for all the toy donations and for so many people participating in the services this year,
Casa Vieja had their first Gallery Opening in January and again it was a huge success. It is really a Who’s Who (of the Ex-Pat population) of the long time residents and property owners on the island. The art work was fabulous as usual and it is always the place to catch up with people just returning for the winter. Be sure to stop by at the gallery when visiting the island.
The Fort Conde Mirasol continues to host the photo exhibition “Disobedioantes” on display through February. There are about 65 photos of individuals who were active in protesting the Navy presence on the island. This exhibit is a Who’s Who of Viequenses and Puerto Ricans that will go down in local history for their help in getting the Navy to leave the island.
Violet Ackas of Enchanted Garden opened Café Violeta with a grand opening party. The restaurant officially opened the next day for breakfast and lunch. The food is great and the setting serene and lovely. Be sure to stop by, she is also waiting on the coffee machines so she can be the “Starbucks” of Vieques. It should be coming soon.

There is now a new ferry trip to and from Fajardo in the evening. The boat now leaves Vieques around 6:30pm and leaves Fajardo around 8pm. These additional trips run Monday thru Friday only right now. We really could use an additional trip on the weekends but maybe that will happen in the future. There is a new committee trying to improve the ferry service between the islands so we shall see what type of impact they have on schedules down the road.

Vieques Air Link has purchased 2 new Cessna Caravans to better service customers to and from Vieques. These planes will be used primarily between Vieques and the San Juan airports. Although they have not added additional flights they will use the extra planes for regularly schedules flights so that more people can travel between the islands. So lets say that the last flight of the day books, they can add a second or even a third plane so that more people can get back and forth.

There is a Corporate Communicators Conference coming to Vieques in March. There are some heavy hitting names on the list of guest speakers and the conference will be held March 4th and 5th. For more information check out www.plesser.com/impact/invite.htm 

I’ll be bartending at the Mardi Gras Party sponsored by the Vieques Conservation and Historical Trust on the 8th of this month! This should be fun as I am no longer used to busy night shifts! The event is being held at the home of Alison Flemer right in Isabel II, close to home for me. I will get off my day shift at the Mar Azul and head right over there to serve up more cocktails. This should be a fun party so if on island call VCHT for more info.

Also at the end of the month is the Annual Goods and Services Auction to benefit the Vieques Humane Society. This is always one of the social highlights of the year and very well attended. This year the event will be held at Martineau Bay and I am certainly looking forward to it. Having been on the board of the Humane Society until this year I miss helping with the fundraisers. I am sure that I will be given a job (if I ask) so that I can help them get through the evening.

Remember that since this is a very busy month we recommend making dinner reservations just about everywhere. There are so many great restaurants here that you want to be able to get to as many as possible. Definitely make early reservations for Valentines Day, as many places will fill up fast.

I almost forgot, Uva Restaurant has reopened in town and looks fabulous. I have not eaten there except for Sushi Night which is every Saturday. Chef Carlos has told me that his Chef’s Plate is very popular, it is a sample of several appetizers and entrees. It is pricey but I have heard that it is really worth it. Me – I love the watermelon martinis! It is also a great spot to just stop in for a drink which I do occasionally.

Breaking news, Al’s Mar Azul is going to try Karaoke on Saturday Nights. This Saturday will be the first time, the 5th, and then they will try it every other Saturday until they get tired of it! There are so many good voices on the island now that it is really intimidating to some people but with 2 places to sing, more people will get the chance to participate. Hope to see you there!

I think that about covers it except for the calendar. I don’t think that we have ever had such a large calendar of events before, so I am sure that you can find something to attend.

 

Enjoy your vacation and thanks for reading!

Judy
 

PS: If there is anything you would like to see in the newsletter or have any feedback please email Ask Judy. Thanks.  askjudy@enchanted-isle.com 

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 If any of you would like to see something specific in this newsletter please contact the webmaster and I will do my best to investigate for you. 
Email: whats_happenin@enchanted-isle.com 

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