Greetings to all of you digging your way out of more snow or just cold! Time to book your flights and pay a visit to beautiful Vieques, Puerto Rico! There as been lots of activity on the island so I will fill you in on the highlights. Don't forget for more news check out the www.viequesevents.net  site where, with patience, you can download the pdf version of the news! This takes several minutes but hey it is worth it!

Okay, so this is the most recent news I have on Wyndham Martineau Bay, they did have a small opening on February 24th. About half of the rooms were ready for guests and not many of the services are yet in place. The last I heard is that there will be another ceremony taking place the middle of this month and the staff should be in place and the restaurants should be open. If you are curious make sure to call ahead to see if they are open to the public yet, as of Feb. 28 they were only open to guest that were staying there. They have imported some staff to do the training of the new employees however I do not know when this will all come together. I did hear rumors that the casino could be open as soon as May 1st this year. Boy how our sleepy little island is changing!

As many of you know, the island is preparing for the departure of the Navy by May 1st of this year. As you can well imagine there are mixed feeling about all this, especially with the current situation with Iraq. Many people will lose jobs and will have to seek employment elsewhere, some will have to leave Vieques as they have no job opportunities here in their current fields of expertise. In preparation for the Navy's departure a huge celebration is being planned for April 30th - May 2nd. A newly formed corporation named "Paz Para Vieques, Inc." will be organizing the event. My understanding is that they will be looking for all available hotel rooms on the island as well as offering camping in certain areas. For any of you thinking about visiting I would avoid this particular weekend as it will be very crowded and there will be no available rooms and cars. If you already have reservations you should be in good shape and may have some of the public beaches to yourself as the fiesta should be taking place at the gate area of Camp Garcia. My guess is that the ferry will be crowded all that weekend as people from the main island visit for this activity. There are rumors that Rev. Jesse Jackson and Gov. George Pataki may be in attendance for the event, as well Gov. Sila Calderon from Puerto Rico and somebody representing Pres. George Bush. Check back next month for more information.

For those of you that come to Vieques to enjoy the wonders of Bio Bay, you will be pleased to know that you can now have a snack before the trip at the new BioBay Café! Sharon and Frank have been busy getting the new eatery ready for business and they offer a lot of healthy conscious snacks and sandwiches. This is a nice addition to the island and is open to the public in general. The café is only open on nights that they are running BioBay trips so you may want to call ahead. More news from BioBay Conservation Group is the donation of lots of new trashcans around the island. Working with the Department of Natural Resources and the Coca Cola Co., they have distributed about 30 new cans around Esperanza with "Oscar the Octopus" reminding people to not litter and use the cans, that we all can make a difference. They will be getting more cans in the future and will continue to distribute them in other areas of Vieques. Sharon and Frank and the entire staff of BioBay Conservation Group should be applauded for all the hard work they do in protecting Vieques and in their efforts for education the youth of the island. It is certainly paying off, as the island is much neater than in past years.

Vieques is very lucky to have two major productions coming to the Multi-Use Center on the plaza in town. The first is "The Vagina Monologues" which will be performed in Spanish. The $30 donation will help benefit the Vieques Women's Alliance. I have not seen this yet but in talking to others that have, they said you could probably enjoy this production even if you do not understand Spanish. I have a feeling that I will give it a tray and see how much I can get out of the play! Regardless it is a good way to support a local group that is very active in the community providing needed services to all the women here.
The second play is "Ay Carmela" which is a story of 2 vaudeville performers trapped in hostile territory during the Spanish Civil War. The lead actors, Jose Felix Gomez and Idalia Perez Garay, have both been nominated for best actor/actress awards for their performance. Again this is probably a universal type play with lots of emotion so a command of the Spanish language may not be necessary. Although the play is free they will gladly accept donations to the Yaureibo Cultural Center, which will then help support the Vieques Cultural Festival coming in April. This is a real treat for Vieques to have 2 top rated performances coming to the island. Hope to see you at one or both of these.

In February the Vieques Humane Society had a very successful Goods and Services Auction that was well attended and raised much needed funds for the shelter and clinic. This month there will be 2 events, first the St. Patrick's Day dinner at the Blue Macaw. Board member and Blue Macaw owner, Rick Gallup is donating the food for the events. There will be a choice of the traditional "boiled", salmon or a vegetarian entrée, all include salad and dessert! Make reservations for that one! Then on March 23 there will be the annual Art Auction at Casa Vieja Gallery. This is a must attend for many of us on the island. Barry and Diane from Posada Vista Mar will be supplying the cocktails and some of the munchies available. Many other restaurants also supply some of the appetizers available. The $25 donation/admission allows you a chance to win a Geoffrey Armstrong original watercolor! There will be lots of terrific paintings and artwork available so be sure to check it out!

More news for those of you who miss Red and Blue Beach, they could be open to the public in a few short months, no definite date has been set. My understanding is that all of the land at Camp Garcia will be turned over to the Department of Interior as of May 1st. I have heard that "Fish and Wildlife" will be managing some 50,000acres, this is going to be a huge undertaking and they will be adding additional staff members. My guess is that some fences will have to be built to keep people out of certain areas, but with any luck we could be enjoying Red and Blue beaches in coming months.

The island has been enjoying a busy season, restaurants are doing well and rooms and houses booked consistently. The restaurant business has been very competitive, all offering good food at reasonable prices. Bayaonda is becoming a fast favorite as I predicted last month! Duffy at Chez Shack is drawing in the regular Monday Grill Night crowd, but now is open Thursday thru Sunday as well. Tony Casino, his current chef, is doing a great job and we enjoyed a wonderful meal there last weekend. Barry and Diane report a steady business at Posada Vista Mar where Chef Seth is cooking up great island food. Blue Macaw is doing very well this winter, great food at a great location, who can ask for more! Trade Winds, La Sirena, Banana's and Amapola all doing well and keep the strip hopping in Esperanza. Island Café has also become a favorite for many; the food is consistently good and the cocktails generous, again at reasonable prices. Café Media Luna is still very popular, not sure how Monica is doing it as she is now in her 8th month, just a few weeks from the birth of their second child. I understand that her staff is fully trained so she can take a maternity leave and visitors will still be able to sample her great menu! Oasis still has the popular theme nights and continues to attract the crowd that wants to look over to the main island while they dine on the deck. All in all I wish I had a bigger budget so that I could eat out more often!! For lunch Esperanza is still the place to go and all are great! Trade Winds has a more elegant setting for lunch, Banana's is kind of the meeting place, Lyman, at the bakery, offers huge sandwiches at a great price, this is probably the one I frequent there most as I really enjoy his burrito! Another great spot is Tropical Baby, great healthy food and not your usual lunch fare! Amapola is under new management and they are doing great, food is good and great staff to serve you. Another well kept secret is that Chef Michael will now make sandwiches, with his deli case selection and fresh breads, you just can't get any better than that! Check out the wasabi mayo on a sandwich, yum….. Of course while there you can pick up dinner or some cheese and crackers to enjoy before a night out! His deli case is bursting with wonderful things and his produce selection grows each week, who ever would have thought you could get fresh raspberries in Vieques!

It is funny that I hear from other residents that some of you reading want to know where to find me so that we can meet! I get a huge kick out of this so for those of you who want to see the face of What's Happenin' and Ask Judy, you can find me at the Island Café on Monday and Tuesday nights. I can often be found early evenings at El Sombrero Viejo, my favorite watering hole in Isabel II. Here I get to catch up with friends as to what is going on! And for those of you that are really brave you might catch me singing off key at Karaoke! So glad that Colleen had the good sense to host Karaoke at Amapola each Sat. for the month of March! We usually have a lot of fun and all are welcome to participate!

The Calendar follows so be sure to check out the activities! Remember that all the restaurants really appreciate reservations; we all want you to have a good experience!

See you in paradise soon,
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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