First I want to let all of you know that if you are planning a trip to Vieques or are a new resident that Holy Week is very much observed here on the island. The native Viequense and their relatives plan festivities on the local beaches that include camping out for the entire week. You will see areas of Navio and Media Luna with elaborate campsites as they spend most of the week at the beach. Since the beaches on the Navy Base have been closed the public beaches are a bit busier this time of year so be forewarned! The water temperatures are rising and those of us that hold off swimming until Easter finally dive in and enjoy the water. I know for you Northerners you have a hard time understanding why many of us don't swim year round however when you get used to the really warm water it is just not as fun when the temp drops below 73 degrees. I have no idea why our tolerance changes but it does, some of us even wear sweaters at 70 degrees!
One of the things being planned here on the island for Easter Weekend is another Humane Society Benefit. James Weis, partner at the Inn of the Blue Horizon, is busy planning a "Taste of Vieques" which will be held at Sun Bay, Saturday April 14th. They will get to the beach early to rope off a section and put up a canopy and plan for the beach party! This event is a bit of a change from the past "Taste of Vieques" event that was usually held at one of the restaurants. James is busy talking to the local chefs about donating part of the meal as well as getting some of the "locals" involved with cooking so that there will be plenty of food. The party will begin at about 10:30 AM and will go on until at least 2:00 in the afternoon. Along with the meal you will be able to participate in picnic type games such as a 3 legged race, tug of war and more, and the chance to win prizes! This sounds like a must attend event and of course benefits our favorite charity. The cost will be $20pp however children under 12 will eat for free. There will be a $1.00 cost for beer, sodas and the entry fee for each game. We encourage all of you to buy your beverages as somebody has graciously donated them for a good cause! As this is still in the early stages of development, if you have any questions or would like to help out the organizers please call James at the Inn on the Blue Horizon. The phone number there is (787) 741-3318, try this number first however as there have been some bizarre phone problems on the island lately, call 741-0527 if you get no answer! The phones in the country have been ringing off the hooks at the wrong places! Has made doing business a bit difficult for some of the guest houses! Hopefully everything will be ringing at the right numbers soon.
Keeping on the subject of the Humane Society, I just want all of you to know how much your support has been appreciated during the month of March. The Goods and Services auction held at Banana's raised somewhere in the area of $4500! I did get to attend that one and it was lots of fun, Jimmy did a great job as Auctioneer and most items were sold at above their value. At the end of the month the Arts and Crafts Auction raised about $11,500 for the animals. Barry and Diane, owners of La Campesina, donated much of the food and all the wine and spirits consumed and did a great job hosting this fabulous event. I unfortunately had to work that night and could not attend however I heard that several others donated food items and of course all the great artwork was donated. Vieques is home to many fine artists and believe me the things that are donated are items to be treasured a lifetime. There were unbelievable oil paintings, prints, pottery and hand made clocks and those are just some of the items that I know about. Owen, one of the chefs/owners of the Oasis was the auctioneer that night and kept things moving and sold everything again at more than valued at in many cases. Just for your information Owen also occasionally sings at Karaoke night held at the Crabwalk Café on Friday evenings, he has a terrific voice, obviously a man of many talents. Eve and Alec did a great job organizing the Art Auction as everyone said how wonderful it was, sorry I had to miss it. Hope that many of you will attend the Beach party this month as it should be a great time and a great thing to do if traveling with your kids. You would be spending the day at the beach anyway so please help the Humane Society as they provide such a needed service here.
When I spoke to Eve this week she said the "group show" will continue through the month of April and although they have no special "opening party" that there will be changes to the art displayed during the month. Most of the art in the gallery is all by local artists and it is always a joy to go visit and see what is new. Casa Vieja Gallery is located at the entrance of the Inn on the Blue Horizon, if they are not open when you drive by most days from noon until about 6:00 please give Eve or Alec a call and they will open by appointment also, 741-3078.
Since I mentioned Karaoke at Crab Walk Café I have to admit that I have become addicted to showing up there lately! Although I am not a "performer" by choice I have participated in Kamikaze Karaoke where our host Joey just passes the mike to someone. It has been lots of fun hearing so many of the locals sing all types of music! The regular local performers include Joey, Richie ( he is a bartender at Banana's), Travis, along with his Mom, Joanne, and his sisters, Tilly and Teresa, all of whom work with Mom at the bakery/pizza shop in Esperanza. As I mentioned before Owen sometimes sings and there are others like Willy, Jimmy, Sari, Sarah and Steve who participate also. Don't be fooled by the mention of just the locals, we have been entertained my many travelers also who show up for a fun evening. As of now it is scheduled to continue on Friday nights however as our season winds down it may occur less often. Be sure to stop by the Crab Walk to see if it is happening the Friday that you are here.
There will be no music this month at Café Media Luna however on Saturday, April 14th, Monica will be offering Indian Night. She prepares a special menu of her native cuisine and it has always been a very popular event. Be sure to make your reservations in advance so you can attend. The February jazz night was so well attended that they took less reservations for the March performance. Many diners left after the first show so when I showed up late in the evening it was almost like attending a private party. The music as usual was incredible and everyone was so happy to be there and experience it. I know I say this each month however we are so blessed to have access to this quality of music right in our little community. And speaking of blessings I want to let you know that Café Media Luna will be closed the months of May and June as they head to the main island in anticipation of the arrival of their first child, followed by maternity/paternity leave! I will keep you all posted on the reopening of the restaurant when the time comes.
There is a new little gallery/gift shop on the island. On the Path Gallery recently opened for business and Eileen has some really fun items in her shop. Some of her things in the shop include hand painted furniture, painted broomsticks with bright colored brushes, mirrors, silver and ceramic jewelry, colorful windsocks, magnets, and paper products such as napkins and plates and things. In addition her garden is fabulous, you can see pineapples, mangos, papayas, bananas, and other exotic fruits growing. She has spent lots of time with the garden design and is also doing some consulting work in that area for people who are interested in what works well in the Caribbean. She is hoping to next season set up some workshops so that individuals or families can create some of their own art with the things they find on the beach and anywhere else for that matter! She is herself very creative and her artistic background includes creating and making her own contemporary and traditional paper. In addition to the gallery she works as a massage therapist and also has an apartment and a second house here on the island available for travelers to rent. As of now the gallery hours are Tues. - Saturday from 8 until noon. As she and her husband still maintain a home in Minnesota and she will travel north at some point this summer. Be sure to call in advance to find out her schedule. She can be reached at 741-2457 for her schedule and directions although she is easy to find in the pink house between town and the airport!
Stopped in "The Sombrero Viejo" tonight to find Mr. Kuhn designing a Bingo Board! His bar is one of my favorite quiet spots on the island right in town, a block off the main street. He has the best juke box on the island if you like old classic music, very little rock and roll or loud stuff on his jukebox. His drinks are really reasonable and you can still play a game of pool for $.25. He continues to sell liquor and beer by the bottle and case as well as operating the bar. Mr. Kuhn is an institution on the island as he has lived here for more than 45 years, really want to know what the old days were like, ask him! He would not give me an official start date for Happy Hour Bingo as he is still figuring out where and how to hang the board but when it starts each patron in the bar will get a free game board and if you win you get a free drink! Sounds like a deal to me! One of my favorite comments about his bar from Capt. Casey or Tio Roberto is "we spend more on the jukebox than we do on beer." You just have to love it when that happens.
When I called the Vieques Conservation and Historical Trust to find out how the house tours and Capt. Richard's benefit sunset cruise went I was told everything was very well received again this year. They have also expanded their gift shop into a larger area and are carrying more upscale gift items as well as lots more books. The book items deal mostly with the history of Vieques, wildlife and horticulture. The Trust is a must visit if you are interested in the History of our island and the flora and fauna.
Tim of Aqua Frenzy is doing kayak trips in Laguna Kiani located out on the old NASD end of the island before you get to Green Beach. When I spoke to him he said that he is definitely making it fun and educational, good family event. You are almost never in water more than 2 feet deep and best of all do not have to be a great athlete or in great shape to enjoy this trip. For $40pp you get a kayak lesson, put through a little obstacle course and the chance to kayak the lagoon. He said there is an area where there are about 200 starfish, makes for great photos, and that there is very little hard kayaking involved. He can handle 8 people a day for that particular trip and it starts about 10 AM and lasts about 2 ˝ hours. The trip is in the morning due to tidal influences. Give him a call for availability at 741-0913, don't forget your sunscreen and maybe a bottle of water or 2!
Of interest to the locals here on the island since I know you are all reading this too these days, Blue Caribe is working on a May or June schedule for open water certification. Stop in or call the dive shop for more information.
I stopped in Siddhia Hutchison's gallery and was overwhelmed by all the new things in there. She has so much new pottery in stock from dinnerware, plates, bowls, planters and vases that I was astounded. She has been very busy designing. In addition to her regular prints that are available she is carrying some of her designs in pillows and rugs now too. She is also selling some jewelry, not her designs, but it is lovely. There will be more new items coming in next month and I anxiously await her clothing creations but that looks to be a few more months away. If I was not busy putting money away to build a house I could have done some serious damage to my bank account, guess I will just have to wait until the house is built and then go wild.
After Easter some of the restaurant schedules will be changing. I had so much that I wanted to share with you this month that next month I will try and get that information out to you. For now if you are planning a trip late this month call the restaurants that you would like to dine at and check their schedules. I can tell you that Duffy will not be doing Grill Night after Easter out at Chez Shack… that will be missed. He has some future plans for the summer and he is busy building as usual so when I know what he has in store for us I will update you. I am always in touch with the folks at Oasis and they will be closed on Weds, following Easter. Although they do not have the dates set yet they too be will do an Indian Night and a Portuguese Night sometime soon. This follows what they have been doing all season with the theme nights that we have all enjoyed every other Tues. There are also plans to do "Trashy Trailer Park" nights and Mary Alice just laughed when I said, "what does that mean?" These will be geared mostly to those of us who live here year round and work in the service industry, but are of course open to the public! Again I suggest you call upon arrival to see if any of these nights happen while you are here. The number for the Oasis is 741-0655.
One last thing and I have no more information than the dates but the Annual Cultural Festival at the Fort will be held April 27th through 29th. In the past this event was usually held in the evening with music, art exhibits and crafts. Look for posters while here or stop at the Tourism office in town to see if they have more information about it. On island time things get planned and publicized at the last minute!
Thanks everyone for bearing with me through all this but there is just so much happening that I wanted to share with you. Again thank you too for telling me that you have been reading and chose Vieques because of
www.enchanted-isle.com . We are so happy that you are enjoying the site and that you are visiting our island. Hope to meet more of you soon!
NEXT MONTH we are going to divert from the usual forum and ask that you participate in a survey and questionnaire about what you liked or disliked about Vieques, your experiences and how we might make your online experiences better. Please visit us and let us know what your thoughts are
NEXT MONTH!
Judy
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If you have read some of the past letters by Peggy you will be familiar with the "must do" things here. If you have not read them I suggest that you take a few minutes to browse through them to become better acquainted with life here on the island. She has filled her columns with lots of "things you need to know" and I don't want to pass on the same information month after month! <click here for the archives>
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