This is the lady that writes this column every month and to whom I am extremely indebted. 
Please stop in at Tuesday Happy Hour at the Crow's Nest to say ¡Hi! and have some free snacks. the webmaster
 

Greetings from Paradise,

We finally have been having some rain so the island is nice and green again. We had so little rain during the winter months that water was being rationed from the main island. Hopefully no more brush fires around the island for awhile and no more water rationing. We do have a problem when the main island gets too much rain, something to do with filters so they do interrupt service to us for that. Hopefully we are back to normal now and everyone will have water!

The island has remained busy, still lots of visitors arriving for vacations. The weather the last few days has been delightful although it is starting to get hot. The sky has been clear and the views to the main island spectacular. Normally the island slows down a bit after Easter but that does not seem to be the case this year. I understand that the car rentals and guest houses continue to get calls for the coming months. July is usually very busy with visitors from the main island and many property owners that return for a few weeks.

Restaurants this time of year change their schedules and close for some shifts so you want to make sure that you call ahead to see who is open and when. Rumor has it that Duffy will be closing Chez Shack the middle of this month but that could always change so……… Jim and Diana Starke invited me to dinner at Chez Shack while here and the food was wonderful, Drew is doing a great job so make sure you get there before he closes it. Even with Blue Macaw and Bayaonda closed there are still lots of choices for eating. Uvas continues to be very popular especially for Sushi Night. Island Steakhouse and MBar for great steak dinners. Trade Winds is a favorite with good food at reasonable prices. Bili has upscale “local” food and continues to be very popular. Café Media Luna has the most diverse menu and is outstanding. Banana’s and La Sirena for a more casual atmosphere and also great for lunch. The Wyndham is offering some special dinner nights, they are doing Prime Rib on Saturdays so I may have to tear myself away from Sushi and check it out! Tropical Baby is doing dinners on Tuesday and Saturday nights, her food is fabulous and I need to get there for dinner, too. As far as good local food be sure to check out Richard’s Café, The Patio, Shaunna's, Taverna Espanola, Mucho Gusto and Tito Bloques (if they are open). Be brave and try the kiosks that are set up on the weekends, the food is really good!

The water has really warmed up, many of us that live here find it too cold in the winter months! I recently was invited out on a friend’s boat to go exploring. About 7 of us went out and we followed the southern shore well past blue beach and went snorkeling on one of the reefs, not sure which reef it was. I hate to admit that it has been many years since I went snorkeling, I forgot just how gorgeous it is underwater. This was a very healthy reef, lots of fish and great coral and sea fans. Brian (owns the boat) and I stayed out longer than anyone else and he pointed out a nurse shark that was resting, my first experience seeing a shark! Brian swam down to it to get a closer look at which point the shark swam off. Brian stayed out the longest, in search of lobsters to pick up for dinner but unfortunately came back with none. We hung out on the boat for a few hours and just enjoyed the water and the glorious day and had fun. I have to remind myself to go to the beach more often and to definitely take my snorkel gear. Make sure that if visiting you rent gear and go snorkeling, it is truly incredible and there is great snorkeling that you can do around the island from shore.

Hey don’t forget if you are here for Mother’s Day, be sure to stop by the Mar Azul on the 9th for the annual Spam Cookoff. This is always a blast and a much anticipated event on the island. The party begins around 7pm as people start to bring in their entries. Entries can fall into 4 categories, appys, entrées, deserts and also sculptures. Not sure who our guest judges are going to be this year but I am sure they are all looking forward to it.

Just learned that Chef Michael will be closing FoodSpace on the 8th of May. I have not spoken directly to him but I understand it has something to do with obtaining permits, etc. Opening a business here is always a headache from the paperwork standpoint, you think you have everything you need and then they find something else that you need. Michael battled with the first location in Esperanza and now it appears to be happening again. He sent out a massive email to customers so I am guessing that he has thought this out and is definitely closing the store. Such a shame as it was an amazing place to have lunch and to pick up great food items and wine. I have no idea what his future plans are but will keep you posted.

Construction continues downtown in Isabel and the dust is awful. The recent rain helped to keep dust down but today is a bad day again. The municipality has watered down some of the roads but just those really close to the mayor’s office. Everyone is complaining of respiratory problems and having to clean a/c filters weekly instead of monthly. I developed asthma right around the time all of this roadwork began and when it is dry it certainly affects me, just not fun. Nobody seems to know how long it will be until they can get all the utilities fixed and put underground and then pave the roads. In my opinion it will not be soon enough, I am so tired of coughing and of dust. We joke at the Mar Azul that we are just sitting around collecting dust but it true, just look at the tables a few hours after we clean them!

Oh the new high speed ferry service from Old San Juan to Culebra and Vieques has already stopped for the season. I heard rumors that they may try again next winter, in time for tourist season. They really did not get this started early enough in the season. It seemed like a nice alternative to getting to San Juan although I did not get to try it before it stopped. Oh well just have to wait and see what happens next year.

Well that is about all I can think of this month. It was great to see webmaster Jim Starke here with his wife Diana. I met them at El Sombrero Viejo for a drink when they got to town. It seemed like the perfect spot as all the patrons sitting there at the time were long time residents of the island who all know the Starkes well! Jim returns next month to work on updating site information. I look forward to spending some more time with him.

Oh and Val just informed me that the Mar Azul will be closing Tuesdays for the next few months. They do this each year as business slows down a bit.

Hope to see you soon. Come and enjoy Vieques at this time of year, still gorgeous but just a bit quieter.
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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