by Janie Chadwick
by Janie Chadwick
May |
|
2008 |
Hi everyone,
May is t’aint season here in Vieques. It t’aint spring and it t’aint
summer. The days get noticeably longer, the south side winds become
steady, and the sun creeps around so that you go to the Mar Azul in town
instead of the Malecon in Esperanza for sunset happy hour. The flurry of
tourists on spring vacations has slowed, giving the island even more of a laid
back feel. It is also the perfect time to visit, since the guesthouses and
restaurants are still in full swing, but staff has more time to help you enjoy
your vacation.
It is also a time when the locals get to reflecting on the past winter season,
the past few years and the past several years, and the changes that those years
have brought. (You can even go back two generations and people will tell you
about the movie theater and bowling alley that used to be on the island, but
that’s fodder for another column.)
As little as fifteen years ago, it could take nine months to a year to have a
telephone installed. The trick was to check in daily with the telephone office
in town, (it’s no longer there) and to try to find the telephone truck and see
if the workman had your order. If he did you were oh, so lucky, although it
certainly did not mean that you would get your phone that day or the next day.
It just meant that you would get one, eventually. The public phones along the
Malecon and in town were vital for communication. Now we have every cell phone
tower imaginable and satellite internet. Television was no different. The
satellite companies were only on the island once in a blue moon. If your
television broke, it was a full day’s job to get another one on the main island.
Now you see satellite TV trucks almost daily and you can buy a TV right in town
at Muebles Nueva.
About the same time, it was a free for all every Wednesday at the supermarkets
to get your hands on some fresh vegetables. If you were one of the five lucky
people that managed to obtain a head of Romaine lettuce you had to hide it deep
in your shopping bag to avoid violently jealous reactions from those who were
not so fortunate. While Monday and Tuesday still can present some vegetable
issues, on the other days there are peppers of every color, snow peas, radishes,
cucumbers, summer squash, and on and on. There are not only the larger
(remember, we are on a small island) supermarkets, but also a vegetable stand,
the small colmados (corner groceries) carry produce, a hydroponic farm producing
local Romaine, and a health food store with organic vegetables among other
products. You can even find shitake mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes on a
regular basis.
Water and electricity, even a short time ago, were often times very erratic. In
fact, this past Christmas/New Year’s season was the first one in recent memory
that both the water and electricity did NOT go off. Both of these utilities come
from the main island. While this ensures that we have plenty of both, it also
means that sometimes problems in Puerto Rico cause us to lose water and power.
We now have large water storage tanks and huge diesel run generators that can
provide the entire island with electricity in case of an outage. Given that
nothing is perfect, most of the guesthouses and restaurants (and lots of the
private homes) have cisterns and generators to make life easier.
Even with all these changes, the fact that Vieques is located across seven miles
of water from the nearest sizable land mass does rear up sometimes and say
“gotcha”! Just yesterday there was no gasoline to be had. Both stations were
shut down and locked up tight. Why? Because the cargo ferry that brings the gas
trucks over was not running. A few weeks ago there was a patch of weather that
caused high winds and high seas, and guess what? The ferries had to stop
running, so things like food, gas, building supplies, bottled water, animal
food, and everything else just did not come. It really was only slightly
inconvenient. The restaurants had shortened menus, more people walked to work,
the airlines had to pay lots of overtime, but this is what gives Vieques its
charm. This is why many choose to live here or vacation here. If we have gas
or water or power every day, what would we talk about?
Sometimes, we talk about characters. Characters are those people who are
either true visionaries or a bit left of center. They are those that have made
an impact on the island and on its residents and visitors. Generally speaking,
these characters are also very, very funny.
Recently, a local radio station was advertising a drunken sailor’s race on
another island. The campaign was “what can you build with baling wire, duct
tape, a piece of plywood and a 2x4?” The answer here on Vieques is “Duffy can
build a restaurant”.
Hugh
Duffy, locally known as ‘the man who changed Esperanza’, has been building
and selling restaurants for close to fifty years. Remember the electricity
outages mentioned earlier? Well, it is possible that Duffy’s duct tape
electrical work may have contributed to some of those power failures. Anyway,
Duffy is a man who had done everything and been everywhere. He has had
restaurants in New York and Spain and he was a manager for the Mamas and the
Papas pop group. Duffy first landed in Puerto Rico during his time as a merchant
seaman. He opened two bars in San Juan. One of which he sold for $3000 and
within minutes, he tells, the termite ridden shelving collapsed. After that he
headed for Vieques. It was 1069.
His first venture here was Duffy’s Island House, located where Trade Winds
is now. The building had been a pool hall, with one pool table, and a grocery
store selling mostly cold beer. In true Duffy fashion, he remodeled the
restaurant area using some plywood and paint and opened for business. Since the
only way he knew how to cook, was a sort of French American style, he offered
things like local fish Florentine and Poulet Bordalaise for about $5. He rented
the guest rooms for $7 including breakfast.
Duffy moved on from there, down the Malecon to Bananas, which he opened in 1976.
His gimmick was great burgers and cold beer and open all the time. Many, if not
all of the waiters and bartenders that have made Vieques their home, have worked
at Bananas at one time or another. After selling Bananas, for “way too little
money”, Duffy moved out to La Hueca and built La Campesina. The place is a true
testament to the plywood and baling wire theme. The bar was nailed up using a
large boulder as a foundation and the dining area was constructed with a few old
pieces of tin roofing. He dusted off the fish and spinach (frozen in those days)
and chicken in red wine sauce dishes and opened the doors.
From La Campesina, Duffy returned to Esperanza with Gringo Viejo, aka Gringo
Loco. This was located where Mucho Gusto recently opened. Every Sunday,
in an effort to sell everyone too many margaritas, Duffy would give away Mexican
food. It worked, as do all Duffy’s ventures, and the place was packed.
In
1991, Duffy moved to the hills of Pilón and established Chez Shack, which
he still runs today. The place began as a small home, and each season a new
dining area or bar is built. The amount of construction is directly proportional
to how bored Duffy has become in the off season. From December thru April,
Monday night is Grill Night at Chez Shack. A variety of food is prepared
on the grill and Willie Colon and his steel band provide music for your
dancing pleasure. It is not a night for romantic dining, but one for foot
stomping and hand clapping. The other nights, Chez Shack offers fine
dining in a fun atmosphere. The menu is eclectic, with items like shrimp and
scallops and duck breast with duck egg rolls. There is also Duffy’s famous
(infamous) crab cake. He and his chef are currently working on expanding the
appetizer menu for lite dining. Call 787-741-2175 for reservations.
In February of 2007, Duffy again appeared on the Malecon. His son, Mikey,
opened Duffys Esperanza next door to Bananas. Duffy’s is a
bistro style restaurant with daily specials and killer Bloody Marys. So when you
get there and see the sign Duffy’s, established 1969, you know the whole
story……except for how old Duffy is. That answer is available only at Chez
Shack and only in conjunction with more than one margarita.
So, come on down and have some fun. T’aint season is perhaps the finest season
in Vieques.
Thanks for reading!
Janie
Open the May Calendar
Here
compliments of
Vieques Events
Ignore the fact it says April or Abril,, it's actually
the May Calendar, Honest!
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
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
