June 2002 

The Dishes

The Judges

As the summer approaches we see the blooms turning a magnificent shade of red/orange on the flamboyan trees, one of my favorites. You look over the terrain of Vieques and see their canopies dotting the hillsides and it is a wonderful sight. The beaches will start to attract more locals as the children are done with school and the water temperatures warm. The food kiosks near Sun Bay and in Esperanza will be bustling with locals and main island tourists sampling the "frituras". Summer is really here!

In May we said goodbye to La Campesina, one of our favorite restaurants in Vieques. Barry and Diane are still busy with Mangos.com, their delivery service. Many of us will take advantage of them doing the shopping and picking up supplies for us on the main island. May also was the month of the annual Spam Cookoff at the Mar Azul. Al and Val have hosted this event for 6 years and there are a few northerners that always travel down to participate. The fearless judges this year included Michael Glatz (Chef Michael's), Jason Humphries (Oasis/Island Café), Maria Gastineau, Nelson Hines and BobClapper. This was the first time for Chef Michael and Jason to participate in the judging of the vast selections of Spam creations! Handed out to all judges prior to the event were complimentary Alka Seltzer packets. Winners of the food categories were Appetizer: JP (Chef Michaels) for Grilled Mango and Spam Brochettes; Entrée: James (Inn on the Blue Horizon) for Kentucky Hunters Bounty Pie; and Dessert: Terry with her Spambleque! I was busy working the bar that night so did not have the opportunity to see or sample many of the items that were entered. Regardless if you like or dislike Spam this is always a popular party among those of us living here!

Congratulations to Hix Island House for winning an Environmental Quality Award given by the EPA. The Inn manages to use a lot of solar power to run appliances and equipment. They recycle grey water for nourishing the gardens and they collect rainwater as well in the cisterns so there is always water available to the guests. The Inn was designed by John Hix, an architect, with the idea of being as environmentally efficient as possible. They have made it one of the loveliest places to stay and enjoy Vieques.

As some of you might know Congress had designated $40 million for use in Vieques due to the Navy using the island. Of that money almost 2.5 million was used for the mini grant program, which was designed to provide investment capital to new and established businesses. 144 grants were approved with the minimum of $2500 to the maximum of $25,000 being given. Crystal View, the company hired to oversee the program reviewed more than 500 applications. About 50% of the grants went to the Tourism industry divided between lodging, entertainment, restaurants, and service enterprises directly related to tourism such as publicos (taxis), kiosks for selling ice cream, donuts and arepas. About 33% went to service based businesses such as construction, transportation and communications. Funds were targeted too for infrastructure needs such as plumbing, carpentry, electrical repairs, mechanical repairs, waste disposal and even mail delivery. Five grants were awarded in the area of healthcare. Businesses involved in personal services such as beauty, water delivery, food delivery, landscaping, etc. also received grants. There were many other areas that received help through the mini grant program as well. The program came to an end on May 3rd. For those that received grant money it was judged as being successful however for those that applied and did not qualify they may not feel the same way. Regardless it did put a lot of money into the island and allowing new business to open and improvements to existing businesses.

Some of the remaining money of the $40 million will now go to ferry service between Vieques and Naguabo. The jury is still out as to whether this is a good idea for all people. Many feel strongly that cargo ferry service should be moved out of town to mosquito pier and will have a successful trip to Naguabo as it will take less time on the boat and allow more time for picking up supplies. For passengers you must remember that most services used by Viequenses are in Fajardo, so even with a shorter ferry ride, from mosquito pier, the time will not change as they will still have to get to Fajardo. This could end of costing residents more money in the long run as the prices for publicos to Fajardo will inevitably cost more. As nothing happens very quickly in the islands these services could still be years away as they have to construct new building in both locations and upgrade the piers. For now it is business as usual between Vieques and Fajardo.

A new service available here this month is dry cleaning! Michele Rios will be opening a Laundromat later this summer and although she will not be doing dry cleaning here in Vieques she has made arrangements with a business on the main island. For now those in need of dry cleaning can drop off clothing at the Mar Azul on Wed. between 10:30 - 4:00, your clothes will be delivered to you Thurs. of the following week. This should make many people happy, as they will not have to cart things over and return a week later to pick things up on the main island. Michele, with a little help from some friends, has built a neat little cart that she can hang the clothes in and roll right onto the cargo ferry! Good luck Michele!

I almost forgot, we had an earthquake on May 11 that registered 4.2 on the Richter Scale. I had experienced an earthquake many years ago in Mexico City so I soon realized what all the noise and shaking meant. It still is a little frightening however glad to report that there was no damage done with this one. If any of you are curious about earthquake activity in the Caribbean check out http://rmsismo.uprm.edu  for more information.
Keep in mind that as we are now into our off season many restaurants have changed their schedules, it is best to call ahead to check and see if your favorites are open for lunch and dinner.

Now for the calendar, please remember these events can change without notice!

That about covers What's Happenin' here in Vieques! Summer is still a great time to enjoy the island and the beaches. It does not have to be a winter getaway, just come and enjoy the beauty and laid back pace that Vieques offers!
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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