July 4, 2002 

Hello all!

Sorry this is a few days late however have been busy with other things and time flies when you are having fun! In June we were visited by a "task force" from the main island. The extra police officers set up roadblocks around the island checking for traffic and vehicle violations, and another group were visiting businesses to make sure that all licenses were in place. This does not sound so bad except that these officers were all wearing bulletproof vests and carrying automatic weapons. It was a bit intimidating to say the least and it chased a few travelers away from Vieques. This is certainly not the norm here on the island, many business people were understandably upset and let others know their feeling of frustration. In response, the head of the police force in PR said that officers must be protected and also prepared for the worst, hence them wearing kevlar and brandishing weapons. Sounds a little odd, to the best of my knowledge there as never been a shoot out across the bar of any of the local establishments. Many people took it in stride as the police were just doing their job. However if you were one of the few that were stopped a dozen times for a burned out tail light you felt harassed. I luckily slipped through all the roadblocks so I can honestly say that this was not done to harass North Americans or tourists. On the other hand if you had treated yourself to a wonderful dinner at one of our many fine restaurants and were bombarded with officers guarding the exits and strolling through the establishments you would certainly feel like you were in a foreign country. This is the first time in 5 plus years that anything like this has happened although a former restaurant owner remembers something similar taking place about 7 or 8 years ago. I have been told that this is standard procedure on the main island however I doubt that it has happened at the Ritz Carlton in Isla Verde or the Conquistador Resort in Fajardo. I hope that PR's finest can come up with a better way to conduct this type of operation, and still do their job without intimidating locals and tourists alike. Well in the summer when we need something to talk about. This certainly provided us with something to discuss for weeks! By the way, most if not all the motor vehicle violations have been dismissed according to some people! That is good news for the woman who was ticketed for driving in sandals! That one really made me laugh! Oh well, it seems to be back to life as usual here in paradise once again.

Once again we experienced an earthquake, this was occurred on June 12th at about 9:00am and registered 4.6. We were rocking and rolling for about 3 seconds. That was the second really noticeable one in about a month's time. May 11th, June 12th, wonder what might happen on July 13th? All part of the joys of living in the Caribbean!

July is the month Vieques celebrates Patronales, the festival of the patron saint of Vieques. In truth, the real patron of Vieques is Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception (December 8) and not the Virgen del Carmen. The Virgen del Carmen is the patron of fisherman and these festivities on Vieques originated in 2 or 3 neighborhoods and then spread to the entire island in the 1950's. In all of Puerto Rico there are about 35 different patrons celebrated, festivities are held different dates throughout the year, with the exception that none are celebrated in April, and the festivals last for 3 to 10 days depending on the town!

There are a group of students that work with the Vieques Conservation and Historical Trust known as the "Volunteers of Nature". I had the pleasure of meeting some of these youths recently when they became interested in preserving our giant ceiba tree located out on the western lands. The ceiba tree here is guessed to be about 400 years old and is a popular site for tourists, wedding pictures and even class pictures. It is a majestic old tree with an amazing root system and a huge canopy. In ancient cultures the tree was considered the link from the earthly world to the heavenly world, for this reason it was usually spared when forests were cut. Also the tree was spared to provide a shady resting spot for travelers from one village to the next. The huge trunks were also used to build enormous dugout canoes that provided transportation from one village to another along the waterways in rainforest communities. The kapok that is the fluff surrounding the seeds was also used in life preservers for many years as it is so buoyant. Also the kapok was used in automobile upholstery until the middle of the century when manmade materials became more popular. In addition to the interest in the ceiba tree the volunteers have also cleaned up litter along the "cross island highway" and left a sign to remind people to keep the area clean, a clean Vieques is a better Vieques. They left a similar sign at the ceiba tree and also worked on a letter to the Mayor with suggestions for maintaining the land around the tree and promoting it as a tourist site. I believe they have also worked with the Trust and the municipal recycling office in cleaning up other areas around the island. These youth and their families are to be commended for the wonderful work they are doing in preserving the beauty of the island and education others about conservation issues. 

Even though we are officially into our "off season" you would not know it by the calendar of events. There are still many fun activities taking place and the island is gorgeous this time of year. We have had many tourists returning from the main island this year so the island does not seem empty! On with the calendar!

That ends this month's edition of What's Happenin' on the enchanting island of Vieques. Come on down and be seduced by the beauty of the island and the Caribbean in general. You will soon understand why so many visit us time after time. There is something that just makes you want to come back and be a part of Isla Nena. 
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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