by Pia Saunders

Hi everyone,

July tastes like heaven and Vieques is full!

It’s time to be making bili, savoring traditional viequense arepas (fried island bread), and spending the day at the beach. Just as the big event of the year, the 3rd Taste of the Islands, comes to a close, the Festival Viequense and the Coqui Fire Hot Sauce Anniversary Party and Cook-off are on the horizon. And….July 3rd is the opening of the Blue Macaw.

What we in Vieques refer to as ‘Fiesta Patronales’ is actually ‘Festival Viequense’ this year. The three-day party will take place on Sun Bay July 13th, 14th and 15th. There will be music, traditional food, and the community gathered to celebrate our community and our island. On Saturday the 14th, a procession will leave from the malecón in Esperanza at 6pm.

Monday the 16th will not disappoint as it is the “Cinco de Coqui Fire” party and cook-off at the Enchanted Garden Inn. This event, which is as anticipated as the SPAM cook-off at Al’s each year, starts with happy hour at 5pm and complimentary hors d’eurves. There are prizes for the best appetizer and best entrée: the only requirement is to include one of the eight Coqui Fire Sauces in the dish. (We hot sauce lovers anxiously await this event for the unveiling of Jim and Patty’s 9th hot sauce, which reportedly has a Sweat Factor of 8!!!)

The 3rd annual Taste of the Islands, a fundraiser to benefit the Reach for Success youth group and the Vieques Conservation and Historic Trust, was held at Martineau Bay Resort and was an enormous success. Chefs from all over the Caribbean participated, including one of Puerto Rico’s top chefs and owner of Chayote and Lemongrass in San Juan, Mario Pagán. In addition to the hordes of residents in attendance, people traveled from all over Puerto Rico, New York and Los Angeles to be in Vieques this past weekend. From the opening of Kama night club to the main event’s after party at Villa 7—where the youth from Reach for Success dipped in the pool—a good time was had by all. Several Vieques residents weren’t able to buy tickets the day of, as they had sold out several days before.

The Blue Macaw offered only one tasting at Taste, and tasty it was! Nick Ocando, who cooked at the Blue Macaw when it was located in the Inn on the Blue Horizon and is in the kitchen at the new Blue Macaw in Isabel II, prepared and served Chocolate Cup “Pudding”—a mini-scoop of Swedish cream topped with a blueberry sits inside a chocolate shell. Nick seemed to understand why I couldn’t have just one, passing on Honor’s explanation that “if pudding were to be made in heaven, this is what it would taste like.” Opening night for the restaurant is July 3rd and dinner reservations are full.

The Gallera had its last hurrah June 22nd with the end of the 2007 cockfight season. Unless you happen upon an impromptu battle on a street corner or casual ‘training session’ in a backyard, cockfight aficionados will have to wait until after Three Kings Day 2008 for the next rooster match.

We love to keep busy but also to soak up our environs. Last week I dreamt that while running errands on main street, I bumped into Chipper—the former owner of Nan-Sea charters, your local go-to Scuba dive outfit—and went for a dive. The next morning I called Dave Evans—who is now in charge of Nan-Sea, and who was my SCUBA instructor—to arrange a trip! Our two-dive trip to Twilight and Padi, both sites off the south coast of Esperanza, was refreshing and restorative—very little compares to spending quiet time underwater first thing in the morning. As an added bonus, dive and snorkel trips are half-price for year-round residents of Vieques throughout the month of July!

The MANTA summer camp at the Trust ended last week and the campers and organizers at the VCHT are preparing for post-camp activities. In July and August, MANTA participants will do community projects that draw attention to ecological conservation while beautifying the island. Activities planned include will be painting the telephone posts and a mural at the Vieques Humane Society.

Speaking of the VHS, they are now on Pet Finder, “an online searchable database of animals that need homes” (http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/viequeshs.html). You can check out the feature pet and news of our local humane society, even if you aren’t waiting your turn to see the vet!

Summer is a special time in Vieques because we see so many main-islanders taking a long weekend, or better yet, spending weeks at a time with us. The hotels and guesthouses are packed this July, so be sure to reserve your car, your dinner table, and your eco-tour in advance! A special hello to the Vieques citizens from Humacao, who have been making the crossing to Vieques for years and years. We in Vieques look forward to seeing a lot of you, and all of our guests, this summer!

Thanks for reading!
 
Pia

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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