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September 2004

Hi everyone,

Wow! what a crazy month we have had! I am writing this during the non-event of Hurricane Frances. Okay well it was an event as many people are stranded in Vieques, no ferry service and only a few planes ventured out in the early morning. We expected some tropical storm winds but so far we have experienced very little wind at all. The storm (eye) is probably directly north of us while I sit here and type away, wondering “why have they turned off the electricity to the island?” Nice that notebooks have batteries so I can still accomplish a bit of work, as there is not much else to do. Had planned on watching some of the surfers however they did not get much in the way of waves and are all disappointed today as well. Well there are still 2 more hours of daylight left so perhaps something might change. I just heard that August was the most active hurricane month ever, never have so many storms been named in the month before. Hope that means that September is a quiet month. As it historically is the month that we experience the most storms, people that are traveling need to keep track of the weather in the tropics. There are plenty of sights where you can find information about tropical storms and hurricanes, also check out the weather channel regularly for information. By the way, anytime you are here and there is a threatening storm in area, fill you gas tank! The island ran out of gas yesterday and when the cargo ferry (and passenger for that matter) runs again depends on the weather.

Update on the electricity, it is now the day after the storm and we are still out of power! Some poles are down, I think due to lightning and they were waiting on a helicopter to fix something. I am actually sitting at the Mar Azul, powering up on their generator and of course taking advantage of drinking cold beverages. Al just returned from the doctor and he heard that the power should be back on in a few hours, we shall see. In the meantime all the restaurants are closed and most of the bars as well. I am still surprised that more businesses do not have generators but then we were all counting on the new emergency power plant to be in full operation by now. The plant was to be tested a few weeks ago but was cancelled, not sure why. Oh and of course we have no gas on the island, I thought a gas truck would have been on the first ferry but no such luck, ah life in paradise.

Ferry service was suspended for a few days when members of the Port’s Authority went on strike. We had no passenger ferry nor cargo ferry service for 3 days (or was it 4?). All the gas stations ran out of gas, stores were running low on merchandise and moral on the island was low. The Governor ordered some ferry service, I believe it was through the National Guard, and they did bring over some supplies. As you can imagine though, the first tanker of gas was used for emergency vehicles, police vehicles and Municipal vehicles. People sat in line for over 5 hours waiting to put a few gallons of gas in their cars. And many sat for nothing as only one truck came over the second and third day. It was a fiasco. Chef Michael, always thinking about business first, hired 2 fishing boats in Fajardo to bring all his merchandise to Vieques while the strike was going on. The boats landed on Green Beach where some of his friends were waiting to unload and reload the merchandise into their vehicles and get it to FoodSpace for him. That was the most dramatic experience that I had heard of. I understand that some of the fishermen were selling 5 gallon gas cans for $25! I guess they used their boats to get across and bring back gas for people that could not wait inline! In more information concerning transportation there is a committee that will work on planning a strike for better service. They may be asking everyone to boycott ferry service for at least a day and also ask businesses to close, not sure when this will happen though. Also we are hearing various stories about the Coast Guard shutting boats down that are not being properly maintained or not doing the fix-it list on time. This is the main reason why people should never rent a car on the main island and trust the ferry service to get it to and from Vieques. We need all the spots on the ferry for local businesses to get their goods.

Hey we had a real celebrity on the island last month, Uma Thurman was here! She did happen to walk into the Mar Azul however they were looking for food so…… I sent them across the street to Café Mamasonga where they had lunch. I did see them get in a car with one of the realtors on the island but have not heard anything as to whether they were seriously looking. It was fun to have such a major star in the bar!

For those of you who have homes in the Bravos de Boston section of the island, the “property title office” is now open and accepting applications. Now supposedly this office is dealing with a Santa Maria, Villa Borinquen and a few properties in Monte Santo. The office is located in the Eugenio Ma. De Hostos building on the Plaza. They will give you a list of thing you need for the application.

The Vieques Businessman’s Association recently elected a new board of directors and for the first time there are several North American business people on the island. In the past there have been one or two but this time there are 4 out of 9 voting members on the board. This is rather exciting as it means that the business people really do want to work together with each other to improve conditions for all businesses, residents and visitors to the island. All sections of the island are well represented with this new board.

Well as it is the most active hurricane month several businesses are closed for part or all of September. There are still rumors about other businesses so…… Definitely closed for September is the Blue Macaw and Bayaonda. Trade Winds will be closed for a few weeks, from the 8th until October 7th. I heard rumors that Bananas may close for a few weeks while they do some renovations but have not spoken directly to them about this. Francois at La Sirena said that they will be changing their schedule some this month as well. Mbar will be closed from about the middle of the month until the end of the month, I will really miss their salad with venison and the tuna carpaccio! Chef Michael has said that he may close for a week but did not have a definite date yet, after the frustrations of the ferry service I can see why he may want a break!! Duffy of Chez Shack on the other hand will be open!!! And he will be doing the cooking, the only chef on the island with 50 years of experience! He will only serve a limited number of dinners and it will be light food but should be fun. He has built a new bar area and a new cooking area for himself. For fine dining it looks like Café Media Luna will be the choice of discerning diners! Monica’s food is amazing so be sure to check it out this month! To the best of my knowledge Island Steakhouse (at Crow’s Nest) and Bili (at Amapola) will still be serving dinner most of the month and both are excellent choices for dinner. I also am guessing that Paso Fino Restaurant at Martineau Bay will be open all month and I understand they have a new chef too. Most of the local restaurants (Puerto Rican owned) will stay open with the exception of Rosa at Taverna Espanola, she usually closes for a few weeks this time of year.

Okay so you all know to keep your eyes on the weather channel, keep your fingers crossed that any new storms all go north! Pray that our ferry service improves for all of us! Eat well while in Vieques, there is still plenty of good food available. Come visit me at the Mar Azul on Thursday or Friday afternoons, it gets pretty quiet this time of year! The calendar follows, it is a bit light but you never know what else will pop up.

 

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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