October 2003

Hi everyone,

September was a quiet month, it usually is each year which is why so many restaurants take vacation or close and spruce up for the coming season. There were some travelers here and they enjoyed the quiet laid back atmosphere the island offers. Beaches are virtually empty, there are plenty of rental cars available this time of year and you can always find a place to eat. 

Big news in September was the big drug bust. A police pilot from the main island was circling around Vieques and spotted a small boat underwater out on one of the remote beaches near Red Beach. He called to the Vieques Police Department and 7 officers went to investigate. Once there they found several garbage bags and another fabric bag filled with cocaine. Estimated value of the drugs found was between $10-23 million. Police received an anonymous tip from someone in Esperanza saying there was a stranger hanging around the malecon asking for change. Police arrived in Esperanza where they questioned the man from the Dominican Republic and later arrested him. US Customs in San Juan is now handling the case.

Vieques youths were involved in making a local film that will debut on October 2nd. The film was part of a community communications project sponsored by a TV chanel from the main island. The movie “El Quinceniero” deals with the traditional 15th birthday party. All of the movie was written, produced and filmed in Vieques, mostly by teenagers. Everyone is very excited about this project especially the professionals from the main island that worked with the group. The man who taught them about filming said that this is an exceptional piece of work given that there was no prior experience from the group and that they had next to no budget to produce the 25 minute film. Chanel 6 owns the film and it will appear on TV!

One of the highlights of October will be the Sports and Cultural Festival that will take place beginning October 17th. Many recording artists will be appearing and the music will include salsa, meringue, plena, rap, Caribbean and folk music. Since the municipality cancelled the Patronales Festival this summer everyone is looking forward to this event to party to great music in the Plaza. There will be some sporting activities also included like basketball, skateboarding, walks and bike rides and even a horse show. Watch for posters announcing the schedule of activities.

There are many changes going on with Chef Michael’s. The gourmet grocery is temporarily located in the former gift shop area at the former Water’s Edge hotel in Bravos. The current grocery is small but still has almost everything that the original store offered. The plans for the new location are amazing and there is a lot of construction going on at the former Oasis restaurant getting ready for the new Chef Michael which will hopefully be open by Thanksgiving. Although I know some of the plans I don’t want to say to much just yet but I can tell you this will be a great place to shop and enjoy a great sandwich, some great cheeses and open a bottle of wine and enjoy the view to Puerto Rico. In addition to the renovations at the former restaurant, the hotel is also undergoing extensive reservations under the direction of owners and the new managers and partners, Mark and Christian. Mark and Christian came down over a year ago to manage Hix Island House and then this new opportunity arose to make some major changes at the Water’s Edge. They jumped on board with Michael and are bringing some great changes to the place that will make it a very desirable place to stay close to town. After all it is one of the few places located on the water. More news of all the renovations next month along with the new name!! Hopefully they are looking at being open before the holidays so you can call for room availability. For both Chef Michael’s and the guest house call 741-1128. Also there will be a wine tasting offered by Chef Michael on October 12th, reservations are needed and these are fun events. I believe this one will be held at John and Judy’s home located up in the hills of Villa Borinquen. Their property offers amazing views of Puerto Rico, Culebra and St. Thomas!

Jim, our webmaster, treated me to a great dinner at Posada Vista Mar last weekend. He reminded me that this is the 40th “What’s Happenin” that I have written. So we celebrated and I ate pasta which I have avoided since starting the Atkins Diet! We had a great time at dinner and the restaurant was jamming with many of the locals that live here year round. I think there were only 2 people that I did not know. Diane ended up turning people away because they were running out of food at 8:00. This is why I always stress to make reservations for any of the restaurants that you want to visit. Most are small and can only accommodate about 30 people at a time. If they have reservations it means they will prep for enough people to include some walk-ins. None of the restaurants want to turn people away but they all have to when they run out of food. So I stress once again, when coming to Vieques, regardless of the time of year MAKE RESERVATIONS FOR DINNER!! 

Well October means Halloween and we all know that means party at the Mar Azul! With Halloween being on a Friday this year it should be a crazy party. There are plenty of decorations and of course the judging of the costumed patrons. Awards are given for Sexiest, Most Original, and I think it is Tackiest which could also be the scariest! Judging begins at 9pm so be there. Over the past 6 years I have seen some amazing costumes at this party and I am sure that this year will be no different. As far as I know this is the only costume party on the island and it is always well attended. 

Barefoot Joey is back and he is doing Karaoke again at Amapola on Friday nights. A few of us showed up this past weekend and then were surprised by newcomer Richard, he works with me at Island Steakhouse and I belittled him into coming out after work after hearing him sing along to the stereo at work. He made his debut and was not even nervous about it, and he told me he probably would not sing at all! He has a great voice and I think he and Laurel could have some fun with duets this winter when she and husband Barry (they own the equipment) return. I know they will be coming in this month for about 2 weeks so Richard and Laurel may be able to put something together spur of the moment! Then all of us had our socks knocked off by Monique who should be singing professionally. I don’t know if she is from Vieques but she has family here. It was her first time at karaoke and she was amazing, she only did Latin music and mostly Shakira but she kept getting the mike because she sang so beautifully! Hopefully she will make another weekend trip to Vieques in the future.

For anyone visiting Vieques the weekend of the 12th that are avid swimmers you might like signing up for the Cruce a Nado, a 2000 meter swim around the cay off the Esperanza beach. There are several age categories and last year an 81 year old women finished the swim! Registration starts at 8am and the competition begins at about 11am. This event was very well organized last year with boats following swimmers around the cay and staying in radio contact with the organizers onshore. 

Well I think that about covers the events happening here in Vieques. Remember that if you are planning a trip down this winter make your reservations early for rooms and cars. We are expecting a very busy winter and there is a shortage of cars. Also on another note and we don’t know if this will continue, there has been a gas shortage on the island the past few weeks. People were actually waiting in line for hours for gas. When you get your rental car fill up immediately. There are only 3 gas stations on the island and it seems like the demand for gas has gone up with the increase of people and vehicles on the island. Hopefully this problem will be resolved however any holiday weekend there is the risk of running out of gas and also running out of cash at the ATM machine at Banco Popular. We only have 1 ATM machine although now Banana’s is offering ATM services but only during office hours.

Here is the calendar for October, come on down and have some fun with us soon! Thanks for reading and for more information be sure to download Vieques Events (pdf file) on www.viequesevents.net.

Thanks for reading and hope to see you soon.

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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 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 

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