This is the lady that writes this column every month and to whom I am extremely indebted. 
Please stop in at Tuesday Happy Hour at the Crow's Nest to say ¡Hi! and have some free snacks. the webmaster
 

November 2003

Hi everyone,

I can hardly believe that it is already November, where does the time go? October was pretty busy on the island for this time of the year. Most of the restaurants are either open or open this week with the exception of Chez Shack which opens later in the month, but with Duffy who knows!

Last night was Halloween and what better way to end the month than at the Mar Azul. Lots of people were there, the place was packed and more than half were in costume. I don’t do crowds well anymore so did not stay long but was in attendance for the winners. Jennifer (Beading Bikini and Yoga) won sexiest costume for her island girl attire. Andrew (works at Bayaonda) won most original for “the Nerd” and Owen (Casa De Amistad) was the Bee with the big stinger and he won for tackiest. The costumes were funny, gruesome and colorful, everything was covered. It was a shock to see Owen with a big, black wig on, as he keeps his head shaved I had no idea who it was with the wig and the makeup on! Many of the girls looked great but none of the transvestites of years past were in attendance to vie for Sexiest Costume! Abby, she used to be at the Humane Society and at Blue Macaw, paid me a huge compliment and said that I looked like a supermodel last night, maybe if I had put “retired supermodel” on my shirt I could have been a candidate for Sexiest! Just kidding. About the most I do for Halloween is put makeup on which I almost never wear anymore! Abby had not seen me in some time so she really noticed how the Atkins diet has changed my appearance and many others in the past year!

The Cultural and Sports Festival held in the middle of October was well attended. I don’t think that it was as big an event as Patronales usually is but lots of people came out for it. Parking in town at night was a nightmare but oh well, we deal with it. There were several recording artists that performed and the Skateboarding Event was really fun to watch, lots of spills but exciting. Of course the laws change for these events so there was music and drinking until 4am. They have moved the stage area for events in the plaza and now the speakers face my house so I could hear all the music all night long! 

There are a few changes on the island with new businesses opening or moving so here is the scoop on those that might be of interest to visitors. Coconuts has reopened with new management and the place looks great. Right now they are only doing breakfast and lunch but there is talk of dinner in the coming weeks. Prices are good and so is the food. They are experiencing all the pains of a new business and are working out the kinks. I imagine that this will become very popular as it is only 2 blocks off the main street so it's an easy stop for any meal. Playa Voltios Surf and Skate Shop has moved downtown which should allow him to reach more customers. It is located across the street from Scoops. Juan carries Reef Sandals which are very popular with many of us here so now we don’t have to go to the big island to get them. He has some clothing, jewelry and gift things in the shop as well. Tropico has added more space to the restaurant to include Morgan’s Sports Bar, complete with TVs, 2 pool tables and some gaming machines. This is a great spot, very comfortable and relaxed and with the game room should make it even more popular. Colmado Mambo is renovating and will almost double their selling space in the next few weeks. The mini grocery is located in Destino and is a popular spot not only for shopping for also for ice cold beers! Fridays are always busy there, lots of people on the front porch area enjoying their beverages and having a good time. The owners, Nidine and Ivan, are great people and very hard workers. Blue Macaw has added a lot of new equipment to their kitchen making it the best equipped space on the island. With the anticipation of a really busy season coming up they decided to make kitchen duty as easy and convenient as possible, they have the first commercial dishwasher on the island except for Martineau Bay of course. Also new are the silver chairs in the bar and dining room area. The chairs are really comfortable and with the place set for dinner, should look amazing at night. Val told me that they will not reopen the kitchen at the Mar Azul, instead they will turn that space into a gift shop and will sell lots of Mar Azul souvenirs. Not just T-shirts and Koozies anymore, there will be shot glasses, shorts, and lots of other items available. She is not sure when they will get it open but it should be done in time for Christmas. If you are coming to Vieques with children and are in need of a babysitter call Hope Curry, she is offering Babysitting in Paradise, day or evening hours. She can be reached at Banana’s where she is often helping her parents with the restaurant and guest house. I imagine that her services will be in demand so you may want to contact her prior to arrival to arrange for some time off from children. Chef Michaels will be closed until their new space is open for business, the date is still uncertain but hoping for Thanksgiving. Michael has his hands full watching over the construction at ¡Bravo! (former Water’s Edge Hotel) and Chef Michael’s FoodSpace (former Oasis Restaurant). When all is finished these two places should be amazing! In the guesthouse, they have knocked out the back wall of each room and the new wall will be glass, looking right out on the ocean. The rooms will be bright and cheerful and some of the plans sound pretty neat, more to come later. FoodSpace will offer more than the previous location in Esperanza because of the additional space. There will be an area where you can enjoy a sandwich or some wine and cheese, one inside in the air-conditioning and the other poolside, both overlooking the ocean with views to the main island. We are all looking forward to the reopening of both locations. Michael will be taking food orders prior to Thanksgiving so if there is something that you need or want, he will get it for you, but call early as he does go shopping on the big island on Wednesdays, usually. New number for Chef Michael’s and ¡Bravo! is 741-1128. I think orders need to be in by Sundays for delivery on Wednesdays but call him for more information.

Rumor has it that American Eagle and Cape Air may start to fly to Vieques from the San Juan International Airport as soon as December 15th. There is a lot of controversy over this as these 2 airlines were looking to be subsidized for empty seats on the plane. Existing airlines already servicing Vieques did not think that was fair unless they too would get some financial assistance for open seats. So just like everything else we shall see if it really happens when they say it will. If it does it certainly will make flying to and from Vieques easier, with American you would be able to check your bags through to final destination. Well, we still need the xray/security equipment to arrive and be installed before any of that happens.

I know that this is my pet peeve but working in a restaurant and dining out, it still amazes me that people don’t make reservations for dinner. Please keep in mind that all the restaurants are small and can only accommodate a limited number of diners. If you want good service and good food and only want to make one trip to one restaurant call ahead and make a reservation. I know that I hate being told that all the tables are reserved when I go out to dinner and then have to drive around looking for an alternative. Keep in mind also that most kitchens close at 10pm, if you are not seated by 9:30 you may not get dinner. If a restaurant advertises that they are open until 10 but at 9pm they are quiet, they close the kitchen unless they have reservations. So please, pick up the phone or ask the guest house where you are staying to make reservations for you, then everyone will have a much better dining experience.

I understand that almost all the rental cars are already reserved for Christmas week. If you are planning a trip to Vieques you really want to have a car for part or all of your visit depending on where you are staying. Many people make the mistake of thinking that they will get a car when they get here, more often than not there are no cars available last minute unless it is a really quiet week. If you are coming down between November and April, reserve your car now. With all the travel articles that have been written about us lately, the guest houses are saying that they have many more bookings for the winter to date than in past years. Keep in mind too that not many Publico drivers are available at night and those that are available are kept pretty busy. 

Jim, the webmaster, has returned to Florida and won’t get back down for a few months, he is trusting me with his truck! The day before he left I got a crash (not literally!) course in driving standard shift. We had fun and I did okay. Jim your truck is safely parked in town and I will be taking it out tomorrow with Jeff as I still want some emotional support for driving around in traffic! It did come in real handy for picking up the newspapers at the airport though! I might just like having a truck to cruise around in! 

Well I think that is most of the important news that you might be interested in, check out Vieques Events for more community news. The calendar follows, we hope you enjoy your visit to Vieques. Remember just about anything you need to know is available somewhere on enchanted-isle.com. One thing Jim and I both ask, we share duties on “Ask Judy”, is please don’t use us for finding relatives and missing people. We have had several requests for this and unfortunately we are not able to do it, it involves a lot of time and in some cases is an intrusion on peoples privacy. We are sorry that we can not help you with that but we are a tourism based site and service. 

Thanks for understanding.

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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