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Day at the Beach
by
Bruce McIntyre
One of the best kept secrets in Vieques is
Bastiamento Beach, a long stretch of northside
coastline meandering east off Route 100. It is one of the best walking
beaches in Vieques because of its length, incredible vistas to the big
island, Culebra and St. Thomas and surprises that can occur there. A
great place to beach comb, fish, ride the surf and snorkel.
It also a great place to park yourself under
a palm tree and read a book.
A few months ago my wife Annie and I were
engrossed in reading novels, me in the beach chair that I brought down
from our casita, and my wife stretched out on her towel, propped on her
elbows with her toes touching the water. We were relaxing from our walk
and sea glass collecting. Bastiamento Beach has always been a favorite.
Its just down the hill from our home, almost always deserted and has
plenty of shade when I need it. Because of my past sins in Arizona,
Mexico and later in Colorado, I need to wear a straw hat with a generous
brim. I have plenty of them. One for working in the garden, others for
boating, a few for the beach and even a dressier one when we're enjoying
the company of friends at social gatherings. They range from tasteless
to tasty....
As we were lost in our novels, we both had
the unspoken awareness of the beauty of our surroundings, the warm
breeze soothing stressed nerves and the sound of the waves lapping over
the barrier reef about 30 yards in front of us. "Laughing Gulls' vied
for position on the coral. Pelicans cruised the coast looking for lunch
in the distance.
I had been having trouble keeping this straw
hat on my head this particular afternoon. An occasional gust of wind was
lifting the hat and sometimes succeeding in lifting it up over the back
of the chair. I secured the chin strap, a wholly unattractive but
necessary gizmo. The wind flipped up the brim in front and occasionally
the sides but the chin strapped was working.
Just as I was approaching
the most dramatic part of the novel my hat was moving on my head in
unusual ways. I heard some movement behind me. Someone sneaking up?
Carefully I raised my head and turned slowly, as if nothing was the
matter. Four horses were taking turns leaning over and nibbling the top
of my hat. I was surrounded. Trapped! I didn't want to startle them
because my wife was lying on the beach in front of me. The danger was
obvious. Before I could get her attention, one of the horses walked up
to her and started nibbling at her hair.
"Bruce, quit it," was her response. She
waived off the intrusion and the horse responded with a whinny. She
looked up at me and mouthed, "Oh my god...."
She caught attention of the gang of three
behind me and the three of them walked towards her.
She was frozen in apprehension. Her new best
friend turned slowly and led the three others into the water where they
had a splash party and rolled over on their backs in the sand and again
in the water. Feeling refreshed, the four sashayed down the beach
looking for lunch and a drink.
It was a Vieques moment. Another reason why
Vieques is like no other place. And another reason to be grateful for
every moment we get to share this experience.
