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Vieques Hooked, line and sinker!
OK I admit it, my wife and I are hooked on Vieques. After
several visits, we formally pledged our loyalty to the island. Consider, for
a moment, how we actually made it to the island, in the first place. Living
in San Francisco and commuting to the east coast for 18 months for work
landed us multiple travel rewards on JetBlue airlines. We began by
determining what the furthest destination was from San Francisco that
JetBlue served. Puerto Rico was it! Neither of us having been to the
Caribbean immediately grasped the notion of investigating San Juan and other
cities in Puerto Rico. While immersed in researching Puerto Rico, I stumbled
into a Vieques reference in a lonely planet guidebook. Nothing remarkable, I
recall, the entry just perfect beaches on Isla Nena did the trick. All
aboard and all out went our efforts to book travel, wiki every Vieques
reference, even have impromptu conversation with a delightful local
concierge at Martineau Bay and Steveowner of a Vieques car rental business.
They both were instrumental in bringing me up to speed(pardon the pun) on
their slow-paced, tranquil, and fragrant island in paradise. Since then,
emails and phone calls are part of my weekly routine with those we met on
the island during our visits. Jim being one!
Although, we had yet to visit, our images, expectations and dreams were
forming. The countdown began to gather pace and before we knew it, the
6-month wait was over. Yes, it was actually going to happen. Mind you, my
wife and I are in our 40s and have traveled a fair amount. Something
mysterious was capturing our attention!
All systems go, our flight landed in San Juan on time. Our lungs quickly
embraced the weight of the humidity, a welcome departure from the crisp
California air. Hustling in a Taxi skirting Old San Juan, we barely had time
to note the beautiful and colorful historic buildings and streaks of the
blue magnetic water peaking through. It reminded me of the time my wife and
I visited the Grand Canyon after we first metsnowing over half of the
canyon and seeing one of the most beautiful rainbows over the other half, we
spent about 30 seconds admiring the beauty and awe of this amazing spot on
earth. However, we had our priorities back then and made a beeline for our
hotel. Eerily similar, skipping Old San Juan and the entire island, we
jumped on our Isla Grande flight to Vieques that carried me, my wife and the
pilot to the enchanted Isla Nena. The number of passengers should have been
our first clue as to how many tourists might be spotted on any one of the
magnificent beaches. Two days into our 10-day trip, I could not get the
images of the swaying palms, mesmerizing azul water and soft-granular sand
out of my head. Of note, I should mention that we found ourselves taking a
bit of Vieques back homewhile grocery shopping downtown at Morales we
rescued a microscopic black kitten. After a trip to the Vieques Humane
Society and several shots later, Rico was officially my in-laws recently
born kitten and allowed to leave the island.
Three years later, with our next visit only 3 months and 5 days away, I
can already taste the rum punch, salt water, close my eyes, and see the
mangroves, gentle azul waves and abundant bougainvillea. To date we have
introduced paradise to my in-laws, our 18-year-old son, and his friend and
for our next trip, we are bringing two couples and rendezvousing with good
friends sailing from St. Thomas.
Somewhat troubling, yet hopeful, I read at least five articles on Vieques in
the last monthNY Times, Audubon magazine, Sierra Club and the San Francisco
Chronicle. Could it be true? Is our unfound jewel finally on the map? I have
read about a dozen articles in the last year referencing the island. We
truly love this uncut diamond and people who live there!
Hasta pronto!
Dorian Adam
