November 2 Vieques

November 2

The flag of Puerto Rico with the U.S. flag

Wow!  Was today ever an interesting day!

It started last night about 2:00 a.m. with a faulty smoke alarm which beeped at us every minute or so until about 6:00 a.m.  The ceiling was too high to reach, so we just had to force ourselves to sleep through it.

We went for a walk along the malecon (beachfront) and visited the few shops which were open.  Two had air conditioning, so we kept going back to those.  We had planned to go swimming in the Caribbean right here in Esperanza, but instead elected to walk what looked like a short distance to a wonderful beach, Sun Bay.  Jim chose a short cut through the jungle and it took us past a city dump with two rusted out train engines lazing about in their final resting place.  We came upon a massive termite nest, larger than any I've ever seen in the jungle before.  A horse came up behind me on the trail, checked me out, and then did take another trail away from me.  Honest!  I did shower this morning.

By the time we reached the water, I was hot, and I mean HOT!  I was dripping and my face and arms were red, even though they were liberally covered in sun screen.  We had neglected to bring water with us and I had forgotten my Sunumbra long-sleeve, light weight shirt.  When we realized that we hadn't even gone half-way, we decided to turn back, get a cold cerveza and rest a bit in our air-conditioned room before venturing out again.

When we did so, we were truly prepared.  We took a taxi ($1 each) to Sun Bay and were amazed.  There were horses running free everywhere.  (Actually, a group of about 8 horses stopped our taxi on the road yesterday as they ambled down the middle of the street). 

We played with them awhile and then walked to the beach.  It was breathtaking!  The whole bay was lined with coconut trees, so there was shade everywhere.  The sand was wonderful and there were few beach-goers with whom to contend.  The water was...how can I describe it?  It was the most wonderful feeling in the world.  The water is warm, almost like bath water.  It is a bright turquoise blue and quite shallow for some distance.  I went out about waist high as I am not a swimmer.  Jim stayed nearby in case I had trouble.  We played in the surf and it was hard to leave.

We found a taxi back and had a late afternoon dinner at Duffy's, a famous hang-out for the younger set during the season.  While eating, a horse wandered down the malecon on the paved sidewalk.

Returning to our room, we checked in with the manager who had fixed the smoke alarm, and then we jumped in Casa de Tortuga's pool.  The manager, John Duffany, joined us in the pool and he was quite enlightening.

The horses are actually owned by the people of Vieques.  However, the people are poor and can't feed them properly, so they turn them out to graze and feed themselves.  Everyone takes care of them, even though there are some actual owners.  The horses are not really wild, although they are free to go as they please.  Most stay in the same general area.  When the owners want them (generally the kids), they just take a rope and catch them.

Jim asked about the price of land in this laid-back island.  John said that he and his wife came here nine years ago and bought an unfinished two-bedroom, 900 ft. home on about 1/4 acre, for $150,000 cash.  This is untitled land, although he did get a deed.  Untitled land does not require any property taxes.  However, if you get a mortgage, you must buy titled land and then pay taxes.  While John has added on to his home tremendously, more than doubling its size, he can only sell it to someone who also is paying with cash. Interesting?

We then went to Island Adventures to go on a boat tour of the brightest bio-luminescent bay in the world! The glowing light whenever any movement is detected in the water is caused by a small organism, a plankton, which lights up like a firefly by mixing internal chemicals when scared.  It is beautiful.  The water sparkles when a fish goes by.  We put our hands and feet in the water to watch it glow around us.  We were absolutely fascinated and wish that others could see this phenomenon as we did.  We were terribly impressed.

I found this photo online as I could not seem to take a photo at night.  The glow is the plankton which has lit up around the kayak due to the movement in the water.  When still, you don't see it, but the moment you move the paddle or the boat, this animal glows all around you as it tries to move away.  You can also see fish darting away by the blue/green glow quickly darting away from your boat.

The bus trip to and from Mosquito Bay was quite exciting as well.  It was only about 20 minutes…but it was a Disneyland E Ticket Ride…like Indiana Jones.  We had to go in an old school bus through the jungle on a road that wasn’t a road at all.  This is because lower-wheeled vehicles couldn’t make it on that trail.  We had to roll the windows up to only about three inches because trees kept pounding the bus and came in even through these tiny openings to attack the passengers.

Returning after the boat trip, the bus smelled like pot, the driver went much faster, the bumps and twists were much more exaggerated, and we wondered if we’d get out of the jungle in one piece.  I kept worrying that the bus would turn over and I’d be on the bottom.

We are back in our room, with the wildest symphony going on outdoors.  It is a large number of coqui (small Puerto Rican frogs, some smaller than the first joint of your thumb.  They make a beautiful jungle sound that lasts all night.  Last night I taped it and tried to add it to the blog, but I had no luck.  I think I'll include the sounds in the movie I make when we return.  It is very pleasant.

Great day!