Vieques I

Johnny Jones, February 1999

Chip got two free tickets for giving up his seat on a TWA flight last May. We decided we would use them to go somewhere after Christmas, to beat winter. We knew we wanted to go somewhere we hadn't been before.

Seattle looked interesting--but didn't sound warm. Miami would be warm--but no, too big and crowded. The more I looked, the more I thought, "Why not try Puerto Rico?"

When we thought about an island vacation, we thought about celebrating our 30th anniversary. We celebrated our 20th anniversary in a bed and breakfast in Ste. Genevieve. That was our alternative to Cancun or the Bahamas, which we put on hold until we were through paying for college. Our friends gave us a lovely party for our 25th, but we couldn't afford to go anyplace warm or sunny. So this looked like a good chance to celebrate--especially when we realized that we had not gone on a vacation by ourselves since our children were born.

When I called the number to redeem the fly-free vouchers, I didn't receive much encouragement. "Ma'am, winter is their high season," I was told. "The seats for these flights are limited." But the agent was patient and willing to try. "Start with February 15th and go backwards," I told her.

"You might be lucky enough to get a flight down, but you won't be able to get one back," she warned me."

"Can we try?"

Her sigh was cynical but resigned to my persistence.

"There's nothing in February. I've looked through the whole month."

"Can you go back to January?"

"OK--but I don't think--wait a minute. There is a direct flight on January 31st, with availability for two."

Thank you, Lord! "Now can you look for the return? Start with a week from the 31st and work backward," I urged.

"Nothing on the weekend. I told you--but it looks like you can come back on Friday, Feb. 5th."

"That will be great," I said, as I privately cheered.

Now that we had tickets, I needed to know where to stay.

I bought a Fodor's guide to the Caribbean and starting looking on the web. Under precautions, Fodor's warned about San Juan, "...guard your wallet or purse on the city streets. Puerto Rico's beaches are open to the public, and muggings can occur at night even on the beaches of the posh Candado and Isla Verde tourist hotels....Avoid deserted beaches at night."

Further warnings came from Frommer's Puerto Rico. "...you could be mugged or have your car stolen or even hijacked...San Juan is simply overcrowded." It also said that rental cars come with double locks.

What were we getting into? In Frommer's, italicized, were these words: "Drive on Puerto Rico only if necessary....local drivers are often dangerous, as evidenced by the number of fenders with bashed-in sides. The older coastal highways provide the most scenic routes but are often congested. Some of the roads, especially in the mountainous interior, are just too narrow for automobiles....Cliff slides or landslides are not uncommon."

Fodor's advises, "While you can get from town to town via publico, we don't recommend traveling that way unless your Spanish is good and you know exactly where you're going....You'll do much better to rent a car."

So--one book says to rent a car; the other says not to. We didn't want to stay in San Juan. The books agreed that taxis are expensive. Our adventure was sounding more like a misadventure!

As I read further, I learned that some of the nicest beaches were off the main island, on two little islands off the east coast, which were much less crowded. Vieques sounded wonderful--quiet and peaceful and unhurried, but with several good restaurants and many uncrowded beaches. Fewer than 9000 people populated the entire 9 mile by 21 mile island. That sounded more like paradise to us than the casinos and street people of San Juan. And it was certainly somewhere we had never been before. Many times when I sat at my computer, my mind wandered to Vieques--now what would that be like?
continued at Vieques II