Veiques III

Johnny Jones, February 1999


coninued from Vieques II
Everything I read about Vieques was correct, but reality showed another side to the impressions we had. Our first night on the island, as we tried to get to sleep, we understood what Jane Sabin's letter meant: "There are several dogs and roosters (which crow at odd hours)..." Everyone had dogs; everyone had chickens. We could tell this by the stereo sound to the howls, barks, and crows.

The next morning, after Juergen brought the Suzuki Samarai we rented to explore the island, we set out to look for breakfast. Armed with a tourist map, we drove to what the natives call "town"--Isabel Segunda, on the northern part of the island. Everything was so unfamiliar. The town was crowded, parking was slim to none, and we couldn't spot a restaurant. The signs were in Spanish, and the streets were narrow.

So were most of the roads. The width of the road was about a lane and a half. And this was hilly country, with lots of S-curves. Think of it as 32 highway between Bixby and East End, but narrower and with no shoulder. And this was U.S. territory.

My journal entry the first day in Esperanza said, "This is nothing like I expected. We are very pleased with our clean and neat little apartment--but it is surrounded by lots of junk: Old dead car bodies, uncared-for dogs, chickens wandering around, trash. Signs of poverty everywhere. Some of the places have steel bars over all the windows and doors. There are few road signs, and lots of men hanging around the Green Store doing nothing."

The Green Store had very few fresh fruits and veggies, nor did any of the stores; fresh produce came over on Wednesdays. This was Monday. We bought a tomato someone had left behind and a couple of apples, then took them to Blue Beach.

I remembered reading, "The south shore, Camp Garcia in particular, has the best beaches on the island and perhaps the best in the Caribbean. There are many spectacular coves with fine sand and crystal clear water."

Getting there was something else. We had to show a driver's license to get into Camp Garcia, then travel miles down an unpaved road and cross a military bridge. But when we got there--wow. We found a place all to ourselves towards the end of Blue Beach, and we went for a walk to explore. It was still too cool to swim, but we waded over to a little island several hundred feet away without getting our shorts wet.

That was wonderful! Our own little island, with no one else there. "The deserted beaches...are among the Caribbean's loveliest." We had not been elsewhere in the Caribbean, but in a couple of miles of beach, the only people we saw were some fishermen.

We walked, not just on white sand, but on shells and coral and rock. We found such wonderful treasures as we walked along--little coral trees, perfect shells, lacy yellow and purple sea plants washed up on shore.

And always, the water--shimmering, blue, clear water. "Most areas are suitable for hiking and have spectacular views." Yes--I got so I could close my eyes and see it. The beauty was really incredible.

I had not realized the contrast we would find. I would never have envisioned either the diseased, swayback horse crossing the road in front of the Green Store, or the beach walks we took where we saw little waterfalls sliding down the rocks between waves. We admired the variety in the patterns of the little black and white snails we saw at Blue Beach and Sun Bay. We enjoyed wearing shorts and being alone together.

We were not disappointed with Vieques, but we were surprised. The fact that we didn't know many things made our trip an adventure, a time for discovery. That was a little serendipity for us. And it was good.