Old San Juan was great…a perfect intro to Puerto Rico! We loved walking around the old town, lined with its blue cobblestone streets and brightly colored buildings. Like any city, the air is thick with excitement, movement and the promise of undiscovered opportunities. Young and old, residents and visitors all mingle together while life moves on at a hustling pace.

Alternatively, life on the tiny island of Vieques, just off the south eastern coast of Puerto Rico, is more languid, but in the best kick-off-your-flipflops-and-have-a-mojito kind of way.

Before the US Navy landed on the island in 1941 to build Camp Garcia, sugar production was the main source of income for the island people. But, the Navy took over nearly two-thirds of the total land from the island’s residents, including most of the land used for farming. Initially, the Navy brought new jobs, mainly in construction of the base. When the sugar was gone and construction complete, many of the island’s residents left. The Puerto Rican government tried between 1945 and the 1960s to re-establish an agricultural economy, but its efforts failed.

In the 10 years that followed, the economy shifted to manufacturing, with the opening of a General Electric plant being the most consistent source of employment. The plant is still in operation.

In May 2003, after more than 60 years of military operations, the US Navy closed Camp Garcia on Vieques after years of struggle over the target practice activies on the base. The final straw came in 1999, when a Navy jet missed its target and dropped two 500-pound bombs close to a Navy observation post, killing a civilian security guard and wounding others.

A few of the Navy’s old ships, rusted and abandoned can still be found in the waters around Vieques and although access to some of the former base is still restricted, visitors can see what’s left of the old bunkers.

The population of Vieques has not changed much through the decades and still remains close to 10,000. However, unemployement runs high. Tourism has gained a foothold on the island, with small hotels and restaurants popping up in Isabella Segunda, the capital located on the north side of the island, and in Esperanza, the island’s southern beach community.

The W Hotels is in the process of completing a mega resort on the island. Its completion will likely bring more tourists with money to spend.

Right now, most of the restaurants and hotels in the small village of Esperanza, where we stayed, were small, unpretentious guest houses owned by expats who’d come on holiday and never left, tempted by the warm aqua-colored water, cool breezes, and the tranquillo lifestyle.

We spent 6 nights in Esperanza, filling our days primarily with card playing, snorkeling, beach glass hunting, reading, and swimming….oh and the occasional Medalla or two (that’s the local beer). We met some really lovely people while there, including Kim & Stefan, a Scituate couple who call Vieques their home away from home. Kim has spent the past 20+ years coming to Vieques for her annual vacation. She knows the island and many of the its inhabitants well. Kim & Stefan were kind enough to take us under their wings and show us some of their favorite spots. We had a blast and expect to see them again.

We also met Ura, aka Michael, a junior in high school, with his boyish good looks, an infectious personality and, we discovered, a soft spot for balding English guys who can do really funny Russian accents. We spent an afternoon with him, talking and playing Rummy 500, while practicing our Spanish and learning a little about life growing up on Vieques.

We hitchhiked one night to and from a local cultural festival, which was held at an old fort in the town of Islabella Segunda. Eli, a young local guy in a suped-up sports car, picked us up and happily drove out of his way before heading to work at the GE plant to take us safely to the festival. And, later that night, a family of 4 picked us up and drove us back to Esperanza. Everyone we met on Vieques was lovely, which speaks volumes of the character of the people of Vieques, given the US Navy’s mistreatment of them and their beautiful island.

Here are some snapshots from our brief, but thoroughly enjoyable visit taken with our little Canon point & shoot camera. Enjoy!

On the ferry ride to Vieques from San Juan we spotted this sunken fishing boat resting on a sandbar (or reef, not sure which)…

Me showing off a giant starfish Andy found while snorkeling.

A shell resting on the shore at Secret Beach, which as we discovered on our second visit, isn’t so secret. But, man, is is BEAUTIFUL!!!!

Kim & Stefan led us on an early morning hike to visit one of their favorite spots on the island, an old abandoned light house, where we watched the sunrise. Ahhhh, vacation bliss!!!

Andy grabbed this fun shot of all of us in Stefan’s sunglasses….

The view from El Malecon, the boardwalk that lines the main street in Vieques….not too shabby, eh?

A view of the other end of the Malecon…

This photo just epitomizes the speed of life on the island. This old guy parked his plastic chair in this spot every day and spent most of the day there watching the world walk by…sweet, eh?

Colorful umbrellas kept iguana poop from hitting us while enjoying breakfast at our favorite (okay, the ONLY) breakfast spot in Esperanza. We spent most mornings lounging here for a couple of hours playing cards and munching on eggs & bacon or pancakes. One morning I narrowly escaped being hit by a defficating iguana hanging out in the trees above…and fyi, their poop isn’t small!

On our second visit to Not-So-Secret Beach, we stumbled across these turtle tracks leading to (tracks branching slightly to the right) and from (straight ahead) a nesting spot, under a mangrove bush on the beach….very cool!!! Sadly, we missed our little missus by minutes! Rats!

Andy decided to take a nap by the water and I couldn’t resist making a little sand sculpture out of him. The sand here was perfect for the drippy kind of sand castles I used to love to build as a kid. And, well, two is sometimes better than one. LOL!

An evening in Esperanza wouldn’t be complete without an icy cold Medalla enjoyed on the back deck at La Nasa, overlooking the Caribbean.

Andy waiting for La Nasa to open….

Here we are on the puddle-jumper heading back to San Juan. It was a really fun flight. Strangely, this is the only photo Andy & I have of us together in Puerto Rico….hysterically, he’s looking away, I look crazed and the curious guy behind us seems mildly amused. Priceless! The two guys behind him, Chris & Todd, a fun-looking couple from Chicago, were supposed to meet up with us later that night at the Nuyorican, but we ended up crashing early and never made it….bummer!

I’m not really sure what prompted this next photo, except Andy & I really enjoyed the flight and were being total goofballs. After our quick 20-minute flight, Andy decided he wanted a photo of me getting off the plane, looking like I’d just landed in my private jet. He, of course, lay down on the ground, as he so often does for photos, and here’s how I worked it…..Really? Sadly, I think I’m way more funny than I actually am!

Well, that’s it folks….that’s our Puerto Rican vacation. We hope you enjoyed a look into our holiday almost as much as we enjoyed ourselves! Thanks so much for visiting and for your continued support!!! And as always, keep spreading the love! xo Chris & Andy