Vieques may be familiar to you--for a long time the Navy liked to bomb it for practice. A few years ago, protesters managed to get the Navy to leave. Now it is developing as a tourist destination.
Getting to Vieques from Culebra requires taking the ferry from Culebra to Fajardo, then taking the ferry from Fajardo to Vieques. Fortunately there is less than an hour between ferries so soon enough, we were taking a Publico for $3 each from Isabel Segundo, where the ferry dock is located, to Esparanza, where we are staying. One of the great things about this town is the seaside Malecon.
Vieques is slowly becoming a more upscale tourist destination (The Martineau Bay is being transformed into a "W" resort) but there was nothing upscale about our hotel, the Posada Vistamar. At least it was much cheaper than our digs in Culebra. To its credit, it had a great shower, a fridge, and an air conditioner. Unfortunately, there were a couple of roosters living within 15 feet of our door and the air conditioner was not loud enough to drown them out at 4 a.m.
Our main purpose in coming to Vieques was going on a bioluminescent bay tour on Monday evening. We had low expectations of any snorkeling opportunities but decided to follow advice on the internet and swim to the island on the right in the picture at the top of the post. On the swim out, we saw nothing but grass and an eel so our expectations were low. We swam to the right once we got to the island and gradually the underwater scenery got better and better (sorry, we left the camera behind). It was the best snorkeling of the trip. Before we knew it we were partway around the island and decided to continue. On the other side, it was much deeper and the ocean much rougher. Too late to turn back, we continued around, very relieved to make it back alive.
That evening we feasted on delicious hamburgers at Bananas, then went on our bioluminescent bay kayak tour. Again, sorry no pictures. It was an interesting expeience to run our arms through the water having them light up. A ray went by leaving a wide swath of light. In January, I recommend a shorty wetsuit as we got cold.
Here is a reminder of more turbulent times in Vieques.
Tuesday morning we returned to Isabel Segundo to take the ferry back to the main island. The two tourist attractions there are the fort and the lighthouse, both providing commanding views of the harbor.
We plan to return to Vieques when we can stay longer!!
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When we arrived back in the Fajardo, the rental car company van was waiting, and shortly we were on our way to El Junque. A few years ago we visited the Caribbean National Forest, but it was shortly after a hurricane had severely damaged parts of the park and we were not able to tour much of it. (As of April 2nd, the official name of the park is "El Yunque National Forest."
