Where Am I?

Maybe it's weird, but I like the sensation of waking up and, for a brief moment, not knowing exactly where I am. Call it first world safety net of knowing I'm not in prison or any other grim space, or just call it a little wake up orienteering amusement. 

So to orient a bit, I'll start by going backwards. Sounds about right. Yesterday before heading for the Vieques airport (people were great, but I do like ours better!), we went by the restaurant to drop Jimmy off to start his cooking day and Kat needed to pick up some paperwork. It seemed like a good time to take those photos I missed last time. Or some of them; I missed the porch and it was too early for any dishes to be coming out of the kitchen. 

This is the piece I mentioned yesterday Sweet!

Yes, Zuleyma, that is Frieda in the corner

Turns out one of Jimmy's kitchen guys used to live on Culebra.
We had a good chat before he got back to work.

View of the kitchen from the table area

Thanks again!

But this is today...

Usually the first thing is to look at the ceiling because no other ceiling looks like the houseboat's. Unless I'm sleeping in a garden shed. A fan? Nope, not home. A chandelier? Nope, not home. Next comes, what was I doing last night? That should usually rustle up a clue about where I am, and it usually does, along with the noises around me (no chickens? might not be in the islands).

This morning I woke up on St. Croix and even though this is a part of the island I never was around much, it feels good. From the lilting taxi guy's voice, telling me he is one of 25 children, born and raised on St. Croix, to seeing a couple of people I knew while watching Michael play a day gig at Cane Bay. 

Cane Bay is the site that is a bit of a mecca for scuba folks, home of the famous Wall. There are all sorts of videos of the Wall experience if you're interested; it's pretty dramatic. 

But I was not into being dramatic, I was into hearing some mellow music. That worked.

Making music on a cloudy day

This is an old sign and one of my favorites
(or it's another version of the old sign)

I really like this sign. 

Even though the sun had hidden behind a lot of clouds, there were still people out and about on the beaches (though not too many), along with some tents left over from Semana Santa. St. Croix is where I learned about the camping part of Easter Week; apparently it's still going strong here as well. 

From the beach side of the street.
Good food, good people. Good music too!!

Wow!

We came back to the house and Liz got back not long after. Though I've heard about her and have seen facebook photos, the reality of meeting someone face to face is a much better thing. I can see and feel now why Michael is marrying her and am glad to have this new member in our island family. If I come home speaking with a totally southern accent, you'll know why.

A delicious dinner was almost ready

Sure, I will get a better photo, but this felt pretty much
like family 'round the barbie, so here it is.

As friends and family filter in, we'll be doing errands leading up to the Big Event, along with, for me, the inevitable running into old friends not seen for far too long. This is going back to step into the future, my heart expands a bit more and I, under direct orders from Michael, am going to keep my shoes on and look out for centipedes. What??

Have a temperate Tuesday. Do something touching.

I Survived a Vieques Day!!

First, though, a travel tip. Easter is an excellent day to travel on the ferry. From Culebra, where there weren't enough people to call it a crowd - though there were some sleeping who came in way early, just in case - to Fajardo, where there was no crowd at all, and Fajardo to Vieques, with a probably more than half empty boat; it was happy faces and good moods. Nice!

I never rode in this ferry with all the windows. Bright and light, I like it.
This was on the Fajardo to Vieques portion of the trip.

It was a beautiful morning.
Despite weather warnings, we got picture perfect, cool breezes with sunshine and gentle water.

Even the clouds participated in a wispy way

Coming upon Vieques

When I got off the ferry, I found a text saying Jimmy and Kat would be late and to go to Mar Azul's and we'd meet there. Mar Azul has one of my favorite bar views and a funky vibe I like a lot. I could do that. I did do that. They make a good Bloody Mary.

Porch with a view

Jimmy and Kat showed up, joining me in a drink, before we moved on down the road. First they took me to see their restaurant, Coqui Fire, which is in Isabella Segunda. I can't believe I didn't take photos but I was too busy gushing over the place. An old building that has been through a number of transformations, including being a church before they got it, it is now painted and decorated in a way that makes it look like it's been your family's favorite spot for 50 years or more. A big open kitchen (and I mean wide open) with tables in front, a lovely bar, some outdoor seating on a covered porch and there it is. Great rustic woodwork throughout, except the very tall buffet/hutch type piece that holds the liquor and supplies, it's a fine piece of furniture built for the bar by a very talented guy. Here is a great article on the restaurant with lots of photos, check it out. 

That was a great stop on the way to the next bar. With food. I love this place! I'd never been here but it was easy to see it felt right, right away. Plus, at the end of the bar was sitting an old friend I haven't seen in many, many years. We spent a long time catching up. People came and went, Kris, Jimmy and Kat also exchanged local stories about things going on Vieques wise. A grand way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Or morning that became afternoon...it was like that.

I don't know why I thought of Kelli when I saw this.
But I did. 

Kris ordered the dumplings and let me try one. they were amazing.
With Lyman in the front and his wife and whoever that other guy is in the back,
this place covers a lot of ground personality wise and good food and drink wise
in a really small space.

Great to see you again, old friend!

Yes, the famous Vieques horses were everywhere

Next we went to a restaurant bar, rather than a bar that happens to have some darn good food. The next place does a bit of everything, but we were there for the sushi. When the Dragon Egg was explained to me, I didn't see why I had to look any farther. One last half of avocado was found to make the 'shell' of the egg, covering a lot of raw tuna bits, with roe on top. And a delicious sauce underneath. It's making me drooly just writing this.

There was another stop at another very nice place to finish off an incredible day, but by then I was pretty sure any photo I took could be a wee bit fuzzy. I absolutely got the best tour with the best tour guides I could ask for, thanks, Jimmy and Kat!!! 

The bad news is my camera seems to have died. One minute fine, the next no attempts so far have brought it back to life. So for now it will be phone photos and the hunt for a camera is on. Unless this one magically resurrects itself, which would be just dandy, as I am off today to St. Croix for the wedding of a very good and dear friend, before coming back to Vieques for Jimmy and Kat's wedding! I need a camera! This seems to be a theme with me, go to an unrepeatable event, camera dies...it's not the first or second time. Maybe I am sending out intense electric happiness and frying them.

Have a magical Monday. Do something momentous. 

Semana Santa Good Friday

Yesterday afternoon I thought I might go look for the flamingo at Dakity. A crazy idea, with it being Semana Santa, but the weather and mood were right so why not? Spoiler alert, I didn't see the flamingo so don't go rushing for the photo.

What morning looks like these days

Boats going back and forth in the bay all day and night and day have made quiet little Fulladoza Bay a rock and rollin' place to be. My neighbor, in a very small boat that hobby horses with the best of them said if she was ever worried about getting sea sick, now she knows she'll be okay. There are the few who come speeding into the bay itself, either not realizing or not caring that people actually live there. I occasionally pop my head out and make the universal 'Slow down, careless boater' gesture and no, it is not the same as the one finger salute. Best to be polite in deed if not in thought.

While there were (and still are) calls for rainy weather, it has been pretty much calm and bright this week. The biggest challenge getting out of the bay were the large wakes. But I was in no hurry, turning into them slowly until they subsided and generally moving in the right direction.

A lot of boats!

There were plenty of boats rafted up, some with people in the water behind them, enjoying the biggest and most beautiful pool around. It made me miss the days of the houseboat parties...

Crystal clear water. The water painters had been busy and
did a beautiful job. 

Lots of people were in the cockpits of their boats having cocktails but I didn't see anyone I knew so decided not to invite myself aboard any of them.

It was kind of hard to even tell exactly where I was.
That might not make any sense to you, but it did to me.
I thought about going over by the reef to see if the flamingo was around,
but it really didn't seem like a great idea.

I was surprised there weren't more boats here.

Pretty much every kind of boat was on display

The gulls were having their own confab.

It was a bit hard to pay attention to where I was going
with this glorious water around me.

Costa Bonita (I forget its new name) looks pretty much like a bunch of boats rafted up.

It was time to head home. While I was gone a fairly large motorboat moored on a ball not far away from me. There was music and good times going on and they didn't stay late, which was nice. They are back again today. Hope that mooring is as good as they think it is, as they all went off on another boat to somewhere...

Have a sanguine Saturday. Do something salty.