puerto rico: no beaches allowed

after a heavy night of partying (*cough* *sarcasm* *cough*), az and i were set to explore the north side of vieques. avoiding barrio esperanza, we decided to find breakfast in barrio isabel ii, also known as the vieques capital. it was no bustling metropolis but it had more than one "main road."

have i already mentioned that the island has only two gas stations (a block from each other) and one supermarket - all in isabel segunda?

breakfast was at the la viequense panaderia whereby i demolished a pressed sandwich with ham and cheese. the bread was actually quite good. not very doughy with a crunchy crust. a little bit of sweetness too. i'm still kicking myself for not taking a picture.

once sated, we were ready to explore. we wanted to visit green beach on the western tip of the island on the atlantic side. while the main highways were paved, most of the roads headed for the beaches were not. getting to green beach was no exception. however, we were dismayed that somewhere along the way, the road was closed. the us navy used to do a lot of testing in vieques but now, a lot of the land is restricted as a wildlife refuge and managed by the fish and game department. which is just as well. the island is lush. however, we only wished fish and game warned us of such closure before we drove all the way there via rough roads.

not to be deterred from enjoying the atlantic side beaches, once back on the main highway (which meant paved but not necessarily always wide enough to comfortably fit two vehicles coming from opposite directions), we just stopped on some random beach. but before i show a picture of a random atlantic side beach, here's a picture of a typical paved road:

the water on the atlantic side was noticeably colder. we were told by expats that the atlantic side was also generally rougher. luckily, the day we went, it was not.

getting our feet wet in the atlantic was sufficient. we were soon back to the carribean side. our next stop was supposed to be red beach. however, the road was also closed. so we found a road headed generally towards the water and found pirate's cove.

clearly, it was not for laying out. it was still pretty though.

then, we tried to find secret beach. clearly, it was not a secret because it was on a tourist map. the road to get there was, however, closed. it would've been better if it remained a secret so i didn't have to harbor such disappointment.

next, we were off to blue beach or la chiva. i actually really enjoyed this beach (although media luna still topped my list). it was wide, warm, fine white sand, not crowded and just plain gorgeous.

here's the eastern view with a shot of "the crowds" (it was a saturday after all):

here's the western view:

we probably walked at least a mile and back along blue beach.

after staying for a few hours, we decided to check out playa grande and black beach, which were to the west of barrio esperanza. unlike the other beaches, playa grande and black beach were rockier, rougher and the sand was grainier and, er, black. definitely interesting but not good for swimming.

we only saw two couples on these beaches.

at that point, we decided that we were done with beaches. there were a lot of great things i could mention about the vieques beaches. but i cannot emphasize enough how the masses were not to be seen. although the beaches were clearly marked on every single tourist map of the island, it felt as if the beaches were empty enough that they were your own private strip of nirvana.

question: why did the horse cross the road?

answer: how would i know. i just take the pictures.

it was time to enjoy isabel segunda itself. one thing that was noticeable was their love of color. pastels, to be exact. our markers to get home were passing by the blue house and turning at the corner with the pink house. our apartment rental itself was painted bright green and yellow.

at the mar azul bar, we had a very nice view of the sunset from the atlantic side.

after walking around, we headed to cantina la reina, billed as a mexican restaurant. it was valentine's day weekend as well so they had a three-course prix fixe special for $35. what a value it was, too. the ingredients were fresh and tasty. particularly, all the seafood were locally caught.

my yellowfin tuna tostada:

az's pork tacos:

az's strip steak with relleno pepper stuffed with mashed potatoes (!) and manchego:

my lobster enchilada:

az's lime flan:

my flourless chocolate cake:

cantina la reina also had a bar/lounge upstairs with balconies where we watched cars drive by, people walk by, and horses trot by.

speaking of horses, it was interesting to note that young people got around town at night by riding horses. we saw women dressed in party gear (in jeans, not skirts) headed to parties on horseback with the bicycle red light thingies attached to the horse so they can be seen by motorists (street lamps were restricted to the main barrios and not necessarily on every street of that barrio). outside one bar/club, we saw a lot of those horses "parked", er, lined up and tied to the post. the clackity-clack of galloping horses on the pavement was a common sound.

anyhow, below are just scenes from the plaza in isabel segunda:

at this point in the trip, the mosquitoes were joined by bed bugs to feast on my blood. it was uncomfortable and i just wanted to be left alone in my scratching. so it was an early night. the next day, we were off to check out a city. san juan, that is.