Afternoon at Dolores Beach
Laughing Squid recently posted this bingo card that captures the experience pretty well. It's definitely one of the most interesting people watching venues around.
John Hathaway
adventures of a gay geek in paradise
Morning Run to deserted Playa Punta Vaca
I had an amazing run this morning! I went from Playa Grande out to Playa Punta Vaca, where I found the sailboat wreckage a few months ago. (No, I can't run and take decent photos at the same time. These are from a previous, more leisurely trip on the same route.)
Playa Grande is on the south shore of Vieques and is the beginning of the National Wildlife Refuge that spans the western tip of the island. Unlike the great swimming beaches on the reserve on the eastern side, Playa Grande and beyond has much rougher surf with rocky beaches of coarse sand. Consequently the number of people the venture out there is pretty small. For a nature loving introvert like me it's the perfect place to leave civilization behind and recharge.
From Playa Grande, it's about 2 miles of gravel and dirt roads to get out to Punta Vaca. The road hits the beach about here:
I continued on west for about 1.5 miles on the beach. Running on the sand and scrambling over the huge outcrops of granite makes for quite a workout! Then headed back and added a little detour on the way back to round it out to 8 miles today for a total of 26 this week.
I've been running in minimalist Vibram FiveFingers KSO shoes for about 6 months and this is the kind of environment where they really shine: you can feel of the rock scrambling over a boulder; no worries about getting wet; sand squishing between your toes. I'd been using motion control shoes and it definitely took a while to adjust my form and strengthen my feet and ankles. My toes have spread, my feet are less callused and more sensitive, the pad on the my forefoot is thicker. And most importantly I've had no pain in my previously injured knee, even as I'm extending both distance and speed. I'm definitely a convert.
Biz trip to Hong Kong
I just had an great trip with my business partner Glenn to Hong Kong for a few days. Unfortunately the weather was chilly, gray, and rainy and we were in meetings much of the time, but did get to get out and see some of the city.
We had lots of great food: a dim sum lunch, dinner on Victoria Peak, and a spectacular buffet sitting on the terrace at the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club.
The city is even more built up than when I was there 10 years ago, but it still has a fascinating juxtaposition of shiny new office buildings right next to soot stained apartments with laundry hanging out all the windows next to a 16 floor shopping mall selling Gucci and Prada next to a street market with 50 kinds of fish in open stalls.
Latest trip to Playa Grande Sugar Mill Ruins
We took Chris' sister and her husband out to the Playa Grande sugar mill ruins when they were here. The weather's been dry, so the jungle was a little thinned out and there were no mosquitos to contend with. We went off in a new direction for a bit this time and found some large structures we hadn't seen before.
It's eerie and humbling to see the jungle overtaking and literally tearing down what was the central focus of human activity on Vieques only 100 years ago.
The large dark thing in the tree is a termite nest, probably about 2.5 feet in diameter. From the nest they build a network of tunnels all over the surrounding ground and trees. They're quite common all over the island.
Trying out the W Vieques
After a 2 year remodel and much anticipation, the new W Vieques is finally open. It's definitely a very exciting addition to our little island!!
We went last Friday when Chris' sister and brother-in-law were here to visit and I was there again yesterday for cocktails with my friend Susanne and dinner with the usual suspects.
The design (largely by Patricia Urquiola) of the hotel, grounds, and pool is spectacular: very W, hip, contemporary, playful; yet laid-back and natural in a way that fits Vieques.
The main restaurant, Alain Ducasse's miX On The Beach, is serving some great food. The menu is small (only 6 entrees) and claims "the flair of Latino Caribbean flavors via off-the-beaten-path detours through French sensibilities with a resolutely modern twist at the climax." With lamb cooked sous vide and halibut with eggplant caviar, I'll certainly grant French sensibilities and modern twist, but Latino influence and Caribbean ingredients were pretty scarce. I realize that it's incredibly difficult to maintain consistent quality using local sources in Vieques, but with only 3 fish varieties on the menu, I'd love to see something a bit more at home here than barramundi.
The staff was all very friendly, but the service is still a bit rough around the edges given the normal standards I associate with W (and the price tag that comes with it.) It was already significantly better yesterday than last week, so I'm confident that they'll get it all worked out in short order.
The W site claims this is "Where Arrival is Escape" which I'm sure is true for guests, but I can see being equally true for those of us who live here that want to escape to a more civilized place from time to time.
Visit from Jennifer & Chris
Chris' sister Jennifer and her husband Chris were just here to visit for a couple days. We had a great time showing them the island, highlighted by cocktails and dinner at the new W Vieques.
Pics of Sailboat Wreckage at Playa Punta Vaca
Chris and I went back out to Playa Punta Vaca today to take some photos of the sailboat wreckage I talked about in my last post.
We haven't had major storms or any missing boats around here for quite a while, so I assume this went down a while ago and washed up in the current running between here and St. Criox. Chris is guessing the wooden mast you see in the pics was a mizzen (smaller rear mast) from maybe a 40-50 foot sailboat.
We found several things that indicate the boat was from Maine. The Lobster shirt is in the photos, but also was a tag on one of the sail bags from Pope Sails in Rockland Maine. The name of the boat ended in "-ure" but that small part of the transom was the only real identification we saw.
The clothes were the most disturbing thing, since they really bring home the fact that this was a major tragedy for real people.
Sailboat wreckage at Playa Punta Vaca
I love that Vieques has so many out of the way places to explore and unexpected things to find. This morning I decided to run out to one of the more remote: Playa Punta Vaca.
Currently to get there you have to park at Playa Grande and hike/run/bike about 2 miles along the gravel road behind the beach and up into the hills a bit. At that point an overgrown dirt "road" spits off for another 1/3 mile down to Playa Punta Vaca. (They're almost finished with the bridge at Playa Grande. As soon as that's done you'll be able to drive at least to the dirt road.)
It's really a series of small beaches with large granite outcroppings in between. The beach is steep, the surf is rough, and there are lots of large boulders near shore, so it's not a good idea to swim there. But it's a great place for a secluded hike, scrambling over boulders, and exploring the tide pools formed by the eroded rocks.
Today when I got over the third granite point I was shocked to find the remains of a sailboat! I haven't been out there for a while, so not sure when it washed up, but definitely wasn't there a couple months ago.This was obviously a wreck that happened a while ago and washed up in pieces including the mast, several hull pieces about 6 ft long, most of one gunwale, a door with a "Captain's Quarters" plaque, and lots of small debris.
Unfortunately, since I was out for a run, I didn't have my camera, but I'm going to try to get back soon to take some photos.
I'm pretty sure this map show the right location of where the wreckage is:
Plans for our second floor addition
We've been thinking about adding a second floor to our house since we bought it. Our primary motivations are wanting a much larger kitchen and wanting to take advantage of the spectacular views we'll have from the upper level. We're planning to do this as a semi-separate unit with 2 bedrooms and 2 baths. We'll keep our office area downstairs and have a nice private area for guests. At some point in the future we'll be able to rent the lower unit if we choose.
We've had a great time collaborating with Mike Kirchner of Onsite Vieques on the design. I started with the initial concept of separate spaces around a central courtyard which Mike has done a great job of realizing for us. Large wooden sliding panels will let the living room and kitchen open to the courtyard and covered outdoor dining area to make one extended indoor/outdoor living area. The full length porch to the south mirrors the lower level and has amazing view over Puerto Ferro, Mosquito Bay, and on to Cayo Tierra. The east facing porch gives us a new view out to Playa la Chiva and the nature reserve beyond that we don't get from downstairs.
The engineer is working on structural plans now and as soon as those are finished we'll be getting bids from contractors and applying for permits. Hopefully we can be starting construction by May. Hit the "Fullscreen" link to be able to see the plans better. The first few pages are just the existing lower level. We've made some minor changes to what you see here, but the floor plans on pages A5 and following furniture plan are pretty much current.
Getting to the Sugar Mill Ruins
My previous posts on the sugar mill ruins here on Vieques continues to be found by new people and every now and then someone contacts me for directions. Since this just happened again, I thought I'd recycle what I wrote to her to post here for all.
Although the Play Grande mill is very close to Playa Grande on the south shore, it's definitely a "can't get there from here" kinda situation. The road that goes there is blocked by the ROTHR (Relocatable Over The Horizon Radar) purportedly used to catch drug smugglers.
So, you have to come in the long way from the north side of the island. Going W on 200 you turn left where you see a big cement foundation. (Think it was maybe a helipad?)
(If you get to the little chapel you've gone too far.)
That road goes straight S most of the way across the island.
The sugar mill is where that road turns left to head into the ROTHR.
You'll see a little brick building off to the right of the road with the "Sleeping Giant" sign. (pics on previous post) To the right of the building is a path leading off into the jungle and the main ruins.
If you are feeling athletic, you *can* get there from Playa Grande on foot/mountain bike. It's about 2.5 mi one way. I run out that way and through the bunkers once and a while. Take the gravel road that runs along behind the beach. About a mile out the gravel road ends. Take the dirt road through the gate on the right. This ends at another gate about 1.5 mi further and the sugar mill is there to the right. (They're almost finished putting in a bridge on the gravel road. Once that's finished, you'll be able to drive out the gravel part.)
