Gay geek from Ohio. 12 years in San Francisco doing eLearning work. Former .com CTO. Now enjoying life a little slower in Vieques, Puerto Rico with my husband.
Chris, Charlotte, and I just got back to San Francisco for a month visit and are having a great time so far. Today I went up to Marin on the ferry to work with my biz partner Glenn. On the way back the sunset was really spectacular. Here are a few pics pulling in to the Ferry Building and from there heading up Market on my way to catch MUNI.
Jack Russell Terriers were bred to dig foxes out of their holes. But in the absence of foxes, they’re quite happy to chase pretty much anything that moves. Compared to her days in San Francisco, our Charlotte has a much broader variety of prey here in Vieques, including chickens, lizards, and the occasional horse. But a few weeks ago she found her new absolute favorite: crabs.
As soon as we get to the beach, she’s on patrol looking for crab holes. They’re plentiful, so it doesn’t take her long. She’ll dig frantically for a few seconds, then stop and stick her head down the hole as far as it will go to sniff out the crab. Dig, dig, dig. Sniff, sniff, sniff. Dig, dig, dig... this may go on for several minutes until over half her body is in down the hole. (JRTs do NOT give up. Ever.) Eventually, she’ll get to the little crab. (They’re 1-2 inches.) Often it will escape and scurry toward the water with Charlotte close behind. We try to let them get away if possible, but she’s usually too quick. Twice she’s got a good pinch on the nose, but that only deters here for a few minutes.
Occasionally Charlotte will take a break and swim with us. She’s gotten much better at it over the past year. The first time she went to the beach she’d just bark and snap at the waves. But as soon as she’s done, it’s right back to crab patrol.
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The Hawksbill turtle is a critically endangered species. There are several that live in Bahia de la Chiva here on Vieques and I see at least one of them about 2/3 of the times I snorkel there. I had a nice 10 min swim with this one, which is the largest I’ve seen. He was just coasting along and was fairly easy to keep up with. The younger ones tend to be a bit more skittish and dart off as soon as you get very close.
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When we were headed into the post office we saw 3 police cars, 4 motorcycles, and 2 SUVs racing the other direction with their lights on. On our way home we saw a helicopter overhead. We thought something big must be going on since at this point we’ve definitely exceeded the resources of the Vieques police.
As we turned up the hill toward home, we saw that the helicopter was landing in a nearby field and was clearly marked “FBI”. And then saw the caravan we’d seen earlier parked just down the hill on our street. (All the photos are from right in front of our house.) We stood out with our neighbors to watch the excitement.
Several other cars and motorcycles came over the next half hour to bring the total to about 20 people, some marked FBI, some Police, some in plain clothes. They had all the doors and hood of a gray SUV opened and were examining it for a while, but nothing else seemed to happen. At that point everything broke up and everyone gradually drove away. Now I’m dying to know what was going on! Can’t wait to hear what the rumor mill will have on this one.
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We went to Playa la Chiva (aka Blue Beach) late in the afternoon a few days ago. I love to snorkel at that time because the light coming in at a low angle can make things light up almost like they’re on fire. The downside is that by that time the wind has been going for a while, so the water can be fairly churned up and cloudy.
This was my second chance to get out with the camera and try some photos. Between the cloudy water and the moderate waves, a lot of them didn’t come out very well. The barracuda photo would be an example, but I had to include it since it was the first time I got to snap a barracuda. This one is about 3 feet long.
The surprise for the day was coming across a flotilla of hundreds of dinner-plate-sized moon jellyfish. These were very active swimmers, going from totally flat to almost spherical on each stroke. They were mesmerizing to watch, looking almost like they glowed from within when they caught the afternoon sun.
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The pescaderia (fish market) in Vieques can be rather hit or miss. They’re open on random days for somewhat random hours: whenever the fishermen get back (usually 11ish) until they have everything processed and feel like leaving (early afternoon). And what they have to sell can vary widely as well.
Chris went in to Isabel II to the post office yesterday and decided to pop over to the pescaderia on the way home. He got there just as they were bringing in a bunch of lobster and conch. He passed on the conch (we like it, but haven’t braved cooking it ourselves yet) but bought the smallest 2 lobsters (totaling 3 pounds at $8 per pound).
Caribbean spiny lobster (http://marinebio.org/species.asp?id=155) are a bit different from their Maine cousins. They don’t have any claws, but are larger and have more meat through the body and head. They are quite spiny, with hard short spines all over their shell. The meat is not quite as sweet as a Maine lobster, but is quite rich and particularly delicious when grilled. They can get up to a couple pounds, but I think the smaller ones are more tender.
We’ve grilled lobsters at home a couple times with great results. Here’s our technique:
1. Steam the lobsters for about 12 minutes. (Steam, not boil. The lobsters should not be in the water. We just put a strainer upside down in a large pot.)
2. The lobsters should be bright red and fully cooked. We let the lobsters cool during cocktail hour at this point so that they’re easier to handle for the next step.
3. Cut each lobster in half lengthwise. I think it’s easiest to make a first pass to get through the back of the shell, then a second pass to cut completely.
4. The lobsters will be full of bright orange and muddy green stuff. Remove all of that and rinse them out. Nothing should be left inside that isn’t white.
5. Melt some butter. I use a half stick per person, which may sound like a lot, but we always wish for a bit more by the end. I like to let the butter just barely start to brown and then toss in a couple splashes of aged dark rum and a squeeze of lemon. (Aged rum turns dark from 5+ years in charred oak barrels. We like Barrilito, but it’s not available outside PR. Cheap “dark rum” is white rum with caramel color. Don’t be fooled.)
6. Brush the lobsters with a bit of the butter sauce.
7. Put the lobsters on the hot grill meat side down. Grill on medium heat for about 4 minutes.
8. Serve with the rum butter sauce on the side.
Yummm!!! The slightly smoky taste from the grill and the deep flavors of the aged rum really complement the sweetness of the lobster. It makes for a more complex, richer flavor than steamed Maine lobster. Since most of the meat is in the body and there’s no claws to crack, Caribbean lobster are also easier to eat.
The only downside for many of you is that Caribbean lobster are not very available most places outside the Caribbean and Florida. I guess you’ll just have to come down this way for a visit!
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When I was back in San Francisco my friend Brian loaned me his underwater camera to use until they come to visit in January. I got to try it out for the first time today. The water was moderately cloudy and it was mostly overcast, so not great light, but I was still fairly impressed with some of the results. All these shots were taken on the west side of Isla Chiva, an easy snorkel off Playa la Chiva (aka Blue Beach)
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This has been a fairly crazy week. My grandma had to go into the hospital and was in intensive care last week, so I booked a quick trip back to Ohio. I had a bit of drama getting out of Vieques due to the weather, but all ended up fine and rest of travel went smoothly. It was good to see grandma and the rest of the family. I know she really appreciated me being there. She’s doing better now and hopefully will be going home in the next couple days.
I’m currently at a hotel in San Juan since my flight got in too late to get back to VQS. I’m flying back a noon. I’ll get off the plane and Chris will immediately get on for its return trip to SJU on his way to San Francisco for his company meeting. Vieques is still without Internet (they claim due to the bad weather earlier in the week) so I may be a bit out of touch for a bit.
Lots more to write about, but need to send this off and get ready to go to the airport.
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The refrigerator we got with the house was disgusting. The previous owner had slathered on white paint in a desperate attempt to disguise its nastiness. But I think the paint just made a better home for mildew to grow on. So when we were talking about a shopping trip to the main island, a new fridge topped the list.
Most people (or at least most gringos) on Vieques seem to buy their appliances at Sears. The local mueblería has a very limited selection and Sears delivers to Vieques for only $10 additional. We could have gone to the Sears in Fajardo, but we decided to make the pilgrimage to the Caribbean’s cathedral of consumerism: Plaza Las Américas.
We almost aborted the trip because of a whopper thunder storm at 5:00 am, but it had stopped by the time we made it to the ferry dock. In Fajardo, I managed our luggage while Chris ran ahead to be first in line at the rental car agency, which saved us about 45 minutes over our last trip, and we made it over to the other side of San Juan and Plaza Las Américas with no problem.
It really is quite a nice mall and is large without being totally overwhelming. Sears and many of the cheaper stores are at one end, the world’s largest JC Penney in the middle, and Macy’s and the high-end stores at the other end. I was a bit surprised to see the likes of Brooks Brothers, Hugo Boss, Coach, and Tiffany.
This was Chris’ first trip to the mall, but I’ve been there a couple times before. The parking lot is always packed and there’s always something going on. When we were there they seemed to be doing a live broadcast of a local TV talk show. Later there was some guy doing a stand-up act dressed like an old woman.
There are lots of kiosks and promotional areas set up throughout the mall. I was pleased to see that a couple of them were selling solar water heaters and PV panels for electricity. It seems to be catching on here, which only makes sense given the abundance of sun coupled with rising fuel prices.
So the folks at Sears were very friendly and helpful. We ended up buying both the new fridge and a new stove too. (I think our current one was never converted properly for propane. It’s a serious challenge to get a pot of water to boil.) This was Friday, so we were very pleasantly surprised to hear them say they’d deliver them on Monday. (We later found out that they ONLY deliver to Vieques on Mondays.)
And our shiny new fridge did arrive this morning at 7:30. It looks great! The stove, however, didn’t make it. Apparently the guy who’s certified to hook up the gas hasn’t been showing up for work. Well, I guess there’s always next Monday.
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Our shipment with all the stuff we moved from San Francisco arrived on Tuesday. The movers came on the first ferry, so we got the call to go meet them at 5:30 am. Chris went to meet them at the ferry dock and guide them here. Of course as soon as they arrived here it started pouring down rain. It continued to rain on and off through the morning, but only sporadically, so things moved along quickly and they were done by 10:00. We had a large outdoor pot and a glass hurricane for a candle break, but everything else made it in perfect shape.
We bought this place furnished, so it’s not like we’ve been sleeping on the floor or anything, but it is really nice to have our own stuff here now! It definitely makes it feel more like home. The place definitely has a much different feel with our furniture, art, etc. than it did before.
Now the problem is where to put everything! Especially in the kitchen. The kitchen is tiny and was already overflowing. Now we have about four times more stuff. Eeek! But I’m sure eventually we’ll find somewhere better than the couches to put it all.
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