My fiance and I discovered this beautiful island during a vacation in April 2010.
We had rented a house on the big island in Dorado and were off an yet another day trip of adventure, this day in particular we headed East. Luckily we always packed an overnight bag and our snorkel gear! Everything fell into place, as we pulled into the dock / ferry area of Fajardo we decided to park our rental car and see where this Ferry was going. Our lives have changed significantly since that decision!!
The Ferry ride over was beautiful, we met locals, tourists, merchants and everyone had suggestions and stories for us. As we saw Vieques in the distance my heart started beating faster and I was taken back by the sheer beauty of the island. Once the very crowded Ferry emptied out, so did the streets and we just stood around looking / hoping for a publico…. nothing in sight. We had no idea of what our next step was to be now that we were on the island in a now near empty street, but to give you some idea of the inner beauty of this island – along came a gentleman that we had spoken with very briefly on the Ferry and he asked us if we had a ride set up and a place to stay… We just looked lost, I know it! He pulled out his cellphone, made a few calls and within 15 minutes we were riding in a Publico and heading to a Guesthouse. We had huge smiles on our faces and we held on tightly as our driver rather quickly drove us to the other side of the island. For the next 24 hours we took in as much as we could, snorkeling, walking beaches, eating/drinking in unique restaurants and meeting great people. The sunset and sunrise brought tears to my eyes. Sadly, we had to head out the next day. We caught a flight for $22 each back to Fajardo and headed back to Dorado. Now, less then a year later and having made two longer visits back to Vieques, I am waiting to hear when closing will be on the home I found on this enchanted island. I feel blessed! It truly was Love at First Sight….and now I am going to be part of this beautiful island. It all seems like a dream, but I believe I was meant to get there that day last April.
Betty (Omaha, NE)
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Reply from Luisa @ ViequesTravelGuide.com
Dear Betty, Thank you very much for sharing such a beautiful story. You sound as passionate and excited as the time that I visited Vieques for the first time. I also had a similar experience with a local, I was lost and he knew it as you said, he was kind to give me directions to my destination, I still looked lost to him so he stopped what he was doing, got in his car and had me follow him for 15 minutes until I got there. He did not want a penny from me, he was just happy to help. Viequenses are good people and if you take the time to get to know them, you will become family to them.
Congratulations on owning a little piece of this beautiful island, you must be elated.
It sounds like indeed you were meant to stumble upon Vieques, you sound madly in love with the island like me : ) I have met many people that have fallen with the island, they move there or buy property but then they focus on business, meeting people and politics and they lose focus of the reasons why they went there in the first place.
Make sure you marvel at the beauty of Vieques every day. Get to the beach, don’t sweat the small stuff and live as simply as possible so you can concentrate on enjoying all the natural beauty and sharing it with the people you love.
Again congratulations and feel free to contact me if I can assist you with anything.
Warmest regards,
Luisa
Creator, Vieques Travel Guide.com