A change can do you good.....

I was sitting here thinking about the last couple days. For us it was a change, so that is what I decided todays post was about. Change. But coming up with  a clever way to segue from the above Sheryl Crow video to Sun Bay, didn't happen,  although the last couple days have been about change, albeit nothing like what she's talking about.

I don't like change. That's why we keep coming to Vieques. People ask "why don't you try something else?"  My standing reply is "we found something we like, why change it?" That's more or less the way I operate. If it works, why change, unless of course you're forced to and this trip has that has happened (thank you Navy). Oh, I was, and still do, pine for La Plata, but in the last couple of days we've acquired a new respect for Sun Bay. We were  sort of experiencing a  Caracas burnout, don't know why.  Two days ago I  suggested to Lorrie we try Sun Bay, maybe even check out Media Luna and Navio (both of which we have never been to in like 11 trips now.)  I had always written Sun Bay off as a boring "local" beach. We had been there for just a very few minutes on our first trip to the island. My initial impression was that is wasn't very wild looking, with the lifeguard stands and  clean beach and pruned palms. That impression had pretty much stuck for the last 4 years, that is until now.

We've spent the last two days at Sun Bay. Walked the entire length of it (which is just a tad over a mile) and decided it's a very nice beach, worth spending time at.

I hadn't, in my other visit to Sun Bay,  noticed just how nice the sand is. It's not nearly as white as Chiva or La Plata, but the consistency and slope make it an excellent beach to walk.

And then there are the horses. Sun Bay wouldn't be Sun Bay if the horses weren't out grazing on the large open fields as you drive in. Yesterday we became really good friends with a group of them. Lorrie noticed something behind her, as we were just sitting in the shade taking a break. When she turned there was this horse not 3 foot from her. 

Either they sensed we were not alarmed or they are just that used to people, but this lead horse must have given the "ok" to the rest because within minutes we found ourselves in the middle of a group of them. They were in front, behind, and on all sides. 

I even got some video of the encounter:

Other than our encounter with the horses Sun Bay was really quiet. We spent most of our time down on the east end of the beach. Great area to swim. Saw a couple of starfish, one of which was dinner plate size. Sun Bay has the clearest water we've seen on island this trip. A lot of the other beaches are still cloudy with seaweed. 

We did take the time to drive out to Media Luna and then hike to Navio. Both were totally covered in seaweed. The first two pictures are of Media Luna:

The hike to Navio is very doable. I've seen people ask about this on Tripadvisor. Other than having to navigate some monster puddles, akin to small inland lakes, it's not that bad. I have driven through some pretty tough spots on Vieques, but I would not take the chance driving back to Navio. Maybe it might be different in the very dry season of winter. I can see why some rental car companies tell you that the cars are not allowed out at that beach. 

As was the case with Media Luna, Navio was totally covered in thick seaweed:

The water on both beaches was turbid and dark. As we were leaving Navio I noticed some tracks in the sand. At first I thought maybe someone had drug something out into the ocean from onshore, but upon further inspection it looked a lot like turtles to me. I found three spots like this.

Up on shore, where the tracks end and near the vegetation line, we found holes dug in the sand. I was almost like the nests were dug up?

Having large slugs of time, without any attached commitments, gives one the opportunity to pursue things that we normally wouldn't. 

i.e.

- Watching the sunrise, sunset

- Sitting for long uninterrupted periods (taking it all in)

- The esoteric study of noodleology

Noodleology?

Yes, Noodleology. Finding the perfect spot for your noodle when you're in the water. Being veteran noodlers,we've  advanced to a higher level of this study. We now take out two noodles. The goal is to replicate your favorite easy chair, only in the warm Caribbean waters. So to that end I leave you with our latest foray into this emerging art form:

Tomorrow is our last day. I'm seeing that it's 16 degrees back home this morning. Maybe I better rethink this "change can do you good" mantra.

:-)