Buenos Dias from Besos!
Yes...that's the vista from the house. Nice to set out on the deck drinking it all in, plus maybe a cup of coffee to rid yourself from jet lag.
First thing on the agenda was to secure provisions. Nothing much glamorous about grocery shopping. We went to Morales and spent $308. That included a bottle of rum, a bottle of scotch and a case of Medallas. (little did I know at the time that we would nearly exhaust those Medallas before this day would be over).
After we got all the food put away, we both decided to take a little siesta. It takes a couple days to rid yourself of the travel hangover.
Refreshed we decided to head out. First destination was the house. I plan on spending as much time there as possible to let Lorrie get a feel for the place. Both of the "pittys" (pitbulls) were there. They didn't remember me, so it took us a bit to gain their confidence. The breezes on the porch were just fantastic, and quiet, that place is so very quiet. I have been cooresponding, via Joy, with the previous renters of the house. They lived there for 16 years. They had to move back to Florida because of a medical condition. We were at the house for about 2 hours. It's beyond describing.
Next was to the Mambo and some Spanish practice.
"Dos bolsas de heilos"
That's two bags of ice. Last year the lady working the cash register helped me with that. When I finally got it right last year she gave me a sucker. It was funny.
But no sucker this time, just two bags of ice.
So with ice and medallas we headed out to the refuge. I ask Lorrie where she wanted to start? Of course she said La Plata.
Not much had changed on the way into the refuge. Sol food was open, which surprised us since it was nearly 2pm. The roads have been freshly graded, but other than that things seemed the same. Not many people. We only counted 5 or 6 cars as we passed La Chiva. No one at La Plata except for one vehicle at turnout 27 (Judy and Andres spot). We pulled in next to that jeep and began unloading.
When we got to the beach who do you suppose was there? Why Bill and Joy. Great minds do think alike.
As you can see the seaweed was pretty bad. Bill had told me that this beach was clear two days ago. He was thinking that the weather that had delayed our flight had also pushed in this new batch. Didn't matter though. We were on the beach breathing in the salt air with good friends.
Bill was the first to hand out the Medallas. We sat there catching up, talking about why we love Vieques and why nobody else understands us. Just the 4 of us. They are so much like us it's spooky.
Lorrie and I did wonder over to the gallery. The sand is coming back under the porcia tree as you wade over. It's nearly back to the way it used to be. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that the seaweed is one of the reasons the beach is coming back over there. We set up some pieces. I put up the same stone that I have for the last 4 years now. It was beautiful over there.
The above shot is from late in the day, somewhere near 5pm. Bill and Joy were leaving to go find a place in Esperanza that had fresh seafood and moonshine! The owner we had met last Feb when we were at the fish market. His brother is a fisherman and the menu changes depending on what the catch of the day is. They also serve barbecue pork. Bill ask if we wanted to join them, should they be successful in finding the place. Lorrie and I were unsure. We wanted to stay a bit longer on la plata, plus we wanted to go back to the house in Los Chivos and watch the sunset. We said our goodbyes and I told Bill to text me if they did indeed find the place.
The sunset and breezes that evening up at the house in los chivos were fantastic. The pittys welcomed us with wagging tails. Lorrie and I sat on the porch with the dogs asleep at our feet. Hardly a car drove by. It was great.
I think it must have been 7 or so when I finally checked my phone. Bill had indeed found the place and he and Joy were headed back to their place to shower and change. I ask Lorrie if she wanted to go check the place out, kind of a birthday celebration. Yes, today is Lorrie's birthday. She agreed, let's do it. I let Bill know that we would meet them at Duffys. He could find Lorrie and I at the bar having a rum punch.
Duffys was great and the rum punches were as good as ever. Lorrie and I had just finished our first ones when Bill came running up. "I'm double parked on the Malecon, hurry. I'll drive". So off we went. Lorrie and I had no idea where we were headed nor the name of the place. Keep in mind that Lorrie and I haven't eaten much of anything since early this morning.
So we go on this backstreet from the Malecon, near the park. It looked like a neighborhood to me. Bill parks and we walk up to this sort of food stand with some tables and chairs set up on what seems like the sidewalk. Now, I have to admit, by this time the lack of food, combined with the medallas and rum punch that is really beginning to kick in, was beginning to sort of blurr things.
Out comes this smiling man who immediately hand each of us a Medalla.
He was so welcoming and friendly. It's hard to find this kind of hospitality back home.
Bill ordered for us all. I don't remember what we other than it was some sort of fish with vegetables.
Somewhere around this time is when the moonshine came out. It had a rose color to it and tasted really sweet. He served it in little plastic shot glasses. We never ask for it, he just kept bringing it out. As a matter a fact we never really had to ask for anything. He would just keep bring out more Medallas and moonshine.
We laughed and ate and had so very, very much fun. We were there very late, probably too late for the neighborhood. Our host never once complained.
This is a snaphot of the facebook page the place:
and here the link to the same page -
Rancho Choli
Great day and a great birthday for Lorrie, one we'll never forget.
:-)
