Riding the storm out.....

Got a late start out to the refuge yesterday. After we stopped by the Mambo for our heilo and cervazas it must have been somewhere near noon. As we drove into the refuge I decided to go to each beach and count how many vehicles I saw. It has been our contention that there just are not that many people on island now, the reasons we've yet to figure out. So...using our "unscientific" methodology, here's what we found:

Caracas - 10 vehicles
Pata Prieta - didn't drive down to it
Chiva - 3 ( Can you believe that?)
La Plata - 2
Escondida - 0

So including us there were 16 vehicles, that we saw, on the refuge. Our plan for the day was to hang out at La Plata but that was changed when we saw a fresh batch of seaweed had moved in. I cannot believe how fluid this seaweed situation is. La Plata was perfect just 2 days ago, today it was rather turbid.

We drove back to La Chiva, one of the 3 vehicles had left and from what we could see there was no one visible on the beach. We parked at turnout 10, the only vehicle there. Weird....

Having our choice of palms we picked the one just down the beach to the west. No need for a cabana with this nice hangout.

 La Chiva wasn't super clear, but there wasn't really too much seaweed to deal with either.  We settled  in to enjoy the day. I had been watching this bank of storm clouds that was moving to the south of Vieques. Forecast had called for some rain today, but it looked like it would all stay to the south of the island.

As it got later in the afternoon it became obvious that we were in the path of this storm. Lorrie and I decided to try and ride it out, but the longer we stayed, the darker it got. 

Amazing to watch storms out at sea, they look so angry.  Lorrie and I always say to each other how spooky it would be to be out there in that on a small boat, or just in the water.

At one point we actually thought we had beat it but then this wave of cold air blew in (well cold in Vieques terms, it was 76 when we checked in the Jeep). The winds really picked up and the sea got even more angrier looking.  We ended up giving in once the rain started. And of course the whole refuge was empty by now. It was 4pm.

On our way back to Beso's we stopped by the VM (Vegetable Museum) and I have to say it no longer deserves that title. The owner has noticeably expanded his store and two of the semi's are now just and extension of the store. He is even installing acoustical ceiling tile in one of them. His offerings have really expanded. Much more than what we saw a few years ago. Handy place to stop by.

Rained most of the night....

:-)