New Cabanas and old rentals....

With a full 24 hours on  island under our belts, Lorrie and I breathed that sigh which signals we've made it to Vieques, finally.  This trip we're staying at Casa Dos Chivos, again. This will make our third stay. Each time we come back to this house we ask ourselves, why we ever left in the first place. It's very reasonable. We paid $900 a week, you can get in off season for $800 a week. That's roughly 1k square foot house with probably every bit of 75 lineal  foot of veranda. You can also rent the downstairs for a few more coins. Communication and booking is absolutely painless, you can pay by CC online or via check. Response time from Michael and Patrick has been fantastic and that's based on nearly 4 years of experience on our part. They've been this way since our very first  time.  They've got it figured out, plus they care. The below picture is what we found in the frig when we arrived yesterday:

Now I'm not saying they do this for every renter, maybe repeat customers. Anyway, little touches do make a difference. Thank you Michael and Patrick!

A few things we noticed:

New beach chairs (Tommy Bahama)
Some different furniture on the veranda
New pictures on the walls
Lorrie thinks there's a new kitchen sink (I'm not sure)

Some things have stayed the same, like plenty of cutlery, ample dishes, immaculate clean house, "real" furniture to sit on (like a couch!),   and that wonderful  ylang-ylang tree off the veranda that you smell while sitting on the couch. The scent of ylang-ylang is like heaven on earth. The very first time I was exposed to it  was at the Hacienda Tamarindo and  I was so enamored with the fragrance that I spent  that first evening locating where it was emanating  from. The tree which I ended up finding was not particularly special at all. Even the bloom is unobtrusive, well at least visually:

 But the smell from these trees, man that's something. The name ylang-ylang (pronounced eelang-eelang) is derived from either the word ilang, meaning "wilderness", alluding to it's natural habitat, or the word ilang-ilan, meaning "rare", suggestive of it's exceptionally delicate scent. The plant is native to the Philippines and Indonesia where it is sometimes referred to as the "perfume" tree.  A fitting name since it is one of the main ingredients in Chanel No. 5

So there you have it, probably more than you wanted to know about the ylang-ylang tree. But if you ever stay at Casa Dos Chivos you can wow your companions with a few ylang-ylang facts.

This morning around 8:30am we got a phone call from Andre, welcoming us back and telling us that he and Judy would met us out at "you know where". Yes, he really said that. Lorrie and I just laughed.  In case you don't get it, "you know where" translates to La Plata.

We loaded up and made it to La Plata about 9:30am. First order of business was setting up the new cabana. Everything for the cabana came with us from Indiana and fit into our suitcase. No more wood poles. Nothing at all for anyone to get "nervous" about.

We used the same sheet and pillow cases we always have, but decided to tie-dye the lot. The poles are collapsible so as to fit in our luggage.

I would love for Kincaid to see our newest design, but rumor has it he's leaving the island.

:-)

Built to Last....

Our first night at Hilltop was wonderful. Cool breezes all night long and really quiet. Now it's no secret that we are big time coffee drinkers, bringing our own beans and grinder with us each time we visit the island.  We were a little disappointed to  find a coffee maker  that makes about 2 cups.  So far that's the only thing we've found about this place that might be improved.  As a matter of fact, we were so comfortable here that we didn't leave until nearly 10am. It was just so nice sitting out on the veranda taking in the view and breezes.

But eventually we did head out and made our way back to our fav, Orchid. We pulled into our normal parking spot not seeing any other cars.  When we walked out to the beach guess what I found? My cabana from November, it was still standing and in very good shape too. I have a picture of it below:

Lorrie even found my wind sock from November laying in the grass. I hung it up and it seemed like nothing had changed since we were here in November.  That cabana was built to last.  There was one other couple on Orchid this morning, Judy and Andre. Lorrie and I walked right over and said hi. They were all smiles just like us. Andre told me he had been thinking about Lorrie and I last night and was trying to contact us via email but couldn't find our email address anywhere. They were hoping that we would show up, just like we were hoping to find them on Orchid when we arrived. We stood and talked for awhile, Andre pointed out all the rock balancing he and Judy had been doing since they arrived last month.  As we were talking a another couple showed up. Andre and Judy mentioned that they hadn't yet done their morning exercises and that they had better get to it, since the beach was filling up. Lorrie and I went back to tidying up our cabana.

After we had everything put in order Lorrie and I decided to take a walk down to the eastern side of Orchid. We could see that the "Love Shack" was still up  and that the new arrivals had moved into it.  We walked past the Love Shack, saying a casual "hi there" to the current residents. They were a husband and wife with two young children. The husband stood up and ask me "Your Curt, aren't you?" Sure am I replied. He introduced himself as well as his  wife. Dave and Andrea. Dave has read our blog and even commented on one of our posts. They have been coming to the island for 9 years. They're here for a month this time.  They homeschool their children, making is easier for them to travel to the island for a month at a time.

After our walk Lorrie and I kicked back and just took it all in. The surf was really up, so I wasn't really in any hurry to go out and trying snorkeling. While we were sitting there Andre came over and ask if Lorrie and I wanted to head over to the Orchid art gallery. Andre really had an alterior motive in mind, he needed my help to move a large piece of coral and balance it.  Lorrie and I grabbed our gear and headed over to the east side to check out the new pieces. It was while we were over there that Lorrie passed her test and became certified as a rock balancer by Andre and Judy. After Andre and I moved the mammoth hunk of coral and got it up into place we all went back to Andre and Judy's hangout and Lorrie got her card. I have video of it below:

It was a lot of fun and we all laughed about it. Lorrie now knows the secret handshake and everything. After that I was getting hungry and Lorrie had already said she would drive to Sol Food, so away she went. I walked over to the west side of Orchid and balanced a few rocks. When I got back to the cabana another couple had arrived, they set up to the west of us.  The female half of the couple walked over to our cabana, where I was sitting, and ask about the structure. I told her I had built it in November of last year. We got to talking and I found out that they own the house that's right in from of Casa Dos Chivos...La Solana. They know Michael and Patrick and they also know Jim from TripAdvisor. 

Not long after I had finished chatting with my neighbors Lorrie showed up with lunch. I had the Bob Marely and Lorrie had the pulled pork with psychedelic purple cabbage. What's that the say..."if it ain't broke".  After lunch I headed out to try a little snorkeling, but the water was way to choppy and visability was poor, at best. When I came back in Lorrie told me that another couple had showed up and joined the owners of La Solana to the west of us. The other woman came over and introduced herself. She told Lorrie that she recognized her from somewhere but wasn't sure. Well, it was the pictures from the blog and her name is Helen Davis and she owns Island Realty in Vieques. I know Denny,  who's a carpenter. The 6 of us sat and talked about the island for a long time. Helen was great to talk to. She's such a interesting woman and she's traveled all over the world. It was while we were all sitting there talking that Judy and Andre walked over. They invited Lorrie and I over to there place for supper this evening. They told us that if we made it over before 6 we could watch the sunset. Lorrie and I accepted and packed up and headed back to Hilltop to change.

We took a bottle of Merlot and a bottle of Glenlivet we had bought at Morales yesterday. We arrived at Judy and Andres @ 5:45, just in time to maybe catch a glimpse of the "green flash"  I have video of Judy explaining to Lorrie about the green flash:

As it turned out there was no green flash tonight. Some clouds where obscuring it. This was the last night that Judy and Andre would be able to see the flash from their place. The reason is because of the way the sun is moving each day. Tomorrow or the next it'll probably be setting behind that rock point in the distance.

After that we had some drinks while dinner finished cooking. Andre, who had never had scotch before, tried some of my Glenlivet. Here's a shot of him below:

After cocktails it was on to the food. Would you just look at how nice a meal these two put on for Lorrie and I. It was awesome.

After dinner we sat out under the stars. Had coffee and told stories. We talked about getting snowed in on Labor day in Montana. Judy and Andre told us about Africa and about Andre mountain climbing the Tetons. It was  a great evening and an absolutely perfect first day on the island, much of it thanks to our very good friends Judy and Andre. 

:-)

November Video....

Just a video from our trip this past November. Orchid, Escondida and Blue beach.

:-)

Slow'n it down......

Water was perfect today on Playa Chiva.  Check out the video and you'll see what I mean.



We began the day early. Got to Playa Chiva about 8:40am and were delighted to find it crystal clear. I busied myself with building a cabana, yeah I know...another one.  Lorrie was a real trooper and did the beach combing for rope.

She also took quite a few shots of the construction of Casa Verde (we had a green flag on it and used green rope). Here's the process, as if you haven't seen it before:

He digs the holes.

He gathers the poles.

He builds the frame...

He gathers the fronds...

can't think of a rhyming word that corresponds.

Almost finished

Ta DA!

We used it all day...just kick'n back and taking things easy.

Left the beach about 4:30. Got home, ate and headed over to Peter and Rick's place. Peter had invited us over for drinks a day or so ago. This made our second visit and we really wanted to see how their construction had progressed. Peter was nice enough to allow us to take some pictures. The place is spectacular. I ask Peter if he ever pinches himself when he looks out his back door. What a view. A side benefit of visiting such a wonderful place like theirs is that I was able to get my "dog" fix. They've got 4 dogs and 2 cats (I think I have that right?) We love their pets and I had been missing Thorn, so it was nice.

And finally, here's some of the shots we took. It was later in the evening when we went over so the light was fading.

Last year when we were over they had what looked like a skateboard ramp in the area where the palm tree is. The palm trees were to be delivered the next day and the ramps were used to slide the palms into place.

See I told you there were dogs.

We love the downstairs of the house.

 What a great way to end a nice slow day. Thanks again Peter, we had a wonderful time. He makes the best Gin/tonics on the island.

Hasta Manana

So why did the chicken cross the road?

You'll have to watch the video to find out. It's a short one, only 50 seconds long.





We first drove out to Orchid  but the surf was still too rough and visibility would be poor. Drove over to Escondida to check it out and it seemed worse. Playa Chiva wasn't much better. So we ended up spending the day down at Pata Prieta. There was a strong east wind today and it's somewhat sheltered. The waters were a lot calmer but visibility was still poor. Lorrie and I snorkeled out to the far left hand side (standing on the beach looking out) and didn't really see much. Weather was gorgeous today. So much so that the sun was kinda hot. We had initially set up camp under a tree on the beach. I have a shot of it below:

It really wasn't as comfortable as one of my cabanas. I decided to go scavenging for some rope. I went all over the beach and really couldn't find anything. Told Lorrie I would be unable to build a cabana. I had found some vines that I thought might work, I've built one with them before but it's much harder. It was when I was looking at the vines that I found one wad of rope. Voila! I was in business. I didn't know it but Lorrie took a shot of the structure while it was in progress:

While I was working on our little cabana Lorrie drove down to Sol Food for some lunch (cabana building can make a guy hungry.) While Lorrie was down at Sol Food she ran into John and Anna. We met them a couple days ago on Orchid beach. Great people from the big apple. By the time Lorrie returned with the food our casa was finished. Here's some shots of it:

and yes...it also had my patented cup holders.

Rest of the day was spent like this....

or like this....

We ended up leaving around 5pm. The "no-see-ums" were coming out for their evening feed. As a final note, just in case anyone is interested...the chicken crossed the road twice.

Can you believe we saw it up the hill in the parking area right next to our jeep!

:-)

The Love Shack....

Lorrie and I felt compelled to do a video on the "Love Shack" that's on Playa Plata right now. It's seeing a lot of usage and everyone loves it. This is the same shack that the guy was doing the addition on yesterday. So with further ado here's the "LOVE SHACK"......




Surf was up on Playa Plata today. I tried doing some snorkeling but visability was very poor. Did manage to see a barricuda and a few snappers...but that's about it. We were at the beach most of the day. Got lunch from Sol Food again. I had a Bob Marley, Lorrie had the pulled pork sandwich. You've just got to experience the Sol Food. It's the best.

We moved into Casa Dos Chivos after we left Playa Plata, it was about 4pm. Immediately Lorrie and I felt like we were at home. We just love the place. Michael and Patrick have re-done the bathroom and shower. It looks great. After we got everything unloaded we headed back into Isabel for more provisions. Our first stop was El Sombrero Veijo. We have looked for the place a couple of times and had yet to find it. We met the owner, Kathy, last year on one of our visits to the island. This time was found the place. We saw Kathy as soon as we went in and she remembered us. She's such a great lady. She was telling us about a birthday party celebration they're having on Wed. of next week. It's for all the Nov. birthdays. When we told her that Lorrie's birthday was Nov. 8th she grabbed her notebook and wrote down Lorrie's name. It now seems that Lorrie is going to have her name on the cake for the celebration Wednesday, along with all the other Nov birthdays. We're planning on being there at 6pm for the festivities. It's also kind of a Thanksgiving celebration. We're looking forward to it and we'll be sure and take plenty of video. While we were there we picked up a liter of Tangueray for $22 and 750ml of The Glen Livet for $33. Are those great prices or what!

As I'm typing this Lorrie is laying on the couch reading one of the many books that Michael and Patrick have here in the house. The ylang ylang tree scent is blowing through-out the place. I've had more than my fair share of Glenfiddich. It's just doesn't get any better.

Hasta Manana

Cabana Accessories.......

Since yesterday was a stay in day, because of the rain, we left Los Frutales early. On the way down to 997 Lorrie and I were trying to remember when the Green Store opened? We needed a few things for the beach. Lorrie said it opened prior to 9am. I thought it didn't open until after 9am. Well we got there at 8:40 and it was still closed. I hated to drive all the way into Isabel so we headed out to the little colmado that's just outside of Esperanza before you get to Island Adventures. He was open. Super nice older gentleman. We found everything we needed.

So with provisions procurred we headed out to Orchid. We were hoping we could get there early enough to get the cabana I made this past Sunday. We only got to spend the one day at it. On the way back to the Orchid turnoff we noticed how the surf was up on Playa Chiva. I was sure that we would find the same thing out at Orchid. Lorrie and  I were checking out the tire tracks in the mud to see if anyone had beat us there. No one had. We were the first ones on the beach. It was 9:15 and the surf was up BIG time. We parked in our normal turnout and decided to check things out first. When we got to the cabana water was running under it when each big wave came crashing in. I could see that setting the coolers between the beach chairs wasn't gonna work. As we were deciding if we were gonna stay or not, it started raining. Great....another rain day. I had looked at the radar before we left and I thought it was  clear, but the forecast was calling for a 50% chance of rain. Guess they were right. We decided to go to the Jeep and wait for a few minutes. No sooner did we get in the Jeep than the rain stopped. So...back to the beach, but I told Lorrie to only bring the chairs and my little folding saw. I had a project in mind.

It seemed to me that I could build a little table to put the coolers and other things on to keep them out of the surf, should a big wave crash into our cabana. So..with plan in hand I started scavenging for building materials. I found the wad of rope that I used when I built the cabana. I found the cut offs from the poles when I built the cabana. They would work for legs. Didn't take long to find a few other branches to finish the top with. As I was beginning my little project Lorrie took a picture:

I don't know why it is that I feel the need to build something as soon as I hit the beach, but it seems like I do. Guess it's the carpenter in me coming out. Lorrie went about her sun worshipping and just sitting in the waves. I took a shot of her doing what she does best:

A coconut rolled up in the surf and she used it as a foot stool. hmm...I bet I could make a really kewl foot stool, but for now it was on with the table. I had to make a few trips scavenging for more rope and a few other sticks. Not sure how long it took me. Maybe and hour or so. But I got her done. We took some pictures of it:

So...mission accomplished we moved into the cabana, waves be damned. And there were quite a few that came into the cabana but our coolers were high and dry. I was noticing Lorrie when she was drinking a beer and she would sit it down in the sand. As a wave would come in she would grab the beer so it wouldn't tip over. Hah...I know how to fix that. How about a cup holder. I remembered seeing a piece of bamboo when I was scavenging for rope. I went and got in and in a jiffy we had cup holders, the both of us.

Table...cup holders...now I felt like I could relax for awhile. Lorrie grabbed the camera and got a shot of me enjoying my handy-work.

The waves were still breaking pretty hard but not as many were making it into our cabana now. It was while we were both sitting there that I noticed a sail in the distance. It was coming closer. I grabbed the video cam and caught a Hobie GetAway as it was coming on shore. Lorrie and I both couldn't believe how fast it was moving.

We spent the rest of the day playing in the surf...walking the beach...talking to different people. I went over to the east side and put up quite a few rock balancing pieces. Wonderful day. We stayed until 5pm. The no-see-ums were just beginning to come out. We're heading back to our little, un-named, cabana in the morning.

Hasta manana

:-)

Beach Cabana....

I've had a number of people ask me about the beach cabanas I built when were were in Vieques. So I decided to put a picture of one that we built last Feb.  on Orchid beach. Here a shot of tit:

This one I put some diagonal bracing on and it really seem to help with the wind coming in off the ocean.  When you build these it's important to make sure that you make it large enought for a couple of beach chairs and your cooler. We even hung out under this one when some rain came in.  I usually find some sort of stick to use as a shovel so that I can get the poles down at least a foot...the deeper the bettter. There are plenty of dead palm fronds if you look for them . I wouldn't advise cutting off fresh ones.

Casa Corona

I awoke @ 5am this morning, determined to be the first one to Orchid. I woke Lorrie up @ 6am. We had coffee and listened to the roosters, in the dark. Forecast was calling for a 40% chance of showers, we decided to head out anyway. Left Casa Dos Chivos @ 7:30.

We made it to Orchid about 7:45 and were the first ones there. I immediately went to work on the roof of the cabana because it looked like rain. Sure enough it began sprinkling. We stuck it out and finally it abated. Eventually we were rewarded with clear blue skies and not a soul on Orchid. I spent the time under the shelter to make a better sign for our new cabana. I got some video of it.

While we were sitting there in our beach chairs I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. It was down by the old cabana. An iguana, I got some video of it:

Finished filming the iguana I went back to just sitting under my new house, starring out into the Caribbean. It was then that a man and his daughter walked up  to Casa Corona. I hadn't even noticed him on the beach. He came up to me and said "Your Curt, from After the Mortgage". I said, well yes....I am. He then told me that I was the reason he was on Vieques. He's been reading this blog and enjoys our exploits. I thanked him for the kind words. Having someone else enjoy what we love so much makes it all worth while. Hope you have a great time on the island Kenneth and Sydney.

Oh that reminds me, last night when we were entering Casa Dos Chivos (it was 7:30 or so) someone stopped a vehicle on the road outside and yelled "Hi Curt and Lorrie!".  Not really knowing what to do I yelled back hi. He then indentified himself as VQSJim from trip advisor. Jim said he's been enjoying reading the blog. Jim IS the person to go to on Trip Advisor. He's an expert on Vieques. Jim lives on the island not far from Casa Dos Chivos.

It's 1pm now. There's about 26 people on Orchid. Surfs still pounding. I did go out and snorkel for a bit and  followed  a ray across Orchid for a long time. The surf is still too rough to get close into the reefs. We've been watching people use the old cabana here on Orchid. We're glad to see other people getting some use of it.

We ran into Bill and Bev on Orchid. Talked with them for a bit.  Said hello to a retired couple from Michigan with their daughter Brenda . They come down for 3 weeks or so every year. They like seeing the rock art. I did my duty as curator today, adding to the collection and mending some damaged pieces. We hung around on the beach until 4:30. Then headed by to Casa Dos Chivos.

When I got by to the house I gave Peter a call. We met Peter on our trip last November. Peter had emailed me on the 22nd wanting to hook up. Having no internet at the first house I didn't get his email until this morning.  Peter and Rick are in the process of renovating a house they bought a fews years back in Los Chivos.  We did end up making it over to their place and it's really something to see. They have, what we think, is a better view than Quinta Jabali. The two of them are great hosts. Lorrie and I  even got to try one of Peter's gin/tonics, without the tonic. It was quite good. The amount of work they've put into their place so far is amazing, different vista and elevations. They were having to large palms delivered from the main island the next day.  We would have loved to have taken some pictures but company was so good the thought never crossed our minds. Thank you Peter and Rick for opening up your house to us.

Made it back to the house @ 8pm. I was so tired from the long day that I turned in early.

Uploading day...

We slept in the morning. The weather was overcast with some very light showers. We decided to hang around the house. I needed some time to try and get videos and pictures uploaded because of the huge backlog I now have. We even took a nap around noon.

Finally about 1:30 things cleared off and we headed to the beach. Once again it was Orchid where we going. Driving past La Chiva we saw a lot of cars at the turnouts...so I knew that my shelter would be taken. I was, in a way, wanting to build another one anyway. I wanted to make it a little bit larger. Sure enough when we got there a party had our shelter. I was glad...gave me a project. Lorrie began her sun worshipping.

Not long after I began working on the cabana Andre and Judy came down to watch the construction. Andre had hidden some really nice limbs for me down where they usually hang out. I went down with Andre and retrived them. He did a really nice job because they were just the right diameter. We walked back down to my construction site and Andre helped me with the lashing of the poles. We all stood there and talked for a long time. This was Andre and Judy's last day on the island. They were leaving tomorrow on their way back to New York. But it's not as bad as it sounds because they're only in New York for 3 days then they head to Mexico. We'll miss them a lot. Wonderful people. I wish we lived nearer to them as I so value their company.

After the good-byes  it was back to the construction project for me. I decided to go ahead and put some diagonal bracing on the cabana because it looked like a storm might be coming in. After that was finished I ask Lorrie what we should name our new Casa. She said Casa Corona. I liked it. So I found a palm branch and carved the name into it. We plan on being at Casa Corona early tomorrow. Here's a few shots of it:

 Hasta mañana