This photo is a good example of something I’ll pull over and stop to capture while driving around and exploring. Chris is awesome at responding to my random spur-of-the-moment pleas to stop the car. These pockets of colorful art around the island of Vieques were one of my favorite things to photograph!
One of the reasons we were super excited about our trip to Vieques was for the abundance of famed beautiful beaches. During my initial research, I had read about the varied coastlines around the island and I was eager to explore each one – the picturesque soft sands and clear water at La Chiva, the volcanic black sand of Playa Negra, and even the rocky landscape of the small beach right behind Villa Chavaniac where we were staying for the week (pictured below).
On our first full day, we pointed our trusty Jeep Wrangler down a bumpy road straight for La Chiva to experience postcard-worthy panoramas. Our cargo space carried folding chairs, towels, sunscreen, and all of the essentials for a day on the beach. However, when we arrived at Blue Beach, we found massive amounts of seaweed (specifically sargassum) lining the white sand and collecting in the shallow water.
We popped in and out of different entrances to La Chiva and found each section pretty well covered in seaweed. No matter though, we figured another beach nearby might be a better spot. We checked out Pata Prieta and Caracas, but found the same situation. In some areas the seaweed was even piled up several feet high.
Not to be deterred, we set out the following day in search of our perfect beach. We headed west to find Punta Arenas, and we discovered a clear expanse of sand and water free of seaweed. Score! And snorkeling in this spot was pretty decent. A short swim down the shoreline rewarded us with a small batch of healthy coral and colorful juvenile fish.
Mid-week, Chris and I drove by Gallito Beach on the north side of the island. It was lightly sprinkled with seaweed, but not too bad at all. We didn’t swim here – I was simply looking for good beach photo ops. Check!
Playa Negra, a short hike from the road along a clear trail, wasn’t the blackest black sand beach I’ve ever seen and we didn’t end up swimming there either, but it was incredibly beautiful nonetheless. It was also the perfect spot for a few portraits.
photo by Chris Marks
Esperanza Beach along the south side of the island seemed to be a popular choice for locals and tourists alike. I’m not sure what the pattern is with the seaweed, but this seemed to be one of the only southern areas that wasn’t plagued quite as much as the other beaches.
On our last full day Chris and I hung out at the house for a low-key day, but my sister and Arne kept exploring and finally found their perfect beach in Sun Bay, which is also along the southern shore. The soft sand was free and clear of seaweed, and the clear turquoise shallow water stretched out before them without a trace of sargassum.
photo by Stephanie G’Schwind
I don’t claim to be any kind of botanist, but from what I’ve read sargassum shows up in cycles at various times in the year for multiple reasons (tradewinds, tides, changes in temperature, etc.). We encountered it in Belize as well. Here’s an article that goes into some details about the weed, includIng some of its benefits to the environment. It doesn’t sound like there’s any way to predict it well in advance like when you’re in trip-planning mode, but if you do visit Vieques at least you can rest assured there are tons of beaches to choose from, and chances are good you’ll find an amazing spot as long as you’re up for the adventure of looking for it. For us that was part of the fun!
The moral of the blog post/story is if you don’t find your perfect beach on the first try, keep exploring!
I have literally been waiting for this trip for years. And I can legitimately use the word literally there because my sister and I started planning this trip early in 2014. We officially booked a villa in Vieques exactly 412 days in advance, so my sister, brother-in-law, Chris, and I have been counting down the days ever since.
I have to admit I was a little hesitant to book a Caribbean trip during the start of hurricane season since Chris and I have encountered them so frequently, but Mother Nature must have decided to give us a break this year. Other than one cloudy day with a few showers, the weather was pretty great and storm-free all week. We had electricity the entire time, and none of our activities were canceled. Perhaps our hurricane bad luck spell has been broken!
Chris and I met up with Stephanie and Arne in San Juan and then the four of us took a tiny prop plane together from mainland Puerto Rico to the much smaller island of Vieques. I think this plane was even smaller than the one Chris and I took to Ambergris Caye. (That’s my beautiful sister sitting behind the pilot!)
When we arrived on Vieques, we picked up our rental car (a necessity on the island) and headed to Villa Chavaniac to settle in for the week. We were all impressed at first sight – the villa was even more beautiful than the photos online and we were happy to call it home for seven days. My geometry might be slightly off, but I’d estimate that we had at least a 180-degree view of the ocean and we could see clear to the mainland as well as Culebra in the distance. The water below our villa provided a soothing soundtrack at night as we listened to the waves crash against the seawall. A rocky beach perfect for seashell hunting and crab watching stretched off in both directions. It was the perfect paradise setting.
Villa Chavaniac is situated just minutes from the colorful town of Isabel Segunda where we found stores to supply our kitchen at home and a few bars and restaurants to visit throughout the week. Isabel II is perhaps not the easiest place to navigate at first, but we eventually got the hang of the little one-way streets and quirky traffic obstacles like dogs, cats, chickens, children, and friendly locals chatting in the road. We found some delicious eats at Coqui Fire Cafe (so good – don’t miss it if you’re on the island!), Taverna, and Cafe Mamasonga.
We enjoyed wildlife spotting around the island on a daily basis. You really do have to keep your eyes peeled for creatures in the roads while you’re driving. Sometimes it was an obvious band of horses, while other times it was a tiny hard-to-spot mongoose scurrying across, or a small kitten hanging out on the street’s edge.
Before we arrived on the island, I expected to see the horses. I read that they are generally everywhere on Vieques. And despite my assumption that they are wild, we were told that for the most part they actually have owners who locate them as needed. We saw a few locals using horses as transportation, but mostly the horses (and other animals) roamed free.
Some of my favorite meals during the week were scored on the cheap from food trucks around the island. Chris and I shared an amazing (and huge!) Cuban sandwich at Sol Food off of Rt. 997 on the way to the southern beaches. It was there that I also tried my very first empanada and I’m hooked. We also tried pastelillos at the Pastelillos de Alcapurrias truck in Esperanza and loved them, too. To be honest I’m not quite sure I understand the difference between empanadas vs. pastelillos, but I think it has to do with the size? Either way, both are delicious!
Speaking of Esperanza, the other town on Vieques, we spent a few evenings there walking along the Malecón enjoying the views and the beach bars. We all sampled the fare and drinks at Bananas before our kayaking adventure on Mosquito Bay (more on that in a future post).
Upcoming in the next few posts, I’ll talk about our search for the best beach, a kayaking trip on the bioluminescent bay in the dark, and snorkeling at Mosquito Pier!
This snapshot was taken on a quick turboprop plane flight and I love the kid in the back row, scowling towards the camera. We were heading back to Belize City from San Pedro to catch our flight home and I think they were, too, so I totally understand. I can recognize the vacation-is-over-blues when I see it!
While snorkeling off of Ambergris Caye, Ernesto brought us to the site of a shipwreck so that we could explore and see the coral formations that had grown around the sunken structure. I used to think underwater wrecks were pretty creepy and that I wanted nothing to do with them (I’m especially NOT interested in swimming inside of one), but I totally enjoyed seeing this site. It was hard to photograph because the main parts of the ship were pretty deep, but it was neat to see how ocean life had taken over. And actually, it was my second wreck that week – there was a small boat at the bottom of Tuffy Canyons where we went scuba diving. Maybe I’ll eventually come around to the idea of doing wreck diving? Maybe.
