by Janie Chadwick
by Janie Chadwick
February |
|
2010 |
Hi everyone,
I can tell that it’s February simply by the number of
calls and emails I have gotten from friends still living in places where you
have to own a snow shovel and a down coat. The beauty of a white Christmas has
long worn off and you know that the stupid groundhog is going to see his shadow,
which of course means that winter is way not over yet. I know you think that
those of us living on the island spend idle hours at the beach, and watch every
sunset, drink in hand. Well, we do. However, there are a few things that we
whine about.
For instance, do you have mosquitoes in your refrigerator? It defies logic that
a bug would choose to invade a space that is cold. The upside is that it is much
easier to kill them when they are suffering from hypothermia. The rain that
spawned the mosquitoes in the fridge also spawned the growth of every plant and
every weed on the island. People are walking into happy hour looking like they
contracted some sort of palsy. The reality…..too much time running the weed
whacker.
Where I am from it takes two hundred years to grow a big tree. You plant a small
one and are guaranteed that any problems resulting from it will be dealt with by
your great, great, great, great grandchildren. Not so here. A tree I planted
seven years ago as a one foot high stick about an inch in diameter is now over
fifteen feet tall and its trunk is a foot and a half thick. It is also pulling
up my driveway. Now, here in Puerto Rico, that which you plant you are not
allowed to cut down. Yep, you need a permit. Chances are that by the time the
permit is issued, the tree will be thirty feet high and my driveway will be
obliterated. (in all honesty, the reason behind the permits is to prevent people
from clear cutting land and creating erosion problems).
Those beautiful flowers you see in every Caribbean ad most likely belong to a
bougainvillea bush. They are lovely but have thorns sharper than Excalibur. When
you see someone looking like the loser in a cat fight, you know they have those
beautiful flowers in their yard. The same goes for those little key limes.
Whenever you think the price of a margarita is too high, remember that someone
risked life and lime to pick those suckers.
And finally, it gets cold here too. It is not unusual to see people wearing long
pants, hooded sweatshirts and horror of all horrors, socks, this time of year.
The only people you will see floating in the Caribbean are those that the day
before yesterday were using that snow shovel. The water at 78 degrees is simply
too cold for the rest of us. OK. That’s it. No more whining.
So what’s happening on the island. A lot. Let’s start with the Super Bowl.
It is a very important day and you can enjoy it several places. Al’s Mar Azul
has four screens. Belly Buttons has a large flat screen in the new
bar. Duffy’s Esperanza has three screens. Lazy Jack’s has a couple of
screens as well. You can get plenty of food and drink at all four places. A
quick word about the Super Bowl commercials. We don’t get them. Since the game
is aired on a major network, the commercials are those produced by the local
affiliate. This means you will see lots of Medalla commercials, but none by
Budweiser. It is safe in this case to head to the restroom during the commercial
breaks. In the past, missing the commercials was almost like missing the 80 yard
punt return touchdown.
Since we’re on the discussion of Sunday and remembering that Brunch is my
favorite repast , there are now three places offering that all important meal.
Cantina La Reina is open 11am-2pm with a Mexican style menu. It is good
and it is fast. Conuco, the pink building across from Banco Popular whose
name I couldn’t remember last month has a great Puerto Rican brunch. The last
time I was there, it was BYOB while they wait for their liquor license.
(Remember the tree and the permit, well, getting a liquor license here sometimes
takes longer than completing a PhD.) To be safe, bring a bottle. If they have
the license, just bring it home with you. The Next Course began brunch
two weeks ago, with a menu of eclectic items.
The other big day in February is, of course, Valentine’s Day. There are
so many places where you can dine on this all important night. From the white
table cloths of El Quenepo, the great menu at the Next Course, to
the funky fun of Coconuts, you can find a place that fits your style.
And, speaking of style, an old favorite has just re-opened. The Palms at
BBH is now open Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights from 5pm to 9 or
10pm. The Palms serves cocktails poolside and is a wonderfully quiet
place to have a drink. There is a new owner at BBH and we are all excited
about what is to come there. Also, don’t forget about the Barefoot Bistro
just across the street from BBH. The dining room is the driveway and the
food is down home good.
If you want to be a real hero and celebrate Valentine’s Day a little early,
Coqui Fire is hosting a Valentine Dinner on Saturday the 13th. It is a prix
fixe menu including a glass of champagne.
Duffy is still open at Chez Shack. He is going strong every Monday with
Grill Night featuring a local steel band. Wednesday through Saturday the
restaurant offers items like grilled duck breast and Duffy’s famous baked
Caribbean Crab. Rumor is that he is even putting crab in it this year.
Belly Buttons finished building the new bar and they are now open seven
days and seven nights. The lunch menu continues into the night for light bites
and they offer dinner specials. So far I have had the lasagna and the New York
strip steak. Both were excellent and a good value. And, by the by, Reenie is
working Friday and Saturday days at the bar. That alone makes it a must do.
The Window Café run by Carli has opened at Lazy Jack’s. Carli
offers great coffee, bagels and pastry from around 7am to 2pm every day. You can
also have a wonderful breakfast at Bili. Evita has come up with some
Puerto Rican inspired dishes and the fresh ground coffee is truly to die for.
The schedule is a little bit erratic but worth waiting for.
Joe and Liz are doing Thai Night every Friday at Taverna. The other
nights they offer Italian cuisine and a great, great thin crust pizza. During
the day, Beverly offers a lunch menu to eat in or take out. The salmon salad is
my favorite, followed by the churrasco salad, followed by the…….ok, so you get
the idea.
For a little different kind of night, stop by the second floor at Cantina La
Reina. They somehow managed to get a pool table up there??????? The
atmosphere is laid back, the view of Isabel Segunda is fabulous. You can order
appetizers off the menu and there is a full bar. Usually, the third floor is
open for lounge style seating and is a really quiet place to chat.
As always, I do need to mention my two favorite
charities in this month of love and giving. The Vieques
Historical Society and Conservation Trust has several fund raisers this
month. They are offering tours of the sugar plantation ruins out by Playa
Grande, talks and hike for bird watchers, lectures about green living by local
architects and two house tours. The house tours are really, really fun. You get
to see some awesome homes and gardens. What fun to poke around and donate at the
same time. Call the Trust at 787-741-8850 for specific dates, times and donation
requests.
The Trust has been a significant force in the fight to assist Haiti following
the earthquakes there. They raised much needed funding to purchase medicines,
especially antibiotics, that doctors in Haiti needed so desperately. Doctors
from Vieques were among the first on site and were able to establish a hospital
unit on the Dominican border.
The other charity, and the one just a bit closer to my heart, is the
Vieques Humane Society. The shelter has
weathered a tough year donation-wise and due to a series of unfortunate
circumstances is now the only source for veterinary care on the island. One of
the most successful programs has been SNAP, which stands for spay and neuter.
The program was able to sterilize 520 animals in 2009. Kudos to Carol Thompson
for her extra special hard work in making this program a success.
On February 20th, the Humane Society will hold its annual Art Auction. This
year the new owners of BBH have graciously donated the venue. It promises to
be a super fun time. Call the Shelter at 787-741-0209 for more information and
tickets. If you are thinking, even remotely, about getting a pet, please,
please, please, think about adopting one from the shelter. There are so many
deserving animals just waiting to make you the most important person in their
life.
A few words about Beaches. Red Beach
is still closed due to road paving. They are working fast, but
there is no absolute re-opening date. Blue, Secret, Orchid and Silver are all
accessible, just drive the speed limit. Green
Beach is still down because of the bridge.
The road to Navio is absolutely horrible. Be a considerate driver
when venturing out there. If we go, we are driving our own vehicles and we drive
slowly. Please just get in line.
This year the Maleçon in Esperanza has really begun to pop. Everyday
there are water sports, boutiques, street vendors, and restaurants open for
business. Parking, however, has become even a bigger issue than in the past with
most businesses blocking parking directly in front of their properties. While an
inconvenience, it should be viewed as a learning curve for when the Maleçon
becomes a pedestrian only thoroughfare. This is just around the corner. We
thought it was just around the corner about a year and a half ago, but all
reports from the rumor mill indicate renovations will begin sometime this
Spring. There is parking near Fun Brother’s Water Sports and some places like
Belly Buttons have off street parking.
We look forward to seeing you this month. If the snow and the cold and the
thought of six more weeks (at least) of the same hasn’t convinced you to get
your ticket down here, perhaps you will have an all consuming need to verify
that indeed we have mosquitoes in the fridge.
Thanks for reading!
Janie
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