No visit to London is complete without a trip to the top of
the iconic Walkie Talkie Building for drinks and incredible 360-degree views of
London. It’s touristy, it’s tacky, it’s crowded, and it’s absolutely
unforgettable. If you can get there before sunset, you can watch the sun go
down, and then dawdle with a rum punch while enjoying the sparkling lights of
London at night.
The "Walkie Talkie Building" is actually 20
Fenchurch Street, a commercial skyscraper in the historic City of London
financial district. It earned the nickname because of its distinctive shape,
which resembles a two-way radio handset.
Who would expect to have to stop for wild horses when driving along a dirt road on a Caribbean island? Who would expect to see swirls of neon blue when you dip your kayak paddle into an inky bay at night? Or to see a cluster of plants and rocks on the sea floor start moving, only to realize that clump is actually a creature?
Surprise! That’s the best word to describe the island of
Vieques.
To the uninitiated, Puerto Rico is a popular Caribbean vacation
destination, a bigger island than most. But most people are unaware that PR is
actually made up of a number of islands. The two largest (besides the mainland),
Vieques and Culebra, are tropical paradises sitting a few miles off the east
coast, their natural wonders just waiting to be discovered.
We visited the
larger one, Vieques, this week and will spend a couple nights on Culebra in
December.
Vieques is located just 7 miles off the east coast of Puerto Rico. You can take a ferry
to get there, but we opted for a ten-minute flight on Vieques Air Link from the
east coast airport of Ceiba. The flight was $80 round-trip, much more expensive
than the $4 R/T ferry ride. But the ferry can be unreliable, waits can be long,
and the water can get very rough, inducing seasickness – unless you’re truly
unlucky and can’t get on board at all. Get more info here.
We chose comfort, convenience, and guaranteed seats – which
meant packing like sardines into a tiny 8-seat plane for the eight-minute flight.
There are also flights to Vieques from two airports in San Juan, but which are
more expensive. There are also several air providers, but we chose the local
one, Vieques Airlink. Get more info here.
People don’t go to Vieques for nightlife. They go for
the nature. The island is quiet, lush, and uncrowded, with unmatched natural
beauty. Vieques is home to the brightest bioluminescent bay in the world, Mosquito
Bay. Travelers will discover countless undeveloped beach coves, as well as the
largest natural wildlife refuge in the Caribbean. They’ll also discover rough,
bumpy roads, which is why renting a 4WD vehicle is essential.
Vieques is 20 miles long and four miles wide. The
Atlantic Ocean crashes against its rocky shore on one side, while the Caribbean
Sea gently laps the golden sand beaches on the other.
The island has two main towns --
Esperanza on the Caribbean coast and Isabel Segunda on the Atlantic coast to
the north. Between them and stretching in both directions are lush mountains
crisscrossed by narrow dirt roads, with a jumble of colorful concrete houses
built to weather hurricanes and hot sub.
Isabel Segunda, to the north, has all the resources islanders need for their day-to-day lives -- a couple of small supermarkets, a few gas stations, Town Hall, the main Plaza, the Ferry Terminal, and a bunch of restaurants and shops.
Esperanza, to the south, has a more bohemian island-life vibe, with a number of open-air bars and restaurants boasting overprices pina coladas and American barmaids, facing a malecon (kind of a boardwalk, only built Caribbean-style with concrete instead of wood) along the coast with spectacular views of Esperanza Bay. Esperanza has a beach within walking distance, making it possibly a better choice if you choose (or are forced) to come to Vieques without a vehicle.
There is no public transit on Vieques, and we read that
taxis don’t like going to the deserted beaches, and may not be available to
bring you back. So unless you stay in the southern town, Esperanza, which has
lots of restaurants and several beaches within walking distance, you need to
rent either a golf cart or a 4WD vehicle.
Why 4WD? Because some of the roads to the beaches, like the one to Black
Sand Beach, are car-swallowingly big.
The biggest piece of advice we got about rental cars was
to book your car first, then build your vacation around it, because there are a
limited number of vehicles available. So the availability of this red jeep at
Island Jeep and Coqui Car Rental for Nov. 9-11 pretty much decided our
destination!
We didn’t regret the expense. A golf cart would have
been cheaper, but they only go about 15 mph, and you have no protection from
the tropical heat or sudden rainstorms except the small roof. We experienced
some very bumpy roads, and bob enjoyed tooling around in the jeep on them,
while I clenched my teeth.
There are no big chain hotels on Vieques. You’ll find a choice of boutique hotels, guesthouses, Airbnbs, and hostels for the backpacking crowd. We stayed at the Bravo Beach Hotel, a boutique hotel located on the edge of Isabel Segunda. For just $90 a night, we had a spacious room with a queen bed, refrigerator, large bathroom, and little porch with a bench. This boutique hotel also had two swimming pools, one of which was right next to the ocean, where I was able to witness a couple of stunning sunsets and one incredible rainbow.
Horses roam freely throughout the island, thousands of
them. Everywhere you go you will see them: mothers feeding foals on the
roadside, herds hanging out in the nature reserve, horses strolling down the
main street or passing through a food truck park, islanders riding horses in a
choppy trot up hilly, narrow streets. Their omnipresence feels like a return to
a simpler time. Learn all about them here; it’s hilarious!
We also saw many roosters, a couple of wild pigs, a
couple of huge green iguanas, and countless snowy egrets, pelicans, and other
seabirds.
End Part 1
I had a fascinating encounter with the bald eagle family of Lake Rescue this morning. They live there year-round, and have been residents for years, entrancing the human residents of this lovely lake in southern Vermont.
When I came around the bend in my kayak at 6:45 AM, the mother eagle was waiting for me in a tall tree nearby. Can you spot her?
It's so awesome to start the day like this!
We woke up on the morning of Dec. 17, 2020, to 27 inches of snow that had fallen on the back deck of Lake Rescue Chalet during the night. And the light, fluffy stuff just kept coming down.
By the time the storm was over, we had almost 4 feet of snow in Ludlow, the most in New England from a huge winter storm! It certainly created a beautiful scene.
Priority No. 1: Clearing a way to the hot tub!
Aryk and I shoveled out to the road. It took the plow guys another day to get here. (This is the middle of the storm. Snow is still falling.)
The mailboxes looked like Santa’s elves with tall white caps.
Cheers!
I kayaked Lake Rescue in 29 degrees this morning to see how it looked with its trees, some still fall-tinged, cloaked in soft early snow, and encountered an astonishing 25 loons swimming together back and forth in the south end.
I assume they were a migrating group that came from the Adirondack lakes and were gathering up others on their way migrating to the Atlantic coast. They made no sound, just swam together, occasionally craning their necks or ruffling their wings.
In the end, they took to the air, flying together in three or four glorious circles around the lake, sometimes, right over my head, before heading off to parts unknown.
Goodbye, loons. Safe travels. Thanks for the memories. See you next year!
We have been summering at Lake Rescue in Ludlow, Vermont, and the sheer magnitude of the wild birds that make their home on and around this 184-acre body of water in the Green Mountains is breathtaking. The secret to seeing the most avian activity is to rise early and get out on the lake, preferably in a kayak, to observe the birds’ early-morning fishing routines before the human population begins to intrude. Here are a few.
Ducks and geese are by far the most common bird we have found on the lake. They are bold and will swim right up to your boat or climb on your dock.
Common loons have been living on Lake Rescue for more than a decade.
I was fortunate to encounter Great Blue Herons and Snowy Egrets fishing early in the morning on Round Pond, at the north end of Lake Rescue. The grasses on the isthmus between the lake and the Black River, and the sand bar created by storms, provide and enticing place for birds to walk and fish.
We discovered ospreys, on the direction of a neighbor, in a cove near the Red Bridge.
A bald eagle family maintains a nest in a cove near Discovery Island, and returns year after year to hatch new eggs.
We visited Gettysburg National Military Park to learn how the Civil War went down. Join us as we walk through this iconic battlefield where tens of thousands of soldiers were killed, wounded, or went missing over three July days in 1863.
 |
| Bob and the cats are ready to go! |
 |
| The newest addition to our dashboard menagerie, an African wild dog that Aryk gave Bob for Christmas. (He needs a name) |
