Vieques is an adventure, in that with the fairly recent departure
ofthe US Navy, the island is just waking up to the tourism
posibilities. The locals are working hard on taking advantage of the
fantastic natural resources in order to make it eco-tourism friendly,
as well as being vigilant of developers who would love to jump in and
grow big
resorts that may harm the environment. That, plus everyone being on
island time, makes for slow going progress.

Our house is in the town of Isabel Segunda, where the ferry comes in.
It is the oldest town (of the two, the other being Esperanza) with
plenty of hustle and bustle.

When the Navy set up the base 63 years ago, they told everyone to
leave. Many people refused, but because
the Navy told everyone they had to leave, those who stayed were
squatters. People lost the rights to the land that they lived on.
This has left the island with a large handful of properties that no
one has cared for. This is all being worked out, but, because
everyone is on island time (a recuring theme), it is slow going.
Culturally and sociologically, the island is an interesting story,
with wonderful, super private beaches, and huge wildlife reserves.

The house ("La Aleta") is a small house, mostly built in 1910 (with
some newer additions).

The house has 4 bedrooms (3 in the main house, and 1 with seperate
entrance from the back of the house) and 2 full bathrooms. There is
also a livingroom and full kitchen. There is a back patio where there
is an outdoor shower and shed with a washing machine.

The rooms are small but there is sleeping room for 8 (one room has
bunkbeds and the other 3 have full sized beds). The livingroom has a
pull-out futon couch which is pretty comfortable.

It is a cozy house, on a great island, but it is not a resort. We want
to be sure to tell anyone who is interested that if drinks by the pool
with turned down sheets waiting for you in your room is your idea of a
vacation then we would be happy to suggest one of the spots on Vieques
who offer that-- with no judgment, because we'd be in trouble if we
all wanted to do the same thing on our days off! But, if your idea of
travel is finding out about a community of people, warts and all, with
amazing beaches just minutes away from your private house with kitchen
for cooking your own meals and a back patio for eating and chatting
late into the night, or walking down the street to a local bar or
restaurant, then our house is the place for you.