ne of our first impressions upon arriving in Vieques was the abundance of wild horses meandering along the roads - seemingly without a care in the world. This caused us to ponder, not only about what were all those horses doing on the roads, but why were they so carefree? We later discovered why the horses are here - Spaniards left them behind centuries ago. With an abundance of territory to roam in because of the two huge U.S. military bases here, they have proliferated and the locals don't seem to care about them. But what about the horses Holly Golightly attitude? Our cat Jada has made us very attuned to the moodswings of animals, so we surmised that horses just feel the weight of humans - not the weight of the world - on their shoulders. Karmically, we began to feel more relaxed and mellow for no apparent reason at that very moment. It was as if a Marin County zeitgeist has suddenly blown east (or maybe it was the Ativan we took before boarding the plane from Puerto Rico). Whatever the reason, that mellow, laid-back feeling permeates everyone soon after arriving and gives Vieques its special character.

One of the Spanish Virgin Islands, Vieques lies seven miles east of Puerto Rico and is considered a municipality within the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Viequenses, as the almost 9,000 residents are called, are also U.S. citizens. About two-thirds of the island is owned by the U.S. Navy, which incredibly still uses it for live bombing practice (this means real bombs). Military maneuvers are executed from the huge Roosevelt Roads Naval Station, on the other side of the Pasaje de Vieques in Puerto Rico. Even napalm has been dropped on the island. The military presence, particularly the continued live bombing of the island, has many locals furious (we would be too!) and threatens to upset the wonderful ambience of the island. Most viequenses want the military out and the land turned into a park, reserve, or recreation area. Over the years, the navy has cut back drastically on personnel and has opened up both bases to visitors during the day (you must show a photo I.D. at the gate – preferably a driver's license). But on maneuver days, the bases are off-limits (a red flag is flown at the gate).

Squeezed between the U.S. Naval Reservation on the west end and the U.S. Marine's Camp Garcia Maneuver Area on the east lies the civilian slice of the island. There are two towns on Vieques: Isabel II on the north side, and the island's port and commercial center, and Esperanza, a smaller, mellower town on the south side geared more towards tourism. Of a total of about fifty-five-square miles, only seventeen are available for residential and commercial use. Even so, this part of Vieques seems uncrowded, unspoiled (no mega-resorts, fast-food chains, or traffic lights), and often very pretty. The island is hilly but lacks the big peaks to capture rain clouds (the highest summit is Mt. Pirata at 981 feet). Hence, it is an arid island (about forty inches of rain fall annually) and a marked contrast to the El Yunque rain forest just sixteen miles away in Puerto Rico. Vegetation here is similar to other Caribbean islands like Antigua and many of the Grenadines. Fortunately, water is piped in from the El Yunque watershed so shower water pressure is good.