Winging It, Literally

Our itinerary after the Yunque rainforest was to head to the island of Vieques, which has a bit of history with the US, especially the US Navy. The island is about seven miles from PR, and from what I understand, is not actually PR, but an independent entity. Whatever be the case, it’s supposed to be really nice, and fun to visit.

There are two ways to get there, either by ferry or plane. The ferry is ridiculously cheap, about $3/person, so naturally we gravitated to that. The only problem is, the ferries are all going bankrupt, and there is some question as to whether any of them are even running. You sure get what you pay for. I recall in Greece there were all sorts of problems with the ferries, not to mention Croatia. Something about boats that adds all this complication.

This was the deal. There were three ferries, one of which went under. That left two, and they were both slated to shut down their operations, apparently around the third week of this month. We needed to get to Vieques in the first week, then return on the second week, so if they shut down in the third week, we were in business. We just had to hope our timing would work out.

By the time we were ready to leave Luquillo, we still hadn’t figured out how to get to catch the ferry. We were supposed to leave the rental car in Ceiba, and then have the rental people give us a ride to the ferry in Fajardo, the neighboring town. We weren’t even sure if they would do this, but heard they would. Then there was the issue of whether the ferry was even running. Then someone recommended that we just fly, saying it was cheap and reliable. After doing some investigating, we learned that it was cheap, and the flight was about 10 minutes.

So we had shifted gears and came up with a new plan. We were no longer going to take the ferry, but were going to fly. We just needed to figure out how to do it, and return the rental car at the same time. It turns out the rental car return was at the airport, right down the road, and they were happy to give us a ride back to the terminal.

We purchased our tickets, returned the car, had them give a lift back to the terminal, then caught our flight to Vieques. The flight was cheap ($30), pleasant, and quick. We landed in Vieques in no time, and then picked up our new rental car on Vieques.

All in all, things ended up nicely even though we really didn’t have much of a plan. Plus, we shifted gears and adapted to our new situation, and it worked out for the best. I love when that happens, because it seems like our lives are run by fear. It’s nice to know that in the end, there’s nothing to be afraid of, and even if there is, it all works out in the end. Is it ever really that bad? Usually not.

We are now on the island, suffice it to say that it's beautiful, if not idyllic. A bit off the beaten path, a lot of unspoiled beaches, really cool people, and somewhere I'm told there's good snorkeling and even surf.  More on Vieques later.

Until then, thanks for reading.