Esperanza sits on the southern coast of Vieques, which lies just off Puerto Ricos eastern coast. It’s an unassuming little beach town that overlooks a beautiful bay where sail boats bob on their moorings, the island of Cayo de Tierra (connected by a narrow strip of sand to the mainland) sits offshore and the mile-long stretch of Sun Bay Beach, backed by palms and sea grape trees, stretches eastward. A string of eateries, including Tradewinds, Lazy Jacks, Duffy’s, Bananas and Bilies offer traditional Puerto Rican dishes, fresh seafood and classic pub fare while diners gaze out over the water while the setting sun paints the sky in shades of red. Just behind the strip of restaurants, kayak tour operators, golf cart rental companies and the lone gift shop lies a local community of modest homes, pot-holed lanes and the towns two grocery stores. In the midst of this residential area we had rented a cozy casita for our two week stay. While staying in a local neighborhood, rather than along the main road, has it’s advantages (nice and quiet in the evenings and the friendly residents who always wave and say hello as we walk by), it also has its drawbacks. First, there are the horses. Vieques in general, and Esperanza in particular, has a horse problem. Hundreds of ‘free-roaming’ horses graze the grassy patches of the island and residents have to fence their yards or risk having their gardens and decorative plants nibbled to the ground. The streets of town are spotted with piles of horse poop. As small herds cross the highways they can stall traffic. Even on the beach, specifically Sun Bay, which is backed by a large open field which attracts them, they can be a bit of a nuisance – or incredibly cute, depending on how you look at it. On more than one occasion, as we sat in our beach chairs, one or more horses would wander over to our spot to sniff around our cooler hoping for a snack. Not receiving anything, though, doesn’t deter them. In fact, they usually then just hover over you until we gently prod them to move along. One afternoon, a group of five young mares came nosing around, then, satisfied we didn’t pose any sort of threat, decided to lay down and take naps next to us. Another minor issue is the chicken problem, or rather, the rooster problem. Like their equine brethren, hundreds of chickens wander the town and fences do not deter them from making themselves comfortable in your yard. While I always thought that roosters only crowed around sunrise, these pesky pollos belt out a chorus of cock-a-doodle-dos day and night. I can’t for the life of me figure out when these critters ever sleep.

Not really a problem – from our terrace in Esperanza

Nosy!

Siesta time

While the bulk of our two week visit revolved around afternoons on Sun Bay beach and evenings dining along the waterfront or lounging on the large terrace outside our casita, we did venture out of Esperanza to see some of the other sights on the island. Over 60% of Vieques is located in a wildlife refuge, which contains lagoons, beaches and mangrove forests as well as providing offshore protected areas for manatees and turtles. With a rental car we explored a couple stretches of the refuge to see the Kiani lagoon and La Chiva and Grande beaches. While we had the car we also made a stop at the ‘farmers market’ – a large truck which comes over on the ferry from the mainland twice a week and offers a variety of fruits and vegetables from a stand on the side of the road just outside the main town of Isabel Segunda. Another stop was the Crab Island distillery for their Saturday afternoon party with a barbeque, rum cocktails and a salsa band.

The rooster problem – dining along the Esperanza waterfront

For us, though, it was all about time on Sun Bay beach. With the chairs provided by our host and a cooler filled with Puerto Rican craft beers, we would stroll over to the beach, enjoy a swim, or two or three, and take in the wonderful view of the sea, watch the occasional sailboat pass by, listen to the parrots squawking in the palm trees overhead and feel grateful for a chance to enjoy this little slice of paradise. As time here wound down our thoughts would turn to our next destination – just a hop, skip and a jump to another island group to the east . . . that story in the next TheRhumLine.

Sun Bay beach is best enjoyed during the day . . .

and at sunset . . .

and with new friends