Another day on vacation, and another day of getting up too early for vacation. I knew I had to check out by 11 and I wanted to go swim on the resorts private beach. It was very private, and probably a good snorkeling beach. I didn't have any snorkeling gear though, so I just swam around looking down at the fish and at the coral through the super-clear water. Getting out, I couldn't spot the gap in the reef, so I swam over it, mostly, and scraped my wrist pretty hard. All coral is sharp coral.
I got tired swim-snorkelling faster than expeced, so it was still way before 9 when I checked out and called a taxi... well, tried to call. None of the taxi's answer their phones before 10... so I set off walking. Luckily, the chef came by and offered me a ride right before I got to the steep uphill part. Sweet! I had him drop me off at the trailhead for a 4x4 trail that the guidebook said lead to the old army helipad and great views of the island.
I wasn't about to wheel my suitcase uphill through miles of mud, so I ditched it a few feet into the grass and laid some more grass over it for good measure. The hike was uphill, steep, but without a super-heavy bag to carry and before the sun came out it wasn't as rough as I expected, though it was a little bit further... a feature complemented by vague directions. But the vaguity did allow me to see a solar power installation and meet a pack of geese.
They were beautiful white storybook geese, and they started honking and coming at me. I was momentarily taken back. Who did these geese think they are? Then they started running at me, honking, if possible, more annoyingly. I sidestepped to the left side of the cement that was once a road, waited until they were almost on me, and shouted "BAH!" while dodging right and running a few steps. That was the first time I ever saw a confused goose. It's a lot like an angry goose, only it's not honking.
After passing through a flock of very annoyed (answering the question: it is possible to have a more annoying honk) guinea fowl, I passed an old guard shack and knew I was almost to the helipad, which was on the top of the mountain - one of the highest points on the island. I came around a corner and saw a cow on the road. After an hour of listening to roosters, and the geese/fowl incidents, this didn't really surprise me. Finally, I thought, an animal that won't start screeching when I walk by. The cow walked around the next corner and I followed a minute behind... only when I got close I realized that despite the familiar black+white coloring, this cow had no udders. And it's staring at me. Are those horns? Why is it breathing so hard through it's nose? Oooooooh.
So I turned around, walked down around behind the helipad, and scampered up some rocks. Take that, chief snorting bull, you can't gore me on top of boulders. I took a few pictures, turned around, and headed out - being sure to give the visibly-distressed herd some room, ready to sprint for more boulders if I heard any galloping noises behind me.
In Fajardo I immediately (through some crafty stand-in-the-cargo-line style line-dodging) caught another ferry to Vieques. It's a lot of time on boats but I think of it as a super-cheap cruise. In fact, I think I'm going to do the same tomorrow... In Vieques, I checked into a cheap hotel. It's pretty rundown, extra tv cables dangling, sticks holding up the sink. But it's right next to the ferry (tune in tomorrow) and "When you need a poo, any dump'll do." Which while not a completely accurate description is too good of a rhyme to delete.
The trip down was less eventful, as I avoided the geese and the fowl flock had moved off the road. I stopped for a moment to admire Flamenco bay with it's blue water and white sand, and picked up my bag and started walking back into town. For the second time, someone offered me a ride, so I got to skip the uphill section of this road too! This time in the back of a pickup truck. Then I had breakfast and caught a ferry back to Puerto Rico proper.
In Fajardo I immediately (through some crafty stand-in-the-cargo-line style line-dodging) caught another ferry to Vieques. It's a lot of time on boats but I think of it as a super-cheap cruise. In fact, I think I'm going to do the same tomorrow... In Vieques, I checked into a cheap hotel. It's pretty rundown, extra tv cables dangling, sticks holding up the sink. But it's right next to the ferry (tune in tomorrow) and "When you need a poo, any dump'll do." Which while not a completely accurate description is too good of a rhyme to delete.Then I went to a pizza place with shoddy wifi for dinner and an early bed.
Flamenco Beach
Were they llamas or lambies? Hahaha...
ReplyDeleteregardless, my vote is no
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