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My Vacation: Mariah and Dinoflagellates
Mariah was here: Vieques. (Liz Kelly for washingtopost.com)
Last week, while vacationing on an island where driving directions regularly include steps like "drive down the old Navy airstrip to get to the beach," "make a left at the dog sleeping in the road (but don't hit him)" and "if you pass the cockfighting venue you've gone too far," I thought I was reasonably safe from the reach of celebrity news.
Silly me.
The island was Vieques and Mr. Liz and I had comfortably settled in for a week of Mojitos, reggaeton and R&R while attending a friend's wedding. About 10 miles off the coast of Puerto Rico, Vieques is probably best remembered as the site of some pretty high profile protests of the Navy's use of the island as a bombing range and ammo dump. In fact, the tiny island managed to attract a lot of international attention and the support of celebrities like Edward James Olmos, Benicio Del Toro, Martin Sheen, Marc Anthony and Al Sharpton.
The Navy largely abandoned their use of the Vieques in 2003, though most of the island is still off limits because of pesky unexploded ammo and depleted uranium. Still, the center of the island thrives with about 9,000 local residents and scads of white sand beaches ensuring only a handful of visitors at each one at any given time.
It was while swimming in Vieques's famed bioluminescent bay one night around 8 p.m. that my island escape was infiltrated by celebrity news. We'd kayaked out into the middle of the darkened bay to marvel at the zillions of dinoflagellates that light up like sparklers when you disturb the water and I was busy splashing around (whilst simultaneously wishing jellyfish out of my vicinity) when I heard our guide, Pedro, start talking about the time he'd brought Mariah Carey to the same spot.
After dismissing my first impulse to dive underwater, I listened in as Pedro recounted Carey's outing to the bio bay. Turns out Carey has a condo on a nearby island and she arrived in a postage-stamp-sized bikini and stilettos for her evening of kayaking. Pedro himself carried her to a kayak ("Never have I felt skin so soft," he declares) and rowed her out for her romp with the glowing plankton.
And, well, that was it. Still, it was enough to re-whet my appetite for celebrity news and the evening ended on the deck, mojito in hand, Web browser pinging its way through the latest headlines and the phrase "the best of both worlds" popping into my mind.
It's nice to be back.
-----
I'm no travel writer, but I recognize a fabulous vacation when I experience it. If you're all about Caribbean water, white sand beaches, mojitos and Coco Friiio (and not at all about shopping or the resort scene), get thee to Vieques.
By Liz |
March 5, 2007; 10:43 AM ET
| Category:
Miscellaneous
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Posted by: BF | March 5, 2007 11:06 AM
Your vacation sounds great, except for the Mariah Carey story. OMG, Mariah Carey in a tiny bikini and stilettos is a scary thought. First the Navy, now Mariah Carey, someone should organize a protest.
Posted by: Lisa | March 5, 2007 11:06 AM
Husband and I had a fabulous vacation in Vieques. One of the most amazing experiences was that dang bio bay. Oh nature you naughty scamp..
Posted by: F8 | March 5, 2007 11:20 AM
Wait just one cotton-pickin' minute, Liz. Isn't your "reporting" about Mariah in her tiny bikini and stillettos (and ever-so-soft skin! Yow!) just a cheap excuse to expense account the whole trip?!? Now tell the truth, please - did the Post just pay for your vacation? Somebody call Howard Kurtz - this is one more for the corruption side of Media Notes!
Posted by: Bogota | March 5, 2007 11:24 AM
disappointing mariah story! was hoping you'd actually spot her on blue beach (or green beach!) and roll her back into the surf.
went to vieques last summer with my husband--hands-down, the BEST beaches anywhere in the world....once you actually find them. i can't wait to go back!
where did you stay? we were at the inn on the blue horizon. our bartender had last worked in dupont circle. small world...
Posted by: wats | March 5, 2007 11:25 AM
No one else can go to Vieques. It's mine, all mine.
But really, it is like a little piece of paradise.
Posted by: nononono | March 5, 2007 11:47 AM
Does one need a passport to go to Vieques? If not, I may have found my 40th Birthday trip!!
Posted by: Bored @ work | March 5, 2007 12:00 PM
Puerto Rico is a US territory, don't need a passport.
Posted by: dym | March 5, 2007 12:19 PM
"postage-stamp-size bikini and stilettos". Isn't this the same woman who was trying to stop a stripper or someone like that from using a name similiar to hers?
What happens if the dog decides to sleep somewhere else? Is it still easy to find the beach without him there?
Posted by: inquiring minds... | March 5, 2007 12:55 PM
HA! When MY hubster and I went kayaking in Vieques, Mariah's "postage stamp sized bikini" was a sarong and her "stilettos" were flip flops. And the soft skin was "Skin So Soft By Avon"!
Posted by: Margo | March 5, 2007 12:56 PM
How come I can't e-mail WP blog posts? I would like to keep this one so I can refer to it when I am trying to think up my next vacation!
Posted by: smkeditor | March 5, 2007 1:00 PM
No passport needed really?
This may turn out like that episode of Seinfeld when Maestro didn't want Jerry to go to Italy.
Posted by: petal | March 5, 2007 1:00 PM
dinoflagellates sound gnarly. welcome home!
Posted by: sandee | March 5, 2007 1:32 PM
Thanks for the mental image Liz - Mariah Carey in a tiny bikini and stilettos. It required all of my willpower to refrain from gouging my eyes out on that one.
I'll take the (possibly) radioactive dinoflagellates over that any day.
Posted by: SoMD | March 5, 2007 1:33 PM
I too was in Vieques last week. Sorry I missed you at the fruit stand (Coco Friiio). Vieques is indeed a paradise. I love it so much I bought a house there.
Posted by: Annapolis | March 5, 2007 2:03 PM
Too funny! I love Vieques, and the biobay is not to be missed.
When we (myself & partner) were down there in March '05, we saw John Cameron Mitchell at a bar (the name escapes me) right by the ferry dock. He looked nothing like Hedwig...I'll leave that up to you to decide if that's good or bad.
Posted by: donatony | March 5, 2007 2:09 PM
Yuck! Poor Pedro...I hope he washed his hands afterward.
Posted by: tamerlane | March 5, 2007 2:17 PM
You sure the sparkles in the water wasn't Al Sharpton's hair grease?
Posted by: Jam Puddin | March 5, 2007 2:51 PM
Does Vieques have that cheapy cosmetic surgery like South America? Maybe that is why Mariah went there! (and Al Sharpton?)
Really, if I saw her in a tiny bikini, I too would be trying to roll her in the surf while placing a call to the local marine biology lab...panic! Beached whale!
Posted by: Barb | March 5, 2007 3:20 PM
To smkeditor:
Just email yourself the links about Vieques that Liz posted, it's what I did.
Posted by: Bored @ work | March 5, 2007 3:40 PM
People - Puerto Rico is a United States territory. Therefore no, you don't need a passport and it is not a cheap third-world country. Educated yourselves. Ay!
Posted by: EducatedWoman | March 6, 2007 9:31 AM
The comments to this entry are closed.
You sure that glowing water was from dinoflagellates and not the depleted uranium?