We heard about the charms of Vieques from a bartender returned from vacation while visiting St. Croix. Asked where one would go to vacation from such a paradise he told us about a small island off the coast of Puerto Rico, unspoiled and laid-back, a perfect place to “get away from it all”. Two towns, Isabel Segunda and Esperanza, provide restaurants and island-style nightlife, as well as gift shops. A must-see experience is the Bio-Bay tour of Mosquito Bay just east of the Sun Bay, the best example of bio-luminescence in the world. All of the beaches in Vieques are wonderful. Some are classic powdery white sand, like Sun Bay, Media Luna, and Navio beach a mile or so east of Esperanza. Other, more secluded, Caribbean-side white beaches are accessible through the Fish and Wildlife lands to the east. Another beautiful, and seldom used, beach spans the western end northward to the old Navy pier where manatee, manta rays and other magnificent aquatic life can be observed.