DAY 1, 23 April 2002
Tuesday

Taxi > BOS > SJU > Taxi > Ferry > Jeep
Dan and I left Boston early in the morning while it was snowing. Good riddance to the lovely New England spring. After what seemed like years of planning we were finally on our way to Puerto Rico for our wedding. Wheee!

The flight was a short 3.5 hours but still felt way too long. At San Juan airport we grabbed a taxi driver named Luz to take us to Fajardo (where the ferry to Vieques ports) -- she would end up being responsible for shuttling both my family and Dan's family the next two days over to the ferry as well. For better or for worse. It might have been for worse because her van's AC was kaput and her driving was a little...erratic. 6 to 8 people crammed in an oven on wheels...if there was a time for them to curse us for making them travel out here for our wedding, that carpool ride would be it. Heh. We kept our fingers crossed and hoped they appreciated the travel arrangement, regardless.

The ferry ride went through choppy waters. I laid down for awhile, but popped my head up every now and then for sight of the small island. And to make sure there were no dark storm clouds looming overhead. A poolside pina colada was already calling to me, and I would have no rain this whole week!

Tony from a car rental shop met us at the port in Vieques and we picked up our jeep. Finally we were off to the Inn on the Blue Horizion. By then it was already 3:30 pm in the afternoon, and I was anxious to get toasty in the sun.

Inn on the Blue Horizon in the distance

Pulling up to the long dusty drive that lead to the Inn was the best feeling in the world. Drive up over the hill, and thar she is, nestled at the end of a vast space of land, the clear blue sea just beyond and the clear blue sky surrounding. The grounds seemed much more lush and vibrant than the last time we were here two years ago. A huge, beautiful fan palm loomed on the front grounds. I didn't remember that being there before. The small, craggly bushes surrounding the pool were now much taller and thick with hibiscus. The lawn was freshly green instead of scorched hay. I made a comment about this foliage extravaganza and the inn worker said the island had been receiving unusually large amounts of rain this season, and it's amazing what a small amount of rain can do for plant life - they practically burst. Just the past weekend there was a torrential storm...imagine if we had scheduled the wedding then, just a week earlier! I breathed a sigh of relief and kept my fingers crossed that our weekend would see not a single cloud in the sky.

Inn on the Blue Horizion - WE'RE HERE!

Inn on the Blue Horizon

The inn gave us the best room they have, called "Sunrise" because, well, you can watch the sun rise from the east-facing window. From the front of the room is the view of the resort grounds that stretch all the way to the Caribbean. Maritza - one of the managers - thought we should go off and get marriage paperwork and bloodwork done, but hells NO! Did she not know we had just narrowly escaped an ice storm? I had to relax, in the sun, a sun that's actually warm. So Dan and I spent the rest of the afternoon poolside, making our own drinks in the honor bar, and having a grand time together.

Making drinks at the Inn's bar

For dinner we ventured to the Crow's Nest for happy hour and met a ton of people - a lot of them native New Englanders - who all knew about our wedding in one way or another. They were all ruddy and tanned. We looked like rickity snowmen from outer space.

After a round of congratulations and small talk, we settled down for our first bar drink on the island: passionfruit juice and rum punch. Yum baby duck YUM.

DAY 2 >>