Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
History is a slippery concept in Vieques.
People who live their daily lives firmly entrenched in the past (e.g., riding horses to the
grocery store) don't draw the same sharp distinctions between past and present that we do.
In our daily lives in Washington it seems like Michael and I are either overdosing on
technology or abruptly jumping off the grid and dashing into a museum for a quick infusion
of history.
Middle ground is hard to find.
In Vieques, on the other hand, past and present happily cohabit. Those same young guys
who ride their horses to the market for a beer can be spotted chatting on their cell phones as
they trot along.
We even saw a kid cantering down a country road one afternoon texting away just like
any teenager from Podunk, U.S.A.
☼ ☼ ☼
Architectural vestiges of the past aren't particularly numerous on Vieques either, but the few
remaining ones are memorable.
The most prominent of these is the fort in Isabel, perched in stately isolation atop a hill
just above the town. This fortified mini-castle—possessing the dubious distinction of being
the last Spanish fort constructed in the Western Hemisphere—was built to protect Vieques
from foreign attack. Now it's a museum. Cool and dark inside, it offers not only a permanent
exhibit of artifacts relating to the history of the island but the occasional temporary exhibit
of works by local artists.
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