Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Swap four wheels for two and go for a picturesque spin to
Green Beach
(
Click
here
) on bike-friendly Vieques
Find dilapidated US tanks and a refreshing lack of tourists on paradisial
Playa
Flamenco
(
Click here
)
Eat, drink, play or just plain chill on the colorful 'strip' in laid-back
Esperanza
(
Click here
)
See aquatic stars on a serene but distinctly surreal evening boat tour of biolumin-
escent
Bahía Mosquito
(
Click here
)
Hike the gentle hills on the offshore islands
Isla Culebrita
(
Click here
) and
Cayo de Tierra
(
Click here
)
Plunge in and
dive
(
Click here
) the reefs and sunken treasures of Culebra's clear
waters
History
Some 500 years ago the islands east of Puerto Rico, including Culebra and Vieques, were
disputed territory between the Taíno and the Caribs. Groups from both tribes came and
went from the islands according to the season - probably to hunt the turtles nesting here.
Vieques had more fertile, flatter land for farming and therefore was the more popular is-
land. The first real settlement came to Culebra during the early 16th century, when Taíno
and Carib refugees from Borinquen gathered here and on Vieques to make peace with each
other, pool their resources and mount a fierce (but ultimately unsuccessful) campaign to
drive the Spaniards from the big island. When Spain conceded Puerto Rico and her territ-
ories to the US following the Spanish-American War in 1898, both Culebra and Vieques
became municipalities of the Republic of Puerto Rico. Therefore, residents are recognized
as US citizens (half of them are expat Americans, in any case).
For most of the 20th century, the US Navy and Marine Corps used the islands for target
practice and for rehearsing 20th-century military actions carried out on other shores. The
navy left Culebra several decades ago to concentrate its activities on Vieques, where it set
up a military camp and proceeded to hold regular practice bombings in nearby waters. After
an errant bomb killed a civilian in 1999,
viequenses
(people from Vieques) reached their
breaking point. A long struggle ensued, but the navy was eventually ejected. Of course, the
tracts of pristine land that opened up with the military's departure have caught the attention
of many developers. Locals are trying hard to bring in new jobs through sustainable tour-
ism that won't destroy the wild land and beaches that make the Spanish Virgin Islands truly
special. So far so good - but the battle rages on.
