I forgot I made this little film in October of my trip to "La Isla Nena" (Vieques, P.R.)... The random things you find while cleaning up your computer desktop :-)
I'm definitely missing that island sun right about now.
Have a great weekend, guys!
-Sophia
So I guess taking a vacation also kind of meant I could take a vacation from my hair. I traveled prepared: I brought my butters, oils, conditioners... Promised I would protect my hair the whole time, fully enjoying salt water and chlorine sparingly, the rest of time keeping my head above water.
But no. I went buck wild crazy! Visiting probably a dozen beaches, I swam at every single one, and recapped back at the hotel by swimming in the pool. I used the hotel shampoo *gasp*, washing my hair twice and co-washing the rest of the week. The above photo was my good day, at only my second night. I co-washed, oiled and diligently buttered up the ends. *Sigh* those were the good times...
Okay the vacay is over! Now it's time to step it back up...with two boxes of Henna that I just purchased??? I know, I know.... I don't know what's wrong with me LOL. I thought it was over for sure, but I guess the red color wasn't that bad. Basically, I just need some major conditioning and thickening up for realsies. Ok, if I complain afterwards then I give you the official permission to slap me.
For those just joining in, read about my Henna saga here.
Arghh, to be continued...
Ciao for now!
-Sophia
I am back from a WON-DER-FUL vacation on La Isla Nena (a.k.a. Vieques, Puerto Rico. I already miss it: Waking to a brilliant sun, azure skies, the crowing of roosters, the smell of earth from early morning rain showers, and of course, being surrounded by natural beauty that is out of this world.
Vieques is a small island off of mainland Puerto Rico. This small island, in its former years, also acted as a test bombing site for the U.S. Navy for many years. The Navy officially pulled out of Vieques in 2003, and left the "cleanup" to many of the citizens on the island. In fact, this "cleanup" employs a large percentage of the community. A large portion of the eastern half of the island is still zoned off to unofficial folk. Let's just say you wouldn't want to bump into an undetonated bomb, which there are still said to be a few just chilling out in the open. So this throws this destination a bit off the beaten path.
When first arriving to Vieques with my boyfriend (on a very tiny plane), I was struck (not by a bomb), but by its remarkably untouched beauty. From a bird's eye view, I didn't see the coast line splattered with resorts and people. I saw nothing but mountains, sea and sky.
On land it was quite similar: not too many tourists, in fact, not too much of, well, anything. This was great, but also not so great at times. The beautiful: to walk on miles of beach without encountering one soul, except maybe some wild horses. Completely uninhabited. Completely alone. Completely left with your thoughts and the horizon. I've literally never felt so awestruck in my life, so many times. Because many of the beaches are quite hard to get to, you have to travel down stretches of unpaved dirt roads, umbrellaed under huge shrubs and trees. You basically had to work. But you knew when you were close when you saw the speckles of aqua behind the shrubbery. When you finally emerged from the "tropical forest" your breath was literally taken away.
The not so good? The "desertedness" began to give way to inconvenience and a kind of loneliness at times. Being that we traveled to Vieques during off-peak season - granted- many of the restaurants and shops were SHUT DOWN, and I mean, shut down. We literally had a choice of two restaurants and one food truck on the entire island! And finding local food was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. When we first arrived (Monday), it felt like the island was asleep: no music, no people, no activity. I was having a sort of tourist existential crisis/meltdown, and I felt conflicted. I knew I was being arrogant/an asshole for feeling like just because we're here, things should be poppin' off. And as a tourist, things should be lain at my feet. I shouldn't have to work to find food, etc... This was not my experience on other islands... This is supposed to be a vacation. I WANT MY FRESH COCONUT WATER AND I WANT IT NOW! My snooty New York girl butt was quickly whipped into shape, though honestly, it was hard to get over. This place existed before I came, and it is not my personal 24-hour playground.
I've learned to really enjoy my surroundings, even if it was on an empty stomach. Hell, I even kayaked, which I never thought I would do in a million years. I'm active, but that stuff is just on a whole other level. That is why Vieques kept me awestruck so many times. I wish my feelings could be wrapped up in a neat package, but they're not. I enjoyed the natural beauty, while still searching hard for my fresh coconut water.
By Thursday, things seemed to have livened up a bit. I could hear music. There were a few more tourists, and one more food option! Even after all of that self-reflection, this reality made me feel better.
Vieques is beautiful and I am still full of contradictions as I face the New York clouds. The experience has already been glazed with sugar the more removed I am from it. All I can think about is the water, the sky, the mountains, the good food we did find, the people. All are amazing, and the frustrations become so obscure. This time we chose not to stay at the typical resort. We had no desire to and I am so glad we didn't. But who knows what we may chose next time. This thought may lead to a whole bunch of clichés, life is a box of chocolates sort of thing... So I'll stop myself now because that's not the point.
Traveling: You should feel conflicted, or not. It's all up to you. But one thing should remain constant: respect.
In the end, I'll always be missing the island sun.
P.S. Totally went wayyyyyyyyyy off course with my hair... Started off with good intentions LOL. Will write about that later.
Ciao for now!
-Sophia
