Experience the best of Vieques

Vieques lies off the east coast of Puerto Rico, a long, low island about 30 kilometres from end to end. Isabel Segunda, the main town on the north coast, has Fortín Conde de Mirasol, a Spanish fort of the mid-nineteenth century that now houses a museum. Esperanza, a relaxed village on the south coast, has a boardwalk and open-air bars. Wild horses wander the roads and beaches.

For decades the United States Navy used the eastern and western ends of the island for training, and left in 2003. Most of that land is now the Vieques National Wildlife Refuge, with empty beaches such as La Chiva, called Blue Beach, and Caracas, called Red Beach. Sun Bay, near Esperanza, is a long, calm curve of sand. Mosquito Bay is one of the brightest bioluminescent bays in the world, glowing blue-green when the water is disturbed.

Local food includes mofongo, fried plantain mashed with garlic, alcapurrias, fritters stuffed with meat, grilled fish and pinchos, grilled skewers sold from roadside stands. Rum cocktails and piña coladas, a Puerto Rican invention, are the drinks. Trade winds temper the heat, and rain is lightest in the winter months.