Farewell to the Casita!

I have finally relieved my duties at the primary house I lived at here in Vieques. I am still in care of the cat, but I have brought Milton to my new house sitting assignment on the beach! He loves it! Every day, I am so grateful for my life and I, like many, am still trying to understand my purpose. I feel like I have a home and a family, finally after many years of traveling and searching. I'm more committed to making art and now I finally have the time and the space and the beauty to make an even more beautiful life.

Last night, I went skinny dipping with Philip, my new love! The ocean was not cold.... it was perfect under the big bright moon and stars! I am currently house sitting on the beach and wake up to waves crashing ten feet away every day. Philip lives down the street, so it's a perfect set up. I will be at this house until December, and I'm still working at the salon a few days a week. We just bought my friend's 1962 Vanderstadt sailboat. She sailed it here from France, and it's a fixer-upper but it's a yacht and once it's fixed up with new gear, (even though it can sail now) it will be our way to eventually sail to Brazil, where we plan to make our seasonal second home. Phil is learning how to sail by being first mate on a charter boat here. Then, he'll teach me everything he knows and we can sail together!

With my job, I meet people from all walks of life. In Vieques, there are a lot of New Yorkers and people from Boston and Maine and Minnesota. I guess they don't like their winters :) so they are seasonal home owners. I have been working on my art at Phil's house because he has a lot of space. I hung some at his house and some at the salon. We are planning to have many art shows and to entertain people, rent the house and use those funds for daily living, along with the work we both do on the side. I can say my life is going really well right now and I am grateful for every day.

Spring finds me

Spring finds me still in Vieques. I have been working at the salon, have art up at a restaurant where there will be a show come April 11th. The medium is found wood with 15 layers of paint applied, scraped and sanded to reveal a rainbow of color.

I have a house sitting assignment starting in a week where I will live in a 3 bd. house with a pool on the beach. I have a good life! I can't say much more, as I have been preoccupied with my current possibilities. I can say that Vieques has a way of keeping people.

The Update

I've been living on the island of Vieques for about 5 months now. I found this place through a website called "mind my house". There are homeowners all over the world who post opportunities for house sitters all over the world. I stayed in Costa Rica house sitting for three months before I came to Vieques.

I began my stay in Vieques at a casita that's down a bushy, overgrown path that has no electricity or running water. After getting to know people on this 23 mile long island, word traveled quickly. Now, I'm sitting for three houses with one waiting in the wings. Needless to say, the other houses have electricity and warm water, and are securely protected by locking gates and dogs. One house has 7 dogs, 2 cats and 15 chickens. Another has 4 dogs, 2 cats.

I have also taken over a hair salon that is huge and has a view of the ocean just a block away. (I can see it from the balcony of the salon). The woman who owns the salon is having back surgery and will be in recovery for a few months and we met through a mutual friend and the timing was perfect. I have also been painting the interior of homes which I call my second job. Needless to say, I'm keeping busy.

I have painted a body of work that I will be selling in a solo show as soon as I establish a venue. I am also selling a large part of that work to a friend. I'm really excited about it. I met a friend who has a fat pad on the beach, waves lapping right at his shoreline. I've been hanging out here because, well, I get to take a shower outside and look at the ocean, watch sailboats go by, see the beautiful tropical foliage.

Updating my blog has been the least of my worries, but I know that I need to keep it up to date. You live vicariously through me.

But I'm not always in paradise. There are shootings and muggings here, drug trafficking and lots of gossip, which is the least of their problems. There is always a trade off.

I don't know where I'll be next, but I'll be sure to keep myself safe, as always and have a way to keep in touch with my loved ones.

Beaches

I have heard the Caribbean beaches are nice. I'm sitting outside enjoying my view and the sounds of the tropics when I hear a voice from the top of the canyon yelling "REGINA!!!! WANT TO GO TO THE BEACH???!!!" It's Janet, and I reply, "GIVE ME 5 MINUTES!!" -Just enough time to change into my bathing suit, grab sunblock and sunglasses, flip flops and hike up the trail. Janet is spunky as ever, smoking a bowl as I get into the car. She has a cooler of rum and juice. That's my girl!

We take a 10 minute drive toward a part of the island called Esperanza, through winding roads flanked by lush green trees. We part onto a sandy road that leads to the waterfront, a wade cove with fallen coconuts, palm trees, white sand and light green shallow water. We're at Sun Bay Beach.

The sun is direct and the natural palms are just draped enough to provide some needed shade. The beach is vacant and we have an entire cooler of drinks to work on. Janel smokes another bowl then we both take a dip in the water, which is about 80 degrees. She swims clear to the other end of the beach while I stay near our things by the shore to make sure no one gets any funny ideas. The cops eventually come around on their buggies and I wave as they pass. Another day in paradise . . .

The Routine

The routine has finally set in. I wake up, crawl out of my king-sized bamboo swinging bed that's suspended by rope from the ceiling and draped in mosqito netting. I look around the floor to make sure I don't step on a cockroach, frog, lizard or tarantula, walk down the stairs and open the wide doors unto the pristine view of the sun rising over the hills to the East. I ignite the lanterns and candles and listen to the morning sounds. Most of my days are spent in silence and in thought. I grab my recorder and make up songs or just play some that already exist. Some songs are simply impossible to play because the recorder has a very limited range. Also, it is designed for a right-handed person and being left-handed poses a problem for the left pinky.

After my lesson, I go into town, charge the computer, my camera battery, the Vado, my two phones, and download movies. I buy some food and hitch a ride home (which people offer freely and it's very safe here during the day). The sun is hot but begins to set. I make some more food. Usually, the food I eat is canned, as there is no refrigeration and carrying ice to my house is a joke considering the 50 minute hike uphill, in addition to the trail on which I have to use a machete to pass. I hate to waste food, so I give my leftovers to Ella, my new black lab who actually belongs to the neighbors (but she stays with me every night). My laptop is charged just long enough to watch an episode of Bizarre Foods. It's the only entertainment of the day.

As I wind down, I blow out my lights, climb into bed, carefully placing the mosquito netting all around, and sleep for a solid 6 hours before starting my routine around 4 a.m. all over again.

Sunrise, sunset.

Sun is shining, the weather is sweet

Occupying Time

To my surprise, I discovered a big box of paint, pens, paper, oil pastels, colored pencils, charcoal and a few blocks of wood for canvas. I found a recorder, some books, journals from past tenants with drawings and poetry. I know I finally have a way to occupy my time when the sun goes down and I'm only left with my thoughts and the stars. Rather than twiddling my thumbs, I can now paint! Many nights have been spent reading about the history of Vieques and the naval occupation during WW11. I also write, draw and paint. I simply watch the sun rise and set.

I am keenly familiar with the sounds of animals during the day and the symphony of sound from the bugs at night. Frogs hop, lizards jump and crawl, cockroaches skitter, mice are eaten by Milton, the cat. Wild horses rustle and stampede in the bushes out front, iguanas weigh heavilly on tree branches, momma and baby birds have their chirping lessons from sunrise to sunset. Crickets scream and mosquitos and bees buzz at polar octives.