Real Vacation: Day 2, Beaches, Burns, Bugs, and Bonds

It was not raining today. And thank GOD for that! So here it is:

After a refreshing nights sleep, we had only 2 things on our "to do" list for today: beaches and bio bay. And let me tell you, there is a lot that happened between those two "to do's".

So around 11, we head out to explore the beaches Vieques is famous for. Untouched, serene, and most importantly secluded. So we drove across the island (a whole 6 miles) to the Wildlife Refuge and started beach scoping.

First stop, Red Beach - although very beautiful, it was pretty crowded today. And by crowded, I mean there were about 10 people on it. So we kept going. Next stop, "Secret" Beach (that's what they call it on the map!) - now this was a beach I fell instantly in love with. Beautiful blue waters, wonderful calm waves, great shade, and mostly importantly, completely empty (well almost, one couple sat about a football field away from us). This was it. So we set up camp in an almost private alcove and relaxed away. The next two hours were bliss. Swimming, reading, lunching, and sun bathing. Need I say more? Of course the one thing that went wrong is that we didn't nearly put on enough sun block, so Ali and I are both mighty pink at the moment.

After about three hours, we decided to scale the rest of the beach before heading home to freshen up for our bio bay tour. So we drove around to the Blue Beach, the Orchid Beach, all beautiful, all amazingly secluded. If you are a woman who wears hijab, this is the island to go vacationing on.

On our drive home, we passed by that store I told you about yesterday - you know, the one with the Hijabi Woman and moon n' crescent on the sign? So we decide to stop and take a look. We go in, there's a couple women in there, and a LOT of shoes. So I ask the lady at the counter, "Is this your store?" She doesn't speak very much English, but manages to tell us that "Ratiba" is at her other store called "Washington" which is down the street. So we go down the street, and find the store. I walk in while Ali looks for parking. There's an old man sitting by the counter, he looks like a teddy bear with full white beard. "Assalamu Alaikum," he says, smiling. "Wa'alikum Salaam, Is Ratiba here?" He smiles, motions to say that she's coming. Then he says in Arabic, "Do you speak Arabi?" No, I reply. There's another lady at the counter, who speaks Engligh, I tell her that we saw the sign on the other store, and wanted to stop by and say hello. Just then, Ratiba drives up, and the teddy bear Ammu (that's what I'll call him from now on, which means uncle in Arabic) goes to park the car while she comes in. Ratiba takes one look at me and smiles. She recognizes me. But from where?

Flashback: On the way to Puerto Rico, our flight out of Chicago was delayed by 2 hours. While waiting for the flight, Ali and I sat across this woman and her son. They spoke in Arabic, smiled, and greeted us, like is normative for Muslims to do, even when you don't know one another. This was Ratiba and she was on our flight from Puerto Rico.

So once Ratiba and I have figured out how we know each other. We get to the details. She is a Puerto Rican convert, married to a Palestinian, Ammu. They have eight kids and have lived in Vieques for 37 years. They are the only Muslim family in town. Every friday they take the ferry to the main island for Jummah prayers. They are A.D.O.R.A.B.L.E.

Of their eight children, a couple live in Chicago. We inquired which suburbs or neighborhood they lived in. Ratiba can't remember the name, so decided to call her daughter, Hanaan. In a quick conversation over the phone, we discover that she lives in the suburb of... wait for this one... FRANKFORT. Yes, that's right, the boo foo lil' town of Frankfort about 30 miles south of Chicago. And she lives about a mile away from my parents. Um, yea. I don't even know what to call this... fate? Karma? Who knows!

True to Arab hospitality, they invite us over for dinner. So that's where we'll be tomorrow night!

More on the bio bay tour tomorrow, I'm too tired to type up that saga tonight... see ya!