Overview.(Vieques Island & Culebra Island)

Geologically, Vieques and Culebra are part of the island chain that includes the Virgin Islands, not the landmass of Puerto Rico proper. It's more than a symbolic difference. Both islands are refreshingly free of the strip malls, franchise outlets and concrete that characterize what locals refer to (with a vague wave of the hand westward) as Puerto Rico. Neither island has even a single stoplight. Keep an eye out for hybrid characters we call boricua Rastafarians, who speak Spanish slowly and wear dreadlocks tucked beneath oversize knitted caps. Things are definitely more laid-back here. At the exact spot where the Greater and Lesser Antilles meet, steel drums and reggae music are heard nearly as often as salsa and merengue.

Sometimes referred to as "The Last Virgins," Vieques and Culebra nevertheless lost some of their maidenhood at the hands of the US Navy, which has used both islands as target ranges for its gunners. On the other hand, Navy presence may have helped keep Vieques free of large-scale development and commercial use. So far, Vieques and Culebra have registered only the ...