New Years Eve in Rincon

It was a fun night that started off with me accidentally crashing a wedding party at the Rock Bottom Casa Verde bar.  I didn't realize it was a private party; the security guard assumed I was part of the wedding party and let me walk right in.  When I tried to pay for my beer at the bar the bartender looked at me kind of funny and said, “It’s an open bar!”  He explained it was a wedding party and said, “Hey man, enjoy!”.

I stayed only long enough to finished my beer.  For years the bride and groom will be wondering who that guy was in the backgound of several group photos! I have to say – WHAT A GREAT PLACE FOR A WEDDING PARTY!


Since I hadn’t been able to eat at the RBVC, I decided to grab some sushi at the Pool Bar.  It was still early so the place was pretty empty.  I had a chance to chat with the owner, a gringo who had moved to Rincon and bought the bar years ago.  It’s a family business with his wife and daughter who all help out in the bar, restaurant, and the Inn with a few rooms right across the street from Pools Beach, a well-known surfer beach.   The sushi is superb!

The movie screen behind the stage plays '50's and '60's retro surfing movies 24/7, and they make great fresh mohitos! They also have a grill and do kabobs and steaks.  The guy next to at the bar was wolfing down a steak kabob and was raving about it.  He had just arrived with a one-way ticket on the afternoon JetBlue flight into Aquadilla.  He had no idea how long he was going to stay.  He was a commercial painter and surfer and planned to stay as long as his money lasted, picking up odd jobs to extend his funds.


After dinner I headed back to the RBCV (the wedding party was over at 9:00 PM).  The place was busy, but not quite the place to ring in the New Year (no live music or dancing).  I met two ladies (former college room mates), Pam from PA and Amanda from NY who had also just arrived in Roncon.  Amanda works for JetBlue and is a frequent Rincon visitor.  She said “The Spot” on the beach by the marina was supposed to be good.  They were without a car so I offered a ride if they would show me the way.


The Spot was great!  It is right on the beach with an indoor section, a covered open air section, and a patio.  There was a punk rock surfer band playing and they got carried away and played through the stroke of midnight!  No one seemed to care (time is pretty much irrelevant in Rincon) that they did the countdown at 2 minutes past the hour.

I ran into James and Inda, two of my surfing instructors, and Shannon, James’ fiancée, and I rang in the New year with them. After midnight I wanted to check out the Tamboo because several local people I’d met told me that was the place to be, so I left the girls from PA and NY and the surfers and headed to Tamboo.



Tamboo was definitely rocking!  A Puerto Rican band was playing and they had roasted a pig (a PR tradition).  Everyone was eating, drinking, and dancing.

The contrast between “The Spot” and “Tamboo” was what my vacation was all about: the Puerto Rican version of traditional Latin America, and the hard core surfing culture.  They happily coexist and compliment one another in Rincon.




Back to the Bamboo Treehouse.  Morning comes early when you’re sleeping in the trees – the birds don’t seem to care that it’s a new year and a new decade.

It was a New Year’s Eve to remember!

Beside the Point & “The Tamboo”

For the first three nights I am staying at “Beside the Point".  It is a small hotel / Inn associated with the Tamboo bar and  restaurant.   I ate lunch there when I arrived and the shrimp wrap was excellent!  This evening they had a traditional Puerto Rican band playing until about 9:00 PM. 



The Tamboo is an open air bar with a large deck that overhangs the beach.  It’s a surfer’s beach and the waves today were between 3’ and 6’.  It was inspiring to sit on the deck and watch the surfers catching the waves.  Later I spoke to someone at a local surf shop down the road and he said they are expecting VERY BIG surf for the next few days.



Tomorrow my surfing lessons begin with Rincon Surf School. This is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time and I’m really excited to finally be getting the chance.

Amazing Contrast

I am simply amazed that a person (in this case me) can wake up in New York, walk out the door into a freezing rain, and have lunch on the deck of a tiki bar in the caribbean while watching surfers tackle 6 foot perfectly curling emerald colored waves, with the late, great Bob Marley singing in the background.

Posted via my cell phone.