Friday Notes (Last Day in PR)

Red dots indicate beaches I visited.

Woke up late in the treehouse. Made coffee and showered. Nothing like a cold outdoor shower in the jungle to chase the New Years Eve grogginess away! Relaxed and enjoyed my coffee and the view of Rincon from the treehouse.

Packed up and headed out. Visited:
• Domes Beach & the BONUS reactor site.
• Marias Beach and the surf shop for some t-shirts

Said goodbye to Rincon and drove 45 mins to Aquadilla. Checked in at the Marriott Courtyard then went exploring various beaches (all were stunningly beautiful and virtually empty):
• Surfers Beach
• Isabella
• Crashboat
• Wilderness

Back to the hotel for a nap, then headed into Aquadilla. Found a plaza filled with people dancing to a DJ playing traditional music. Ate an empanada and drank cold beer at a cafe/bar on the plaza. It was a great last night in Puerto Rico!

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Thursday Notes (New Years Eve)

Woke up early in the trees to the sounds of birds, frogs, and other unknown critters.

Cold shower (damn solar hot water heater). Percolated a pot of coffee on the gas burner and drank it upstairs.

Ate a quick breakfast and headed into town. The waves looked good at Marias beach so I rented a board for 1/2 a day. Paddling out through the breakers was very hard - once out there I had to rest for 15 minutes before attempting my first wave. The waves were still pretty big; well over my head. A couple of times I got slammed by an early breaker.

Picked up some sea urchin splines and a coral cut on my way back in about 1:00. Cleaned up and changed, then went back to la Tropical for the lunch special: culeta frita con frijoles, arroz, y platanos maduros (2 fried pork chops, red beans & rice, and plantains) for $5.25. I could hardly eat it all!

Back the tree house for a siesta, then to Surf's Up Coffee shop for afternoon coffee, internet, and a chance the charge up my camera and laptop batteries. Met the owner Joe Souza from CT. He's been here 12 years and has been investing in property and various small businesses. He would be a great resource for vacation rentals in the future.

Watched sunset from the tree house, then headed into town for New Years Eve. Details about the evening are on another post.

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Exploring Aquadilla, Puerto Rico

I enjoyed Aquadilla because it is a more traditional Puerto Rican town than Rincon. 

On my last night I stayed at the Marriott Courtyard near the airport.  I planned to eat in the hotel, but decided at the last  minute that it was just too sterile; I can eat at a Marriott anytime.  Instead I headed into town.  I found a plaza on the beach with a DJ playing traditional music and people dancing.  The plaza was lined with small open air bars that served light food – perfect!  I planted my self at one and enjoyed a cold beer and an empanada de carne (beef empanada – a deep fried pastry filled with ground beef).

Around Rincon and Aquadilla the hills come right up to the coast.  As a result, roads down to the beaches are steep and winding.  At every one there’s a sign entering and exiting the Tsunami danger zone.  The idea is to run like hell to get above the sign when there’s a Tsunami alert!

I spent the afternoon driving around checking out the beaches around Aquadilla.  For the most part they are rocky with patches of sand, empty, and beautiful!  Here are some photos:



Crashboat Beach













Wilderness Beach













Surfers Beach (5 minutes from Aquadilla Airport and near the Surf Zone surf shop)

Wednesday Notes

Packed up at Beside the Point and headed out to explore Rincon. Visited the Lighthouse and the nuclear reactor dome.

Stopped at Marias Beach and watched big waves and surfers.

Explored downtown. Had lunch at El Tropical, a locals place. Had my first taste of mofongo relleno con camarones. Delicious! The lady waiting on me complimented my spanish!

Had coffee at the Surf's Up Coffee Shop (free wifi) then checked in at the Bamboo Treehouse. Had a nice chat with Joe who built his home and the two guest houses. Very friendly and interesting guy.

Later headed into town for more wave watching, then drinks at The Calypso bar on Marias Beach. Dinner (sushi) at Pools Bar with music by Fernando Ferrer. Need to look up his CD - very good! Ran into surf instructor James and his fiancée Shannon, both from Sarasotta Fl. They have been here for 6 months working for the surf school.

Stopped by the Tamboo to see what was happening. Stopped to talk to Frank the hand painted sign guy. Would buy one but too big for carry on luggage.

Called it a night and headed back to the tree house. Flashlight mandatory for the walk through the woods! Discovered something ate half of an apple I left out on the counter. Probably a fruit bat.

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Rincon Surf School (Rincon Surf & Board)

The folks at Rincon Surf School (also known as Rincon Surf & Board) were my tutors and guides for my first two days of surfing.  Their focus is on safety, fun, and learning.  It was the best money I could have spent!  Not only did they help me improve my surfing, they took care of transportation to and from the beach, the surfboard, and the selection of the best beach for each day.  Beach selection, it turns out, is critical because there are dozens of surf breaks around Rincon.

Me after two great days of lessons at Rincon Surf School.  

By the end of the second day I was able to consistently stand on the board and ride the face of a breaking wave to the beach.  I'm still having trouble with turning and catching larger waves.  Not bad after a 30+ year interruption in my surfing!



This week the swell at most of the best known places was anywhere from 6 to 20 feet!  That’s great if you are a professional surfer or a spectator, but completely unsafe for anyone else to be in the water.

Brian runs the place with the assistance of Alexandra.  In additional to Brian, two other instructors James and Edna took care of my group of 10 to 12 students.  The students ranged from a family of five with no surfing experience to a few people with a bit of experience.

A random surfer on Maria Beach, Rincon

Staying at Beside the Point

I spent three nights at Beside the Point, the hotel attached to the Tamboo Bar & Grill.  I was a little concerned that noise from the bar would keep me awake, but it really was not a problem.  They had a band one night that finished about 9:00 PM then had music until very late (way past my bed time!).  My room was on the front side of the building and I could barely hear the music. The air conditioner probably helped because it offered some background white noise.
My room (#3) is the door to the left of the white car.  As you can see I was only about 50 steps from the bar, and 60 steps from the beach.
The room was no frills but clean and comfortable.  it had a TV (never turned it on), a small refrigerator, private bath with shower, air conditioner, and a full size bed.  It also had plenty of electrical outlets for charging personal electronics. 

My only criticisms are the lack of coin operated washer and dryer for guests, and the early morning visits by various delivery trucks and garbage pickup.  Each morning at about 7:00 AM the recycling truck would arrive, bringing with it the crashing sounds of barrels of glass bottles being dumped into the truck.  A few minutes later the normal garbage truck would stop by, and after that delivery trucks for the bar and restaurant.  I was up most days before 7:00 AM, but on the last day I tried to sleep.  That was a futile exercise because of the noise.

The view from the Tamboo was great.  It was relaxing just to sit on the deck sipping a beer and watching the waves, the palm trees blowing in the breeze, and the surfers.