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!

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

Sunset Over Rincon

Sunset at one of my favorite spots in Rincon. Palm trees, waves, and painted sky.

Tuesday Notes

Another breakfast at La Punta Bakery.

Surfing lessons day 2 - back to Aquadilla.

Lunch at a hole in the wall cafe in downtown Aquadilla: yellow rice with peas and stewed "pulpa" or octopus. It was delicious!

After surfing I took a shower and a short nap, then headed up the hill to take some sunset photos.

Dinner at the Shipwreck Bar & Grill in Rincon for some excellent fish kabobs and draft beer.

Back at Tamboo for a beer and some blogging on the deck (where I am writing this). The warm moist breeze feels amazing! I don't want to go inside!

Giant waves are crashing on the beach - almost sounds like the roar of thunder. The waxing moon is bright in the sky. The full moon is coming on New Years Eve - a "blue moon" because it's the second full moon of the month.

This is my last night at Beside the Point. Tomorrow I go to the Bamboo Tree house where I'll stay for the next two nights (including New Years Eve).


- - - - -
Sent from my smart phone

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.

Why Rincon?

When planning this trip I wanted the destination to:

• Warm, sunny & on the water.
• Options for peace and quiet and activities, depending on my mood.
• A location in Latin America – I enjoy the food and the culture, and I wanted an opportunity to brush up on my Spanish.
• Low to moderate cost for the trip.

I began with the thought of going to Vieques or Culebra, but they are harder to get to and have fewer options for  activities.

In my research led me to Rincon on the western tip of the island, and the more I learned the more I liked.  In the end, my decision to go to Rincon, Puerto Rico for a surfing vacation was based on:

1. Ease of access: reasonably priced direct flights from JFK Airport in New York into Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, only about 20 miles from Rincon.  I’ll catch a morning flight from JFK and I’ll be having lunch in Rincon!
2. Accommodations: even though it is one of the busiest weeks of the year I was able to find accommodations for about $100 per night.  Keep in mind I am going on one of the busiest weeks of the season (the week after Christmas) and with only a few days notice.  If I was traveling any other time I could have easily found nice places to stay with lower rates.
3. Variety of Beaches: Rincon is the western tip of Puerto Rico with the Atlantic on one side and the Caribbean on the other.  The north side (Atlantic) is known for it’s consistent waves.  The south side (Caribbean) is generally calmer.
4. Lots of Activities: On days that I don’t surf there are plenty of other things to do like fishing, scuba diving and snorkeling.  Unlike some of the more secluded options, there’s a vibrant night life and many places to eat.  I’ll be spending New Year’s Eve there and would like the option of going out and partying.

I Need To Escape!

I need a break. I REALLY need a break! It has been a good year, but a very exhausting one. I didn't expect to have time off over the holidays, but things changed at work and an opportunity presented itself.

Will it be Florida, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, or someplace else?  Where ever I go. I'd like to spend part of the time learning to surf.  Perhaps I should say "re-learning" to surf because I was an active (but not very skilled) surfer as a teen growing up in San Jose, Costa Rica.  How long does "muscle memory" last?

This will be my travel blog for that trip.

(Photo by A. Mercogliano)