So on Sunday I decided to go and watch the Superbowl with a bunch of ex-Pats, no not former Patriot fans but people who are originally from the US, most of whom are tourists or some of whom are temporary (like me) or long term transplants to Puerto Rico. I went down to Rincon, ex-Pat central and watched the game at the Tamboo bar which is right on the beach. The game was ok and I really didn't come into it pulling for one team or the other, but early on I casually shifted to a Pro NY mentality - since when I am a neutral observer I usually root for the underdog. Well, I wasn't alone since a ton of of the American surfers and ex-Pats down here seem to come from the NY area. And, then you throw in the fact that probably 95% of all Puerto Ricans have either lived in the NY area or at least have relatives there, you had a very strong go NY vibe going. One downer for me was the fact that the Fox Puerto Rico channel showed almost none of the big SuperBowl commercials which have become just about as important as the game recently. Instead it was cheap little local commercials for Used Car dealerships and banks, pretty lame.
Back in the barrio, I finally met my neighbour, who is renting out a 2 BR apt on the ground floor next to me. Her name is Maria and she is actually from Sweden, working for some kind of non-profit organization down here for a while. She has several cats, including the aforepictured kitten who I now know is named "Sweetie". She seemed very friendly and she told me that she is ethnically German so we actually got to speak some Deutsch together.
Well, the pain in my shoulder / rotator cuff is still quite prevalent. As difficult as the choice is, I have decided to take a couple of days off from surfing, which I last did on Saturday. The overhead paddling and pushdown for duckdiving motions are pretty intense even when you are at full strength, so doing these with injured body parts is very difficult and after feeling so sore afterwards I was convinced that this couldn't be helping the healing process. So after talking to several health care professionals back in the States who I am lucky enough to call good friends, I have decided to hit the inflammation hard with a steady dose of NSAIDs ie Motrin, continue doing my restrengthening exercises and icings, and give that shoulder some rest. It's not easy to see such nice waves go by and not just jump all over them, but I gotta be patient and mercifully enough, the surf in Rincon has really tapered off recently and should be quiet for the next few days anyway.
So I've also been lucky enough to have time to contemplate some profound thoughts such as.. "to boogie or not to boogie".. Now I know, that to some of you who are trivializing your lives with minor concerns such as jobs, bills, significant others and kids it may seem that this question is not as important as it truly is... you see, as a surfer you feel as though you have reached the top of the evolutionary ladder, standing up and riding the waves from a prominent stature. Now when you see a boogey or body boarder lying on his stomach, you literally and figuratively look down on them like we would a prehistoric cromagnon walking around on all fours. But this devolution would actually serve a purpose, since bodyboarding is both quite similar yet importantly different than stand up surfing.
You see, on a surfboard, the only way you can propel yourself through the water is by paddling which uses your arms and shoulders. Bodyboarders, however, wear fins on their feet and kicking is the main method of propulsion through the water. So this would allow me to still get out there in the water, catch some sweet waves, while also giving my shoulder more time to heal without stressing it out too much. I think I am comfortable enough in my "surfual orientation" to know that I am just experimenting with this and that I am not crossing over to the otherside... the other good thing is that back in the US, bodyboarders are very rare and castigated from the rest of the surfing society... but here, bodyboarding is really the surfing vehicle of choice for the locals, and there are lots of them out there. So who knows, this could my opportunity to blend in better with the locals, without having to grow and trim a beard the width of a pencil or having to listen to 6 hours of Reggaeton everyday.
Well, I'm sure I'll eventually get over the beauty of the sunsets here, but it hasn't happened yet. These two pictures are of the beach right below my apartment. The first view is to the left or west towards Rincon and the sunset.
The second view is to the right and towards the east and one can see the city of Aguadilla in the distance.
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