Last week was definitely exciting, as I hosted a ton of visitors. First of all there was Carlos and Sarah coming in to visit for a week from Columbia, SC and New Orleans respectively. They stayed in Rincon but we hung out together pretty much every day, exploring various surf breaks, waterfalls and newly opened restaurants like the Taco Maker. During the middle of the week, my new friend Matt Cox came into town from San Juan to do a job interview and then headed directly to the beach with us (while still wearing his suit) to join us in the water on a bodyboard. Later that night we headed to Mayaguez to feast at the Ponderosa and clean out the Mayaquez Resort and Casino. Carlos and I walked out with earnings of around $20 each!!!
On Friday, Papus, Carolyn and Kobe stayed in Rincon and joined us for dinner/drinks at the Tamboo beachfront grill. They were my Salsa gurus and I hadn't seen them since they relocated to Knoxville, TN about 9 months ago, so catching up was fun. Then on Friday night/Saturday morning, Joel and Megan from St. Petersburg, FL flew into Aguadilla and we spent the next two days exploring and surfing various breaks. Saturday we hit the North Coast by Isabela surfing Jobos and Middles. On Sunday, we took a look at Rincon breaks like Domes and Maria's which were very small. Luckily, we salvaged the day with a terrific late afternoon session at Wilderness up in Aguadilla. I think I had the longest ride of my life there, independently verified and described by Joel as being around 30 seconds long and covering around 150 yards.
There were lots of people coming in and out of my apartment, so I could definitely understand when my landlord Eloy asked me "Exactly how many people do you have staying in your apartment?" I explained the topsy turvy situation and reassured him that this kind of traffic won't be happening again. Joel is coming back for his second straight weekend this Friday again and then my Mom will be coming to stay with me the week before I leave on April 8th.
But all the buzz around the island now is about the swell of the DECADE which is going to peak on Wednesday and Thursday. They are saying it will be the biggest waves to hit the island since 1999. Most of the beaches will be closed since it will be so gigantic. My plan is to search for more protected/shielded and smaller spots since I don't want to have anything to do with the 20-30 foot waves (triple to quadruple overhead - yes, you will be able to fit four surfers standing up on a surfboard underneath the open faces of these waves!!!) The swell is starting to build right now outside my apartment, only about 3-5 seas right now, but one can sense that these are the harbingers of the maelstrom that is about to pummel this island.
Here is a nice link with the surf forecasts for this region: http://www.surfline.com/surfline/forecasts4/forecast_mo.cfm?alias=puertorico&county=nwpuertorico
Hopefully I'll be able to post some good pictures on the blog after this weekend too.
Rocky, rolling on his back and having a ball.
Carlos and I tower above the waterfall.
Traffic cop: Only in Puerto Rico would it make sense to allow a mentally challenged individual to direct traffic.
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