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Damn gringos! Today my salsa tunes from the radio (salsa salzón! -- also check out internet radio by Netscape, Latin music, the radio applet in Netscape v7 works very nicely) were banned in favor of the whacked out tunes of SpearHeads and Brittany Spears and such (I stand corrected: JCV tells me it was No Doubt or something very un-salsa-like). That's no way to treat a tour guide!!! I bit the bullet as they continued to force feed with a steady diet of cold heinies, rum drinks and other favors. First off, my victims brewed some good cafe crema coffee for eye opener starters (using bottled water, of course). Not too bad. I opted for the fresh cafe con scalding hot leche along with some pan. JCV also enjoyed a few bites. Made the usual round of spot surf checks as we headed north to our eventual destination. The swell was still trying to fill in... despite the best forecasting efforts of the experts, at least there was still some swell in the water. We were in the water by 7:30am. I showed my guests the best paddle out spots and described the basics (but neglected to mention how to set up for the paddle in and hit that 3-yard wide break in the reef -- I was too stoked to hit the water with something over waist high. However, I made sure to fix that oversight as they made the approach in with a bizarre set of arm and hand signals. The swell session started off slowly with high tide still hanging around until about 8:30 or 9:00 when things started to pick up providing plenty of fun little warm waves were available for riding. A crowd of about 20 spread out between the north parking lot peak and just inside the river mouth cove. It was a smacking good session even though it lacked the punch of some nice tubing action. Did my best to keep my spirits up and not bum the guests, but during my last trip to PR we never ventured out in conditions this small, not to mention expectations for slightly larger swell. Everyone caught some good waves, made some good chatter in the water (JCV must have met everyone worth meeting!), and relished the warm water. I managed one micro cover-up--keeping my objective name in action--a big air re-entry and some cut backs, but no real long rides and not nearly enough of the coveted hollow lefts that lurk at Wilderness. Bottom line: it was fun :) Smacking good fun capable of generating a few smiles. Post session grinds: Borinquen Cafeteria's arroz amarillo con habichuelas for the guests - I added rotisserie criollo pollo al ajo. Plenty of cold drinks along the way. Afterwards, I drove the guests down to Crashboat/Gas Chambers beach where we lazied around, drank a few more cold ones in the shade and talked some AS sh*t!!! After a satisfying, rejuvenating and dreamy nap we took Sh*tface to dinner at El Galeón: feasted on steaks and fresh mahi mahi al ajo criollo with tostones and amarillos (picked up an amarillos fan the day before!), garlic bread and salad ( "that's not salad!" ha ha. "that's not meat!!!). Dan was seriously sh*t faced from Barrilito rum sipping during the afternoon so alcoholic restrictions were in effect during the early dinner hours. Alcohol control was released after appetizers. Good preparation for Sh*tface surfing Shithouse the next day. Lights out early for an early DP the next day. Dan, Rod and Joanne at
El Galeón
Joanne posted some video from our post-session at Crashboat Beach. |
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