Todays challenge

Ok. So. This morning was all about moving. AGAIN. Even though
technically the house is ours tomorrow, and even though we scheduled
the movers to come tomorrow, seems as though 1 May, in "PR time" is
also synonomous with "how 'bout next Tuesday?" so... Not wanting to
spend close to a week without a bed, furniture, or cookware, we
extended our stay and we're back in the splendid white and glass
house we started out in. So, that made 8 moves in a month. Somewhere
around move #4, this particular piece of paper got lost. Finally dug
it up today, and now the magic trick is to somehow turn this piece of
paper into electricity in our new house. Somehow, I'm guessing that
i'll still be doing this next week. I guarantee there are 2 more forms
and exact change that I'm missing.

Mom, this one's for you!

The spiders really do come in larger sizes down here. But instead of
having two sets of really long front legs, these guys always hang out
in a perfect X. All the same, if one of these fell in me, I'm sure the
result would be no different from what you witnessed 30 years ago!

In Rincon they're walking the nose...

We went to Rincon yesterday - immortalized by the Beach Boys' song.
This sign cracked me up. I'm not sure but I think it means "caution -
runaway surfers"

We had a nice time in rincon, but it was gringo central, no doubt
about that.

Banyan tree house

We left it still standing...

Banyan tree house

Tree house

This Is probably the best tree house I've seen! It's built in a huge
sprawling banyan tree

Sunsets are really something else...

...and Steve really got the wave!

Get the waves!!

Steve had been chiding me because I kept missing pictures of the waves
breaking over the rocks.... I got this one!

Catching up from the weekend

We took about a five mile walk on the beach one afternoon - it was
going to be a quick one, but as soon as you get around one point,
there's always another point that looks just so enticing...

Aguadilla airport

Had to go pick up some touristy maps today, and the visitors center is
in the airport. Since I was going that way, thought I'd take a
picture...

Surfing contest

All week people have been dribbling in town for the eastern surfing
championships - today was the first day and I went to check it out.
Since I had no idea what to expect in terms of crowds or security, I
didn't take anything other than my phone with me, so as a result,
this is about the best photo I could muster up. Surprisingly, there
weren't a lot of people there, but I think attendance will increase as
the week goes on. It's also primarily a Jr. Event, so lots of little
niños in the water. The family staying in the apt above us are from
Nags Head and their 10 year old is surfing on Friday - I'll go out to
cheer him on. They have been a delight - the kids are tickled to death
to snorkel here and have been a hoot chasing crabs and fish.

My favorite surf shot

Somehow, this one dropped off the prior surf shot post, and it's my favorite. I love the motion of the water!

Middles Beach

These pictures were taken 2 weeks ago, but I'm just now getting them off my camera. This beach is called Middles, and it's about a 5 minute drive up across the northern coast from where we're staying. I got here at low tide, and I had an absolute ball playing in the tidal pools. The water was so warm it felt like a bath. The first two pictures were taken from the tidal pools, with me crouching down as far as I could get without ACTUALLY taking a bath (with camera) in the water. I love the color of the breaking waves in the second picture, and that's pretty much exactly the color of the waves when the sun hits them just right.

Incidentally, this is also the beach that I went to with one of my buddies when I was being "taught" how to drive a front-wheel drive car in the sand. This is also where we were stuck for close to 2 hours in the broiling midday sun, trying to lay palm leaves, break apart palettes, and gather found wood to get the car, buried to the front bumper in sand, back out on the road. It worked, I now know exactly how NOT to drive in the sand. I also know that using lengths of nylon cord, rope, and (yes) electrical wire braided together, and with the help of two unbelievably kind (non-english speaking) locals, you can use enough hand gestures to figure out how to tow a car out of the sand!

The waves have started getting bigger here again - and perfect timing, as there's a big surfing competition starting on Wednesday. I'm really looking forward to going down and checking that out - should be a lot of fun! These pictures were all taken from our deck - the competition will be about a mile down the beach. It still amazes me that these guys have the guts to surf this - I know how shallow the water is when they get dumped, and I definitely know how long the sea urchin spines are on that reef. I am uploading these at a high resolution, so click on the picture to load the full-resolution image and see the detail! For those of you who aren't as comfy with computers, when you're done looking at the big picture, use the "back" arrow to get back to this page. If the back arrow is greyed out, then click on the "X" to close the window containing the big picture.

Stress

If this were video, you could watch his little feet patting in rhythm
to jimmy Buffett...

Steve is a bit stressed these days

Brain coral

For those who were asking what it looks like :-)

This Is a really small piece. In the water, we swim around some that
are four times what I can get my arms around and some are perfectly
round. We found one washed up on the beach in one of our beachcoming
nights that the two of us together couldn't pick up and carry.

We've got crabs!

Forget about the ocean print shower curtain when this is the view from the shower!

Morning coffee

It stormed last night, so we woke up to much bigger waves this
morning. Really pretty! Combined with the fact that we are now staying
directly on the beach (no balconies - just sand) we decided to
postpone the day's activities and enjoy a very relaxed morning cup O
joe. Or two. Or three.

Stormy skies

The white in the distance are the boats where we took the first couple
of pics. It's amazing how far out from the islands it stays shallow

Bits and pieces of the reef

We took this one because we loved the turquoise of the water and the
storm clouds on the hills. The camera phone didn't quite do the colors
justice, but you get the gist. The best thing is watching these dark
ominous clouds build up every afternoon, and it rains like the devil
in the hills, but stays sunny and beautiful on the beach. This
afternoon was perfect because it rained the whole way home and got all
the salt water from the kayaks off the car au natural.

Starfish

These guys were everywhere! Really cool. I picked this one up, and he
curled one little arm tip up at me. I considered it a friendly wave,
but Steve swears he was flipping me off!

Steve at la parguera

La Parguera

Yes, the water really is that clear!

Kayak trip to la parguera

What a great day! We put in on the far shore, and hit almost all of
the islands by the time we were done. Behind me, you can see one of
the islands and mangrove clumps. The great thing is, everyone brings
their picnic tables and chairs and plunks them in the water - just
like a mermaid's ball!

Cora, all decked out in her "fun attaire"

Getting ready for another dull weekend in puerto Rico :-) Got the roof
rack anchored last week, kayaks today, and we're headed back out to La
Parguera to spend the weekend in the mangroves and playing on the
outer islands with Carlos and crew!

Let the weekend begin!

Montones beach

Yesterday was the first day since I've been here that it rained during
the day. Steve and I were out house shopping and running errands and
decided to stop at this beach to watch the storm clouds. I love
watching the waves break up over the rocks and then cascade down...

Changes in (l)attitude

18*67'

Btw- the name of the restaurant is the latitude/longitude of this
place. I'm liking the coordinates! Changes in latitude, changes in
attitude...

18*67'

Ok. Without doubt favorite restaurant here! Amazing view, sitting on a
cliff overlooking the ocean!

Calderon party

So, Saturday night was Angie and Luis' big bash, and a marvelous time
was had by all! I started out with my camera and all the best
intentions, but by the end of the night, this was the only pic to make
it out. For the record... I actually was NOT the "spiller" this time
around. Dana (cowboy boots) had just dropped a full can and it rolled,
spewing everywhere. Steve's contribution to the cleanup effort,
clearly was to take this picture of me switching from mopping the
floor to mopping his feet. When I found this picture, I made sure to
remind him that he was a lucky man. And how easily the camera can be
broken...

Easter weekend

Easter weekend brings in the throngs

So, our quiet little beach looked a not different on Easter weekend!
Still - this is a far cry from what some of the less remote beaches
looked like over the holiday. Apparently, Aguadilla has about 50,000
people, and I swear, all of the came to the beach this weekend.
Weather was just downright glorious for it!

A new pet

Because of the holiday weekend, we got bumped back to our old hotel
room for 2 nights. I had just gone up to the room and sat down with
some pasta for lunch when I looked down and saw that this little
fellow had run right up to within 6 inches of my foot! Had it been a
cockroach, I would have been appalled. This guy, I find endearing...
Go figure. He's now behind the dresser. Anyone want to place bets on
how many bruises I get trying to catch the varmit?

Another picture of our beach

>

> Ok- so I can't take underwater pictures yet, but at least you can kind
> of get a feel for how clear the water is and how much reef is just
> outside of our door. If you look closely, you can see that there are a
> couple of snorkelers in the very center of this picture. I've been
> living in the water here, and every day is so different!! I swam for a
> little while with a turtle, and there are HUGE puffer fish if you dive
> down and peek under ledges. Brain coral that I couldn't wrap my arms
> around... It's just heaven.
>
> Hard to believe that this is the same beach that produced 20' waves 2
> weeks ago.
>

Borinquen radar

Even though Borinquen airport is the longest runway in the Caribbean,
it still has a great general aviation feel about it. It's been quite a
long time since I've spent my evenings as a runway rat, trying to work
my way into flight time, and I'd forgotten just how enchanted I am
with airports. Even though I'm sure not everyone shares my love, I
still thought the light on these radar towers with storm clouds in the
background made for a pretty cool shot.

Cora goes native

Ok-so spending my entire Monday morning in beurocratic lines wasn't
exactly what I would call FUN, but I guess I will chalk it op to local
flavor. It never really bodes well when you get to the public works
building and food vendors are set up outside the door... But. After
going to the 6 requisite stations and standing in line at each one,
Cora now has a Puerto Rican title and some pretty darn spiffy looking
tags, I think!

Sunset 3