Las Croabas, Fajardo to Los Kioskos, Luquillo December,27,2009

Today I paddled a 12 mike section of the Northeast coast of Puerto Rico . Started the morning with a few friends meeting at the parking lot in Las Croabas next to the Phosphorescent Bay as the sun was just beginning to rise over Palamino island to the East.

The plan today was to join some friends and first check out some waves and after a couple hours of playing in the waves, paddle back to Luquillo. I dropped my car at the kiosks in Luquillo and Joesph followed me and drove us and our boards to the launch in Fajardo.

 A beautiful way to start the day to say the least, Glassy, calm, and the sun rising as we began.











When we arrived to the surf, we had it all to ourselves with a pretty fun, long ride enjoyed by all.

Chris was riding his new board  like a short board. He has a really nice , flowing style. The pictures don;t really show how fun the wave was, but it is probably better that way. My photography skills are average at best. A work in progress.

 The background of where we surfed was gorgeous, Desolate beaches, El Yunque rain forrest, green hills, lots of small island and cays and the Fajardo Lighthouse in the distance. At the end of our surf, a local guy, Sam, and his girlfriend showed up.He seemed to be pretty tolerant of 5 paddleboarders at his spot and we left about 15 minutes later. Try not to piss off any locals is a good rule of thumb.

I tried to recruit someone to paddle back to my car with me , got no takers and had a nice 2 1/2 hour solo paddle back to my car. On the way back I passed 7 Seas beach, La Selva, La Pared and came to shore just east of Luquillo beach. With the combo of a really shallow, dry reef, low tide and a decent sized swell,I walked my board around about a mile stretch of beautiful beach and then paddled the last mile to my car.

 Roasted pig with arroz con gandules for lunch, and a stop in the town of Palmer to visit my friend Neon Dave at his home and art gallery. 

No exageration, El Yunque Gallery and Neon is one of the coolest and unique places and individuals in all of Puerto Rico. Neon,now Vid Son Doz,and I go back as friends for over 20 years and always reminisce about the old days. His living quarters, art work, gardens, eclectic surfboard collection and outlook on life always bring a smile and good laugh, To sum it up, another fun paddle, fun waves, all shared with good friends.

 Ben , thanks for the camera. Tanya and Lincoln thanks for the computer support and friendship. Joesph, thanks for the ride. Chris ,thanks for showing me a fun wave, Neon Dave, thanks for opening your home to me whenever I stop by unannounced. Puerto Rico is beautiful.

Stay tuned for more!

Maunabo to Patillas December 23, 2009

Well, today was a fun, easy ,beautiful and more than anything,an interesting paddle. The characters and situations that exposed themselves and unfolded right in front of me still have me laughing and scratching my head. I love living in Puerto Rico.

I knew right from the start that things could get interesting because I drove 55 miles to Maunabo by myself to do a downwind paddle with no one on the back end to drive me back to my car 10 miles upwind. I figured that I needed to find out first hand, the logistics of what to do once I got to the beach in Patillas. I planned on paddling in to the beach at one of the better surf breaks on the South coast known as Inches. A bit confused of exactly where I was, I saw 3 fisherman and decided to paddle over and ask them how much further to Inches.

They pointed pretty far back upwind and I was already a couple miles past it. In no mood to paddle back upwind I casually inquired about where I was exactly, and if there may be anyone nearby that would be willing to give me a ride back to my car at the lighthouse in Maunabo for a few bucks. Luis, one of the fisherman seemed very willing and able to give me a ride back. I said thanks, and offered to buy him lunch and beers for his generosity. I met him on shore and all of a sudden his story and attitude and car and generosity became a scam to rip me off of probably my board, paddle, camera, money , sunglasses, etc. When he became aware I was onto him, he became very aggressive, and almost threatening. Long story short, he didn't get my stuff and I shook him.

Sketchy dude, Luis, who pulled a 180 on me.

So I flag down a publico full of people and explain my dilema and with a bit of begging and support from everyone in the public taxi cab, 3 locals hop out with the driver and help me strap my board on top for a ride through the countryside and coast back to my car. I think I am probably the first to paddleboard that stretch of coastline but I can almost guarantee I am the first to hop in a public taxi cab shirtless, wet, smiling, laughing out loud about another typical day in the controlled chaos and unpredictable fun of lovely Puerto Rico!

Here I am- first guy ever to hop in a public taxi cab shirtless, wet, smiling.  Loving it!

Thanks amigos!

The paddle today was 9 miles and less than 2 hours and spectacular in it's beauty. Want to thank all my sponsors du jour.

Tanya for mobile phone support and her camera and coming to help me with the blown out tire on the way home. Daniel, thanks for the jack that i forgot and needed in order to change the tire. Lincoln for his webpage savey!  Without him nobody would be reaqding this.  Vicente the publico driver who allowed me to laugh the whole ride back to Maunabo. Carmen the 60 year old grandma who rode copilot and wanted me to take her home with me(super friendly but not my type). And to Luis the fisherman who reconfirmed that it's absolutely fine not to trust everyone you meet.

Rest of the photos from todays Paddleboarding Around Puerto Rico:

Hope everyone enjoyed this.  So much more coming soon!

Day 1

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Friends, myself, and people I haven't even met yet are going to paddleboard around Puerto Rico over the next few months. I figure the entire adventure should entail between 300-400 mile of paddling .

So far I have done a 10 mile stretch from Pinones to Punta las Marias and a 20 mile downwinder from Punta las Marias to the Cerro Gordo public beach in Dorado.

My buddies Lincoln and Ben picked me up at the beach (pictured here) and immediately we accomplished two goals. First,; we met a new character ,Freddy, aka, Chicoman or Pizzaman who adopted us as a long lost friend because of the surfboards strapped to the top of the car. As a fellow surfer, he gave us a personal escort to Kikitos beach to catch a few waves before sunset. In the process goal number two was taken care of: check out new spots along the way. Oh yeah, and goal number three was also covered. HAVE FUN!!!

Picture Left to Right: Ben, Lincoln, and Medalla drinking, Pizza eating/making Freddy A.K.A. Chico Man (official tour guide for after noon).

We love you Freddy, wherever you are!

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Okay, another nice part of this adventure is
that there are not too many rules set in stone. I hate rules.

So today Marta called me and was pleading to surf a few waves before she had to hop on a plane and go to Spain for the Christmas holidays (poor Marta). Basically, when there are waves as pretty as the last couple days ,

no long distance paddling enters into the equation. Nice waves will always trump long distance paddling.

But this is just the beginning. And I invite you all to join on this journey to Paddle Board around the island of Puerto Rico, meeting new people and discovering new places and waves.

And here we go!

Pic: Marta, preparing for plane ride to Spain

P.S.- Wanna give a shout out to a bunch of friends out catching beautiful waves today: Lincoln, Tanya, Ben, Justin, Troy, Karla, Pamela, Manuel, Albir, Mike (ATC), Eduardo, Chris, Marta and anyone else I forgot.

P.S.S.- Thanks to the Women's Paddle Group this morning for getting me out of bed- and wait to you see the pictures of these ladies. They pump me up and make me proud!

And let the journey continue as I will be updating this Blog regularly. Around Puerto Rico here we come!

Oh I forgot, it's essential I get your comments and feedback.

Felicidades.

-Art.

So long... so much

Hello my dear friends,

I love you all so much.

And mucho apologies for long time, no post.

Been busy, busy, busy.

Wish I was a better writer AND HAD MORE TIME TO RECORD all the fun I've been having.

Soon, me amigos, ahoritta.

Una cosa mas

One more thing.

I'M JUST GETTIN WARMED UP.

GOOD THINGS COMIN SOON.

"SHIT i LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH

LUV YA ALL."

ps ( am only allowed on this sited to publish email to 10 best friends/ if you're getting this... know you are one of the best and i love you. TRULY, DEEPLY AND SINCERELY. Now fuck off. Holla)

-L.