When I left JFK is was snowing, again. I almost missed the flight. Dropped the boards with a skycap and sprinted for the plane. This is the best way to begin a vacation -- running at top speed through a departures terminal.
Tom, owner of met me at the airport in his beat-up station wagon. Tom used to live in New Jersey, but he got sick of the cold. Now he runs his guesthouse in Rincon and surfs every day.
The crew was hangin' on the verandah when we got to the house. Jim, Bill, Jay, John, Pete and Dave had just come off a couple of days of overhead swell and looked pretty relaxed. I was still on New York time, so I went up the road to to get a temporal readjustment. Medallia's and meat patties never tasted so good. The girls behind the bar didn't hurt either.
Saturday the 13th broke fine and fair. Walked down the hill, past the cows, to parkinglots. The wind was offshore, the waves were shoulder high and the water was warm -- around 80 degrees F. The winds held offshore all day, so later on I got back in the water for the evening session. That did it. After that I was on Island Time.
This is where the accounting gets sketchy. Island time . . . So, here are the notes:
Sunday. Heavy onshore winds. No surf. Went to the cockfights at noon. Drank at Brisa's pm.
Monday. AM: surfed Dome's, badly. Winds sideshore. Ticos popped the trunk of the car while we were in the water, took Jim's glasses, Bill's rack and my camera with the pictures of the cockfight. Surfed Maria's and Dogman's in the arvo. Pina Colada party with the girls upstairs that night.
Tuesday. Light winds AM. Surfed parkinglots. Surfed Pools at noon. Fell asleep on beach. Parkinglots for the evening session.
Wednesday. Sweet AM session at Maria's with the other Bill. Waist to shoulder high and glassy. Expedition to the waterfall near San Sebastian later that day. Slide show at Brisa's PM.
Thursday. Dawn seminar at parkinglots. Wind came up later in the day. Slept on the beach all afternoon.
Friday. Dawn patrol at Pools with John & Jay. Drove north that arvo to Surfer's Beach with the other Bill, Ray, Rick and Steve. Overhead, but sloppy. Fired up the blender again that evening.
Saturday. On my board near Rivermouth when the sun rose. Surfed the peak with two other guys. No wind; glassy lefts. Borrowed John's fins and got in the water at noon to get some pics on what was probably the smallest day of the week. Click here for pics of John Jay That afternoon at around 4 pm the wind shifted offshore. All the guys were in the water at parkinglots and Rivermouth. I surfed till I was tired then walked back up the hill to pack.
