Back from Puerto Rico ("...you lovely island...island of tropical breezes...")




Wanna see pictures?
Ok. Didn’t think so.

And I don’t blame you (or at least those of you who answered in the negative) because that’s what I would say (or would want to say) if our roles were reversed.

It’s almost a comedy cliché:

“ Wanna see pictures we took of the Grand Canyon on our trip?”

Uh, well, yeah sure, cause the four million professional shots I’ve seen of it just don’t seem to capture the splendid beauty of it quite as magnificently as I’m sure yours do.

Okay, but of course it’s not about the places in the pictures, it’s about the people. It’s about the people you know and love captured on film in places of interest --and after all, why wouldn’t I want to see lots and lots (that’s another part of the problem—why is it always so many?) of pictures of friends and/or family enjoying themselves on unforgettable trips to exotic places where they had absolutely wonderful experiences? But fact is, generally I don't. Maybe it’s because they're just pictures, and hardly come close to capturing what the experience was truly about. Now that I've said that, I think that that's it. They're just pictures. You can't feel the warmth of the sun, the sensual caress of the water, the taste of the local cuisine, the smells and textures of plants and fauna. On the other hand, maybe I don't like looking at other people's travel pictures because it just reminds me that they had all that fun without me. Does that make me a curmudgeon? Probably. But I’ve rarely met a curmudgeon I didn’t like…so I’ll live with it.

All that said, however, I’m gonna post some pix anyway. And I feel justified in doing so because I regard this site more as a personal journal than a public forum --and when I check my readership stats, it’s clear that I’ve every reason to do so. But my only concession to the points made above is that the following includes many professional shots that far better capture some of the sights we visited and for my journal keeping purposes will better serve my desire to record in images some of what we experienced during our week in America’s uncommonly appealing commonwealth.



Shacks Beach. A row of assorted houses with our little studio apt.nestled someplace in the middle here. It's a small secluded stretch off a dirt road on the NorthWest coast of the island where the surf is always up and the wind is always blowing. Heaven for surfers, windsurfers, Kite surfers and Stand up Paddling wannabes like me.





Snorkin...our primary activity. Three or four times a day on various beaches up and down and across the coast. By the end of the week we got tired of driving and stayed on our beach where the coral reefs and fish variety provided pretty good viewing any time of day. Here's some of what was to be seen. (Turtles were in Rincon and just 15 feet from shore) BTW: We took these shots.











Our little studio lay-out (except this is a mirror image of ours) where we brought our own groceries, cooked one dinner, made PB & J's to take to beach and generally hung out whenever we needed a break from the mid-day sun.





Ola Lola's
Tucked away in the middle of nowhere on dirt road. Restaurant/ bar and art gallery, general hangout and take one, leave one library/ open 3 days a week and everyone is like family . Great joint. Great vibe.



Okay, so you get yourself a stand Up Paddle board and head out to the break and try not to think about the fact that you're too old, too fat, too out of shape and too nervous about all that sharp coral sitting just two feet below waiting to impale you the moment you make one wrong move...while you also keep telling yourself that you're having fun.




Finally, you get up the courage to paddle hard till you catch a wave-- and the thrill lasts about half a second before you're up, up and away and hoping for a soft landing and a forgiving whitewater.

AND HERE'S THE ACTUAL DRIFTER...ACTUALLY ADRIFT.





I'm running out of time and want to post something today, so I'll just throw in some more random shots here. Now that I have this vacation story/picture sharing thing out of my system, I hope to return next week to talk on more stimulating and hopefully universally compelling topics...including some more post mugging musings and a few words about Louis L'amour, Lawrence Block and The Paul Butterfield band.

A beach visitor


Ellen in her element


Just another fan


Ellen. In her other element.