New pants, from Mayaguez Mall, Puerto Rico

Today was a great day. I have been in need to new short pants for quite some time. The old friends have tears and are threadbare. I have been having trouble finding replacements that fit comfortably. Lets just say, in the years since I bought my older ones, life has been good. So today we headed to the Mayaguez Mall with the goal of finding new short pants.*

First stop was Marshall's... a great store that gets famous brand names and sells them for a fraction of the original price. And, I found four pairs... total price about $80 for them all. Not bad, but they really didn't't fit 100%. We walked out of Marshall's and what do we see at La Esquina Famosa but a rack of short pants for $5 each. Typically, this store sells upscale men's clothes... suits, jackets, slacks... and some tropical relaxed linen items. The racks out front were the low priced enticement to enter the store for some better quality goods. I selected one pair, tried it on and ta ta... great, very comfortable... with elastic in the waistband. OK no zipper but I can live with that. So I purchased 7 pairs of these $5... about what one of the marked down Marshall's pants cost and 1/2 the price of one of the shorts had I bought them in the States. Is life great or what? I'm just delighted. *Note from Bella Jane...Ted wrote this...he was the one buying the short pants!

Crashboat... diving in Aguadilla Puerto Rico

This morning found us up in Aguadilla... to Puerto Rico Technical Dive Center. PRTDC is a great shop... for advanced professional training, technical diving support and also for recreational diving. Tony and Brenda are the owners and will provide you with high quality enjoyable and safe training that will insure you become a life long diver.

They mostly dive the inshore reefs and one of the places they train is Crashboat in Aguadilla. Here is a youtube video about the site. Crashboat is about 30 minutes north of the Lemontree up Carr 2. Call ahead to PRTDC for tanks if you are a certified diver.

I made this photograph of one of the sunken girders. The site is a little like a wreck but shallow in most parts.

We are bilingual in Rincon Puerto Rico

This signage caught my eye a couple of days ago. It reminded me of the role English plays in Puerto Rico and especially in Rincon. Now, the presence of the enormous Coke sign tells us that many US brands are here on the Isla and it is sometimes a bit curious to hear a string of Spanish with some US brand name in the middle pronounced with a Spanish accent. It also means that for a visiting North American, one can usually figure out what the store is selling from the signs without a word of Spanish.

Now indeed Puerto Rico is a bilingual country. It is bilingual officially and English is taught in the schools from an early age. At the University both English and Spanish are used in classes and most text books are written in English. In addition among university students, English is widely spoken or at least widely partially spoken. A good number of men of middle age and older learned English in the service. Many of this same age group also lived for a period of time in the United States and now in retirement have come back to Puerto Rico yielding to the pull of family and the generally wonderful life the Isla offers. Among younger people... English is widely understood although there is frequently a shyness about speaking it especially to an older North American.

What does this mean, practically, for a North American visitor. First, in Puerto Rico there is no language barrier. Second, is a wonderful opportunity to trot out your rusty high school Spanish and give it a try. Most Puerto Ricans truly appreciate the effort. Third, if you happen to be a strong Spanish speaker who has learned in Madrid or perhaps some other Latin country you will be delighted with and sometimes frustrated with the local accent and some of the idioms.

Truly, if all else fails, Spanglish is universally understood here.

Family Love Castle, Rincon Puerto Rico

One of the oddest buildings in Rincon must be the Family Love Castle which is located just off Carr 115 at the marginal road in Parcellas. This is clearly a work of passion and love. It is eccentrically ornamented with a metal plow, wheel rims and what look like either arial bombs or more likely military external fuel drop tanks. The plaster work is about marine animals, sharks, swordfish, manatees and other local species. The railings are decorated with hundreds of conch shells which are embedded in concrete. Sitting next to the house is a small open air stall, also decorated in a complimentary style and sells refreshments and snacks.

Is this the Sistine chapel of the west coast, crowded with icons of the deep rather than with angels? Is this our version of the Art Nouveau style... natural forms made into the service of a residence? It is well worth the stop if only to drink deeply from another passion and devotion to an idea.

Bust'en the bongo in San Juan, Puerto Rico

OK I'll break my silence. I think readers of this blog know that Bella Jane is a musician, and plays the Tiple and Cuatro. Both of these are typical instruments of Puerto Rico. She also plays in a small workshop on Saturdays. Now those that may know me understand that I don't have much of a musical background but her group was in need of a percussionist and so I committed myself to learning the bongo. I go to class each Saturday and practice with "discipline" and "force" each day.

As a new player I am learning the basic martillo (hammer) which is a foundation beat... and can be heard in tunes like Oye Como Va by Santana and before him Tito Puente. Here is a link to a video which shows the basic martillo.

I made the photograph above at the graduation day recital for Bella Jane which is blogged here. The master remembered my making the photograph and asked me a couple of days ago if I would give him a copy... which I am delighted to do.

Goodbye... it was swell to know you in Puerto Rico

A last look back at the fading swell... tomorrow there will be some fun waves and a return to generally calm conditions on the south facing beaches in Rincon. The north facing ones will still be interesting but with waves about half the size of of the waves at the peak.

I first became aware of the surfing mystique through a friend who surfed out in Long Island. Up there the water is considerably colder and they use wetsuits to stay warmer. This guy was otherwise a pretty conventional lawyer but on the weekends he would head out for the surf and would come back the next week and occasionally would drop a bit of surf slang. Like: "man... that young charger took it hard and really got macked." I think the translation is that this guy who really pushes the envelope got whacked hard by a wave... took a bad spill... as in got run over by a Mack Truck. Something like that.

Check this site for a list of surf terms.

The scene, the swell, Maria's Beach, Puerto Rico

The swell has begun to fade this afternoon and by tomorrow will have really lost its punch as the waves turn more easterly. Yesterday I mentioned the jet ski that pull the surfers out. This shot was taken down the beach and shows a couple of guys ready to get in, a jet ski coming in and a walker. You can also get a sense of the size of these waves... which actually are really moderate in size. Normally this stretch of beach is calm but today, like yesterday and likely tomorrow will be the spot to head out to to catch a bit of the winter vibe here.

Maria's break this morning, Rincon Puerto Rico

If you are a visitor to Rincon in the Winter season and are fortunate enough to be here when the surf is up and solid as it was this morning, you owe it to yourself and your companions to head out to the surfing breaks and take in the scene. First, you don't need to be a surfer, second you don't even need to look good in a bathing suit. All you need to do is to get there and let the wave of the scene flow over you. Today there was a ton of water moving out there, literally. These were waves for people who knew what they were doing. The waves were at least 12 feet and the wind was 10-15. These riders were good and you could feel them challenge the waves. It is very physical. The sun, the moving water, the sand, the light, the color, the youth... amazing.

Now others were there as well. Just taking it all in. Talking to the surfers... mostly staying clear of the water. I did see some body boarders. A couple of jet skis were being used to pull surfers back out so they don't have to climb the waves to get back out.

You get a strong feeling of LIFE.

More tomorrow.

Swell is in today for Rincon Puerto Rico

Today we have a substantial swell in that will remain with us through Saturday. The swell will build today and peak tomorrow. Swell waves are the regular longer period waves generated by distant weather systems - think of a rock thrown in a pond, and you'll see swells. A bigger storm, or rock, bigger swells. Swells are very strong moving waves with definite frequency periods.

Here is a link to a great site that will help with the forecast. Surfline says that tomorrow we will see 10 foot surf with occasional 12 foot waves. This is pretty solid stuff. Tomorrow I'll post some pictures of the surfers but today I wanted this image to remind us all that even a bit of water for those not familiar with it can be amazing and very exciting.

Cats of Old San Juan, Puerto Rico

One more post from our recent trip to the Capital. Old San Juan is the home to many semi-feral domestic cats. You will see them, especially at night on the walk below El Moro and in the western parts of the city. They are fed by residents who leave dry food and water out for them. They mostly avoid people but occasionally one will approach. They seem to be territorial and if you frequent certain streets you most defiantly will see the same cats there.

If you drop "cats of old san juan" into Google you will get an eyeful. Flicker streams of photos, a Calendar of OSJ Cats, a book available from the Save a Gato organization... and plenty of politics which pit the tourism folks against the animal rights groups.

From my perspective I like them... I like to see them. I guess I'm in the camp that says its better to neuter and return them rather than to "transport" them.

I made the photograph above using a 135mm telephoto lens. I can't resist a cute cat.

Ventose F733 passes El Moro, San Juan Puerto Rico

This morning Bella Jane and I were in San Juan for music and I happened to see the French Corvette, the Ventose entering San Juan Bay. This French warship is home ported at Fort de France in Martinique. It is a capable warship armed with a 100mm gun, a helicopter, anti submarine and anti-ship missiles, and a small compliment of Special Forces Marines. A close look at the picture shows two of the Marines, armed and standing ready, above the bridge. The ship was met by a tug that escorted her into a birth in the harbor. A quick Google showed that this vessel recently worked cooperatively with the US Coast Guard in interdicting drug laiden vessels off Venezuela.

I was delighted to catch the modern warship coming up the channel past (in the foreground of the photograph) El Moro, the main seaward defender of San Juan in days past and (in the background of the photograph) the smaller battery visible on the far shore.

Meditation on experience, Puerto Rico

I was haunted by my memory of this small fellow. I saw him on the beach several days ago and blogged about it yesterday. No doubt in some strange way, I saw myself as a child again on the beach... in the sun with the water coming up to my feet. Just enjoying the grit of the sand, the heat of the sun and the sound of the water as it moves up and recedes. It was a kind of look back for me to a time I now only dimly recall.

Then early this morning I was looking at an on-line photographic magazine called "burn" and saw a lengthy photographic essay by Bob Black called Bones of Time. The essay is an extended meditation on memory and the passage of time... and identity. Bob cited a Portuguese poet, Fernando Pessoa, who is quoted as writing:

“What we see is not made of up of what we are seeing but rather from what we are.”

For me this was a deep truth. What we see and experience has less to do with the actual external "truth" of the context and is more so a reflection of something about who we are. What we bring to the experience. As we bring forward shaping past experiences to our immediate present, we need to find some space to remain open to the direct and immediate reality that is in front of us. I think the Buddhists call this space, "nothingness" or perhaps "emptiness." No judgment, no thought, no affect... no self... only openness.

Down the beach, Puerto Rico

A couple of days ago I was out walking in the morning just down the beach from the Lemontree. As I was coming back I saw this fine little fellow digging happily in the sand. I took a few shots and he saw me... got up and we had a nice conversation. True, it was a bit one sided. He did not speak to me in English and my Spanish was just enough to ascertain that he lived (or was staying) at one of the houses just behind where he was digging. I suppose seeing an old(er) North American walking on the beach with a camera is a pretty common site... yet I was struck with how open he was... not a trace of reserve or fear. Actually seeing him dig reminded me of my own time as a child on the beach as well as bringing to mind seeing my own children lost in play... hands covered with sand... sitting in the water... letting it lap up on their feet. Perhaps a reminder of what being in the moment really is about.

Back in the Rincon Plaza, Puerto Rico

This morning I was back in the Plaza. Mostly I was shooting the facades of some of the businesses but I did take this shot of the fountain and the Catholic Church. It was cool and breezy today. Older folks were sitting out on the many benches in the square under the cooling shade trees. Some of the men were playing dominoes... as always, with vigor.

The atmosphere was most pleasant. Then, I met a fellow who had come here, as he does every year, to visit his mother. The mother, 92 years old, lives by the ocean and this gentleman and his wife come down each winter to visit her. The man was born in NYC and lives in Long Island. He and his brother take turns looking after their mother. He said that perhaps in the future he he will move back here but, when here, he misses the fast pace of the NYC metro area...

It was one of those casual and natural conversations that frequently come up here. Actually not the kind of conversation that two strangers in NYC would likely ever have... but here, well... its comfortable.

A great night in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico

We recently were in Old San Juan and enjoyed dining at a great seafood restaurant called Aguaviva. The atmosphere is fun and the ceiling, as you can see in the photograph, is adorned with irridescent blue and green jellyfish lamps. The place is moderately priced and in keeping with their decorative motive, serves a wide variety of fresh seafood in a style they call "seaside latino cuisine." They are famous for their great ceviche and we can say that the tuna ceviche and grouper ceviche is some of the best we have ever eaten. We enjoyed their crabcake appetizer, swordfish steak, and paella filled with mussles, scallops, clams and chorizo. All served with a chilled bottle of wine made for a memorable time. Aguaviva is easy to find at 364 Forteleza.

What progress looks like, Puerto Rico

What you are looking at is progress. Throughout the Isla and in San Juan as well, wires are what you see when you look up. These wires represent enormous change on this island.

It was not many years ago that telephones were quite scarce; the few phones in Rincon had two digit numbers and one had to wait years after applying to receive service. Electricity in the home... was something for the rich. Now, these things and more, such as cable TV, internet access and in many municipalities... free WIFI in the Plaza, are standard. I took this photograph up in the hills above Rincon. You can also see in the picture a blue plastic cistern sitting on the roof of the cinder block (Caribbean style) home. The wires and the cistern are both a form of progress. In the living memory of most grand parents here in the west, a wooden house on stilts used to be the norm. Now homes are built of more storm resistant concrete, have electricity, indoor pumbing and most, a large blue plastic water cistern.

Puerto Rico certainly enjoys its prosperity but is not enslaved by it. The heart of life on the Island is family and the continuity, connectedness and security a family brings. The people on this Island have it right. They have a balance in their lives and they understand what it takes to live a humane life. So, those wires, concrete buildings, and internet are great and becoming the norm, but still, unfailingly, family is steadfastly first.

Presbyterian Church in the Plaza, Rincon, Puerto Rico

While we are thinking about central squares or plazas, we want to show you the other church in the Plaza - the Presbyterian Church. This church stands on the southern corner of the square. Puerto Rico, for most of its history, has been a Catholic country but since the U.S. invasion of the island in 1898, the protestant churches have grown in number and importance.

Statistics about the Presbyterian presence are available in online here.

The church congregation is about 125 members and services are held every Sunday. The mural that you see in this photograph was recently redone. The mural tradition does live on here in Puerto Rico.

Union #23, Rincon Puerto Rico

Today we are following up on the doorways of Rincon theme with this image of #23 C. Union. The street just off the Plaza to the east is Calle Union. I don't know what the name derives from but it is the kind of street name that is rather common in the U.S., and union in Spanish also means "union" in English.

In the photograph, one can see the strong wooden double doors of #23 C. Union. Not shown are the windows with iron grates. I like the colors and the hand drawing and lettering. The shop is a Colmado and Cafetin... or a small shop that serves some limited food selection and some simple can goods. The front wall features a ground instant coffee called "Rioja." The name of the establishment is "Union" and the proprietor is Eddie Caro. I took this image around Thanksgiving time and you can see decorative lighting and a red Christmas ball.

There are actually a range of shops in the Plaza and just off it. These include several restaurants, a small department store, a surf shop and a hairdresser and a cleaner among others. No banks any more, sadly , as they have moved to very contemporary stand-alone structures on Calle 115, the road leading into town, well away from the plaza and center of town

In the plaza, Rincon, Puerto Rico

In all of the town centers, there is a square or plaza. In the square is at least one church, shops and the center of government... usually a bank or two as well. This photograph is a view of the Catholic church in the Plaza of Rincon. As with all churches, it is the site of marriages, funerals, christenings and worship. As it is a large church and in the center of the plaza , it also that the services as a forum for public events.

I think here it is taken for granted that faith is a central part of life. People's names reflect this as do place names. At Christmas, the town erects, in lights... images of the three kings and the nativity. I am older now, and I remember that in the United States, at one time in the past, faith was also central and had a place in the public square. Of course, now that has changed. If you were to look for one sign that Puerto Rico is not a "state" within the United States, but rather a Free State in Association with the United States, then what occurs in plain sight every day in the public square would be a good place to begin.

Sunset blue and orange, Puerto Rico

As I was thinking of today's blog entry I got a feeling I needed to see a sunset, not sure why, just did. As I went through my collection of sunset pictures I came to the one above... I thought then, "...hey nothing special about it." Then about a half hour later I came back to it and thought about the "nothing special" part.

This was a great sunset but then here in Rincon, we seem to have lots and lots of great sunsets. What I like about this one is the color fields...the blue and orange. The orange is toned with yellow as one looks towards the horizon and with purple as one looks towards the sky. The sea is blue no doubt... and calm.

Today the ocean was calm... almost glassy in places. We had a small swell earlier and will have another larger one filling in on Friday night. Today was great. A lot accomplished... and then mostly relaxed, con calma. As it should be...

Doorways of Rincon, Puerto Rico

Old San Juan is famous for its old doorways. Wooden, metal, brightly decorated and particularly shaped. Like this example or this one. There is even a well sold poster of the many doorways in San Juan you can see it here.

True, Rincon is not Old San Juan but we do have our doorways... some which are known landmarks and some of which are quite interesting but people pass them by. The doorway above is on the street just before one gets to the plaza in Rincon. As you head towards the plaza it is on the right side of the street. Who is Victor Lorenzo? What did he do to get his name on the iron work? What about the framing colors, fresh paint. How about the stairs in the background... where do they lead? The gate is chained shut and locked with a padlock. We have been here for five years and I have never seen anyone come or go through this gate. I have stopped from time to time and looked... sometimes there is trash in the alcove... how did it get there? Who cleans it up? All of these questions for one small doorway in a very small town.

Have you seen this doorway?

A swell is in...Puerto Rico

Today a swell arrived. Not a grand one but a swell none the less. It came in from the north and wrapped around the Rincon corner. Up at Steps this afternoon it must have been 8 feet but here at the Lemontree it was barely a foot or so. The picture was made at Domes beach with Desecheo Island as a back drop. If you want to keep up with the wind and waves a great site is Windfinder.

I have the site set up for Aguadilla which gives a good approximation of what we can expect at the surfing beaches here in Rincon. If you check out the link you will see that the next big swell is due to start filling in on Friday afternoon and last through at least Sunday. This will be great news for surfers and those who love to watch their rides. It will also wash out diving and snorkeling here for a bit. If you want to dive this weekend the report suggests that a short drive south to Parguera, about an hour, will fill the bill. Check out West Divers for a great wall dive. Ask for Victor and tell then the Lemontree sent you.

All asleep in Rincon, Puerto Rico

Last night, unable to sleep, I went out for a walk. For some reason the words from an old play by Dylan Thomas called, Under Milk Wood, went around in my mind like this:

"You can hear the dew falling,
and the hushed town breathing.
Only your eyes are unclosed,
to see the black and folded town fast, and slow, asleep."

The night by the sea is perhaps the most mystical of times. All is laid bare... warts and smiles and hopes and thoughts of what is to come. We don't hear the falling dew but the beating of the heart of the planet... the sound of the sea can be almost soothing. The breathing of the planet... the sound of the breeze as it rustles the palms is a comfort. And all of us... the slow and the fast, the dull and quick, the high and the low... all of us wishing for the kindness of sleep.