by ToddB 

My wife and I just got back from a great weekend trip to San Juan. I’d have to say if you’re craving some warm blue water and can take a day or two off work, this is a great place to go! We were able to find affordable direct flights and found great lodging 10 minutes from the airport. This is a big island with plenty of places to explore, but for this trip we were looking to minimize travel and maximize time on the beach. We stayed at a guest house in Ocean Park and loved it. I kited 3 full days in warm blue water while my wife drank mojitos, took a break from our 15 month old, and grabbed some pictures.This was a great beach to hang out for non-kiters and it was also very easy to kite from. The locals come by with drinks for a few bucks, the tastiest empenadas you’ve ever had, and there is even a burger stand setup up on the weekend grilling big fat home made burgers for $6. Epenadas for $3, beers for $2, and mojitoes for $3. It actually made for a tough decision between staying in your chair and going for another session! To top it off, the locals party hard on the weekends. Saturday was fun, Sunday was an all out “tail gate” beach party. Everybody shows up with a cooler and a great attitude. No fights, just a lot of tipping back the cups, socializing, bikinis and paddle ball…they love their paddle ball.I posted a few pics below but the full album is HERE. Have a peek!

Thanks to Rory and Mehdy who gave me plenty of great travel tips prior to my visit. I also ran into Loop who was on his way home from a long stay on the NW shore. He lent me an RPM quiver that I’ll post a preview of when I have a minute. It was a really nice kite.

Email or reply if you have any questions. We’ll definitely go back. It was as easy, if not easier, than pulling a last minute snowboard trip out to Utah or Colorado. Good kiting options, but it did take me a while to dial it in as I was demoing new gear in a new area. When I first kited I was just happy to be out there, but it was choppy as all heck. So while the wind was great, it was quite a bronco ride until I got dialed in. I realized that in close the waves were small with plenty of flat deep water in between them. This made a fun playground to explore. If you had a kite buddy, there was also a very big reef break on the outside. There were always locals out there, but I didn’t want to stay out solo in case I wrecked. Depending on the tide, you could get stuck out there or have a half mile swim back in. So, you had fun water in close, chop in the middle, and what looked like great waves far out…if you had a buddy or two.

The local kiters seemed friendly, but the few other tourist kiters I met were friendlier. The locals would give me a launch if I needed it, wave to me on the water, but weren’t much for overly friendly greetings or conversations on the beach. I figured I was just another gringo tourist to them.

Anyway, are you cold? Don’t think about it…buy a ticket. Go there, gringo.

-Arrgh

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