Who needs the Caribbean?

Well, I arrived back in the UK on Monday, gutted that my travels were over but excited to see Rob and all my friends & family.

I was lucky enough to arrive back to the first week of wind the UK has seen in a long time and have been out on my 7m every day putting my new found skills into practice in my favorite local spot at Lancing.

Getting into a new life working for Progression (even if it is only for one day a week!) i have eagerly edited and stared in my first kiting video.

Bring on that house on the beach….;-)

The realities of sailing

A yacht trip around the Caribbean.  ahhh, sounds indulgent, sounds different, sounds like something a water person should do.

I had visions of a plush huge yacht with sparkling cutlery and crisp white sheets, but the realities of this trip went something like this…..

an odd smell of fish and toilets linger in the cabin, the gentle rocking whenever you leave anchorage to sail doesn’t send me to sleep only sends my stomach into freefall, the close living conditions provide a serious lack of privacy, the constant feel of salty skin and the difficulty of finding shade leaves even the most moisturised lady a down and out salty sea dog, the limited supplies of food make you eye up each portion dished out to fellow crew members and an odd damp heat engulfs you when the drying sun sets leaving you to settle into a humid random sleep each night.

But. (and its a big but)

That sunset moment, with the sail is up high and the sun down low, fishing wire off the bow to trawl the sea for some fresh sushi for dinner (beats a conveyor belt for sure), a morning shower just a jump off the boat into warm into turquoise water, glaring bright white un-touched sand on un-inhabited islands and the clear view of a giant starfish through the crystal clear water.

This picture perfect scene overcomes the harsh realities of yacht living and i guess thats why to some it is a luxury, not in a material sense but in a sensory or spiritual sense.

Being a kiter too, being able to sail up to empty spots and enjoy some amazing sessions among this beauty is an added bonus on top of this.  Living in boardies and bikinis, ready to surf 24/7 is a nice way to exist and a way of kiting life i have never experienced.

Its not all plain sailing by any stretch of the imagination but i would definitely recommend it to anyone.  As with most things in life, to experience (and appreciate) the smooth you almost always have to take a bit of the rough so I am glad i found my inner salty sea dog as i really had a once in a lifetime experience.

El Yaque & new kiting buddies

I arrived in El Yaque safe and sound, if not somewhat exhausted.  I met up with my new buddies for the next few weeks and thank god on first impressions they’re all really nice. Up early on the beach the next day and my first impressions as a kiting spot were not that great ;-(.  It obviously is first and foremost a windsurfing place with a small bit of beach tagged onto the end as the “kite zone’ however this is right next to a lump of land which makes launch and landing a tad sketchy.   On top of that the gusty conditions were insane, kites flapping around and falling out the sky along with huge airs pulled unplanned as gusts grab you and throw you up!  mmm, not the idyllic Caribbean spot i had expected.   To add insult to injury on my first day there was an unexpected number of people kiting here (according to my buddies) and it started to rain which is apparently unheard of here!

I tried to keep my dismay to a minimum as the rest of the group seemed to love it here having spent a month kiting this spot and getting used to it, so i think i will give it a chance!

Aside from the spot issues it is really nice to go kiting with a group of people; i know they will push me to learn more (Pete who is an 18 yr old surfer / wakeboarder who has been kiting for 6 wks and is already doing back rolls and ralleys!) and its nice to know i have people looking out for me to (Tom the host is an advanced kiter and super supportive).  There is also Kara who is a cool chick from Cardiff at about my level or a little bit better, Becks who is a super fit life guard on Bournemouth beach and after 6 wks learning is about how i was after a year and Mike who has been traveling a similar route to Rob and I the last few months and therefore has kited most of the year and it shows as he is learning landing to blind and unhooked stuff too.

My only goal is to nail those back rolls and jumping transitions before i head home.  Wish me luck!

life moves pretty fast…..

and as Ferris Bueller once said “if you don’t stop and take a look around once in a while you might miss it”.  So, following an emergency flight home 3 weeks ago, an emotional few weeks following the awful heart attack suffered by rob’s dad, an engagement to my amazing boyfriend and an out of the blue offer placed on a future potential ‘family’ home on Shoreham Beach i am all too ready for a reflectve pause in lifes fast journey! I am sitting with ze Germans in Frankfurt airport waiting to board my long flight to Venezuela for my continued travels although the length of stay and featured destinations are yet to be confirmed. What i am starting with however is a 5 day yacht trip around Tortuga followed by a weeks stay in El Yaque with a group of fellow Britians also on a caribbean kiting break organised through Fluid Feeling. I am super excited to get back on the water, back to the Americas and back to the traveling lifestyle. I will be however super sad to be leaving my ‘fiance’ (hate that word) and super nervous about traveling on my own. I know its not a biggy really, loads of you probably do it all the time but for me its a first. Something else to build my character i have been told – i’ll be interested to see what that character turns out to be too as currently i haven’t a scooby doo what i am doing / where i am going / who i am! Well, lets not dwell on any of those profound and somewhat indulgent questions, this is a travel blog not personal therapy. What i do know for sure is i will be Mrs Claisse soon which gives everything else in my life a bright warm glow. Cheesy yes, but i can honestly say that to date this is the best thing to have happened to me – and that is for sure the best building block for my new & improved character. So, off i go. I’ll keep you posted.

Back in the UK

We just wanted to write a short note to let those who haven’t heard already that Rob’s dad has been taken ill and we are now back in the UK.    We are both optimistic that Graham will make a strong recovery,  both of us are on our usual mobile numbers so please get in touch.

barefoot travels eastside

We spent a chilled and picturesque few days in Punta Santiago at Barefoot Travelers guest house and were looked after by hosts Bob and Keisha like we were visiting friends!    After our usual embarrassing “we’re traveling on a budget” conversation Keisha immediately offered us a solution.  Stay one night on the floor in their own bit of the house for free (saving of $65) and help Bob with the Kayak trip to Monkey Island in the afternoon (saving of $30).   Sweet!   It was a super nice offer and indicative of what they were like as hosts.

So we of course took them up on the offer, we did a hard kayak to Monkey Island (a few squalls came in and we were paddling against the current & wind!) but it was worth it as we saw loads of monkeys in their natural environment.   I was pumped full of adrenalin for the duration not only due to the hard paddle but had told the day before one had run out into the shore and fronted up to the crew of kayaks! Needless to say my imagination ran wild – these are diseased primates – Rob just found this highly amusing of course!

So the next day we hoped for wind but it was to lite so we drove into the El Yunque rainforest for a bit of tourist sight seeing.   It was pretty nice as rain forests go but we hadn’t really prepared for the main activity there which was hiking.  We both rocked up in flip flops, boardies and me in a vest top.  It was raining (as you would expect in a rainforest) and a bit chilly being a fair few feet up in the mountains.  Others had trainers, khaki trousers (to protect from the mozzies too) and jumpers.   I put on the only long sleeved top in the car which was a rash vest – safe to say we looked like idiots!

The third and final day at Punta Santiago delivered some wind – for the lighter member of our party anyway!     It was amazing to kite here, an empty and unpublicised palm lined beach all to myself (again).   We don’t think many people have kited here which is always a bonus and it was nice to get out in the Caribbean sea for my first kite since we landed here in PR.

A perfect ending to a great few days on the East coast.   We head back to the big city tomorrow for a week in San Juan which we are super excited about – mainly as rob can work for a week!  I am sure i can find myself some activities to amuse myself – i hear there is some great shops……

Desperation to delight

We woke up yesterday and decided to leave the West Coast for the East, threw our stuff together and belted up for the long stressful drive. Puerto Ricons have an interesting way of driving, never taught how to use an indicator or an accelerator it seems. they sit up your arse (stopping distances definitely not on their test either) until they find a gap to weave past you (there are no fast / slow lane rules on their highways which means weaving is the only option) at which point they cruise alongside you at about 2 mph faster, then pull in the 6 metre gap between you and the car in front. Interesting futile efforts with very little gain it would seem and you definitely have to have your wits about you which means a relaxing drive through the coast and mountains is out of the question! After some initial yelling, honking and hand waving at people we abandoned our efforts to play by our own rules and instead played to theirs and its amazing how quickly you can pick it up!  There really is only one way to drive in Puerto Rico and that is like a Puerto Ricon.  One good thing is they are not aggressive drivers like the Mexican’s who will shout and wave fists at you just for slowing down slightly to read a sign – scary mustached Mexican men ;-|

So after about 6 hours of driving like this we were getting desperate to stop & find our bed for the night. We had thought we would try out a more spontaneous traveling style only to find ourselves with no bed, no plan and a resentful atmosphere between map reader & driver. Luckily i had scribbled a few places down from tripadvisor b4 we left (that would be me who saved the day this time then ;-0) that would be within our budget but the address was scarce and we couldn’t find it anywhere.

We cruised along a few roads to find an open Wi-Fi network – joy, my super sensitive laptop scored. We found this place again online and rob said he recognised the building from up the road! So we drove up to what essentially looked like someones house but no lights on, no hotel sign or anything, bugger. We were just writing a note when a lady walked past our car who i decided to ask if she knew the people who lived here and thank god she was in fact the owner! Yes it is a guesthouse & yes we have a room – pphhhhheewwww. Desperation exasperated and we parked up our expected room for the night with delight.

We’re on a steep learning curve here but loving the randomness of it all

Waterfalls

So our hangovers slowed us down a little bit this morning and we decided to scrap the observatory (think is was all a bit geeky for Fi anyway) and head straight to the waterfalls. Ofcourse on the way there the clouds rolls in and it pissed with rain, so our hopes were somewhat dashed but it all worked out for the best.

After navigating some windy roads and hand drawn maps from our landlord, we start our way thought the jungle to find the “small” waterfall. Fi insisted on making loud noises at regular intervals to scare away the boa constrictors, something she has read online, so I was lucky to have her and her expertise along for the adventure!

Anyway, its the first time I’ve very been to a waterfall (other than to one in freezing cold Wales in March) and it was pretty stunning as you emerge from the dense trees:

Anyway we hung around for a couple of hours swimming, jumping off the rocks and exploring the pools downstream. It would’ve be nice if we’d had it all to ourselves but we had a group of teenagers join us to practice their rope swings dives Thankfully as we were all getting ready to leave people started to arrive in droves so our earlier start paid off.

Thankfully the sun came out in the afternoon and we headed off to check out Rincon and the surf before heading home for a fresh fish bbq – a fish called Dorardo, which Fi searched for online and for a short while had a pained look on her face cos it looked like we had eaten dolphin! But just turned out to be from the same family and a fish not a mammal!

long island ice tea & pina colada drunk

Just got back in from a bit of a drunken night in Puerto Rico so apologies if the post is a bit random…  a nice barman gave us the strongest Long Island Ice Tea I have ever had as we said we were skintbut wanted to get drunk – it worked!

We arrived in San Juan a few days ago, stayed on the floor of a kite surfer buddy rob knew from his last visit and then drove out West to the California of PR – the west coast.  The guys we stayed with are a super nice couple, pro kiter Julie and her husband Antoine instructor / shop owner/ super talented watersports all rounder, definitely check them out if you are ever in PR.  We are staying in an apartment of Antoine mates in a place called Aguadilla, its proper surf ville here, with Rincon down the coast one way and shacks up the way from here too.   A big swell in today so we haven’t been surfing yet but over the next few days its a must – without the kites too, that will be interesting!  PR is a cool place, very surfy and lots of cool young kids – we of course feel very at home here……ha ha!   Its as you would imagine, like America but with more latino attitude and Carribbean lifestyle, its certinaly a unique combination they carry off.   We hope to head south in a few days time to get some good wind in the flat water lagoons of La Paguera, we haven’t been kiting for quite a few days now and getting withdrawal symptoms ;-(

well i have just eaten a great quesadilla courtesy of roberto, downing water to counteract my ridiculously strong long island ice teas before the cockerels wake me up in 4 hours time…bastards.   Not to worry though, only plans for tomorrow are seeing the observatory (apparently in James Bond Golden Eye) and a local waterfall and thats about it.    ahhhhh, Caribbean life is way too easy.  Missing you all, wish you could be here having a party with us tonight ;-(   xxx

I hope we may have found a cure for “The Bullet”