We was robbed!

Seriously. I guess with the economy the way it is, it was inevitable. Tonight we were robbed at gunpoint. Two guys dressed in black, wearing ski masks and waving what certainly looked like automatic weapons came to the bar just as we were cleaning up and closing up. They grabbed the cash box with our night's take and then took off. We called 911 but that was an hour ago and still no response.

No one was hurt, thank goodness. The rest is only money. We'll manage without it. They/we will probably never know who did it but I hope their karma catches up with them.

A new yola on the beach

Another little yola landed on Shacks Beach last week. This was another small boat, most likely part of a drug drop rather than people-running. Apparently, several Dominicans were captured after the boat landed.

The boat came ashore in good shape right by the "boat ramp" at the west end of Shacks Beach. Some local fishermen hauled up on shore and eventually hauled it away in a pickup truck. So one "happy" ending to this yola episode is the boat won't break up on the beach, scattering chunks of fiberglass all over the reef. There are more pictures of the yola in this set of KAP photos on Flickr.

This KAP session was my first chance to use my new Premier PowerSled 24 kite as a lifter for my KAP rig. So far, I love it - stable even in gusts, good lift even in moderate winds (8-10 mph). I can't wait to try it in higher winds, which really what I want it for. But so far, our ripping trade winds winds have been pretty much absent. That's good for surfers (winds mess up the waves) but the kite surfers are crying.

Happy birthday, Marti

Yesterday, February 7, would have been my mother's 82 birthday. Happy birthday, Marti. We miss you

0-for-2 or 2-for-2

This week I'm 0-for-2 or 2-for-2 in KAP (kite aerial photography) sessions, depending on how you look at it. Two days in a row I tried to KAP, first kite surfers at Shacks Beach and then surfers at Wilderness Beach. Zero KAP photos to show for it (0-for-2). In fact I didn't even get the camera rig attached to the kite line, let alone in the air.

But...I did manage to break two kites (2-for-2). I ripped the back off one soft flow-form kite. It is a very old kite and the once-stiff ripstop nylon is now very soft and easily torn. On Wednesday my big delta kite did a nosedive right at the water's edge. A wave caught it before I could get to it and broke the spar in the leading edge.

Both "injuries" can be repaired. It will just take some time. Until then my options for lifting a camera rig are greatly reduced. Damn!

Sahara's first ride

Elaine has been working so hard with Sahara (or "Wavey" as she calls her), bringing her along step by step. First, Elaine worked with her on the ground, getting her used to being handled and led with a lead rope. Then she started riding Chocolate as a lead pony, still leading Sahara with a lead rope. Then putting a saddle pad on her and leading her with Chocolate. Then adding the saddle. On Monday Elaine and our friend (and horsewoman extraordinaire) Lisa took the final step: with Elaine leading first from the ground and then with Chocolate, Lisa mounted and road Sahara for the first time. The first ride went beautifully, in fact could not have gone any better. Sahara was calm and easy; Chocolate was a gentleman as the lead pony. It's amazing how far this little filly has come in just three months. I am so proud of what Elaine has accomplished with this scared, skittish horse. She is much calmer, MUCH healthier, and now ready for rider training. It's been wonderful to see and to be some small part of.

Return of the Blog!

Been away from this blog long enough!

Laura (getting her cake from Elaine), her husband Jeremy, and their baby Gigi came with her mom, Fran, and other family members for a winter break in the tropics - and to celebrate Laura's birthday at Ola Lola's. They were all here a couple of years ago. Since then, we've all kept in touch via email and Facebook. They wanted to come back sooner but there was the birth of that beautiful baby in between. Anyway, we are very happy Laura chose Ola Lola's for her birthday. We're glad we got to celebrate with her. Happy Birthday, Laura!

Three Kings Day

One of the things I let slip by unremarked upon was Three Kings Day. Here in Puerto Rico, as in many Latin countries, Three Kings Day is actually a bigger, more important holiday than Christmas Day. January 6th, 12 days after Christmas (also Twelfth Night and in the church calendar, Epiphany) is the day the three kings or three wise men arrived in Bethlehem with gifts for the baby Jesus.

On Three Kings Eve, the tradition here is to leave grass or hay in a box under a child's bed for the Kings' camels (or horses, since there are no camels in Puerto Rico). In the morning the grass is gone and the boxes either gone with it or magically filled with presents. Traditionally, this is when children here get their biggest present(s), not on Christmas morning.

This year Kennedy didn't put grass under her bed but she did come to our house to open presents left for her. The big box she is unwrapping in the picture is a "baby," complete with everything - stroller, crib, plate, cup, spoon and fork, diaper bag, even a pacifier.

Looks like Kennedy is getting ready for the arrival of her baby brother this spring. She's going to be a great big sister!

Haiti

Photo from AFP/Thony Belizaire

I've let a lot of news slip by in the last ten days. I planned to spend today catching up but the big news in the Caribbean - in the world, in fact - is the devastating earthquake in Haiti. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and hasn't recovered from flooding during the 2008 hurricane season. Now this tragedy, in a country that has almost no resources to cope. The Red Cross announced today it's out of medicine in Haiti. Drinking water is a huge need. Communications, which are not great in the best of times, are nearly nonexistent. There are many ways to help. The major relief agencies seem to agree right now the greatest need is money. The Red Cross has set up a "texting" program to raise money. According to news reports, they've raised over $800,000. Countries all over the world - including the U.S., which under G.W. Bush could not mobilize to help New Orleans - are mobilizing massive relief aid.

And then, like a breath of horror, there are those voices from the extremist-right wilderness: Rush Limbaugh, proclaiming the U.S. response to this tragedy is merely a vehicle to "burnish Obama's image among light- and dark-skinned blacks," and, god help us, Pat Robertson declaring the Haitians brought this disaster on themselves because of a mythical "pact with the devil." Perhaps we should be grateful for such god-fearing men who try to keep the rest of us misguided mortals on track. Instead, I am sickened by them and terrified that people actually believe and act on this nonsense. These same men demanded an America united behind the Bushies' warmongering. Yet theirs are the first, loudest voices trying to splinter and degrade the response to a tragedy affecting thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of people. Unconscionable, unforgivable, and very un-Christian.

Awesome day at Surfers

Saturday started out as kind of a blah day for surf - tide was high, waves were mushy and no very good. So I left Wilderness and ran a few errands. I decided to check out Surfers Beach before I went home. Man, am I glad I did!

First the surf cleaned up and got better so the few surfers who were out were getting pretty good rides. Then Josie Graves and Maria showed up, I think to shoot some video. Then Jass Umbel and her brother Jack showed up. And I do mean "showed." It was an awesome show. the only downside for me was I had to leave! But I'm not complaining. I got some of the best surf shots I've ever taken! Thank you, guys.

Check out the full set on our website, www.puertoricosurfphoto.com and a set of the best of the best on Flickr.

New Year's Day

We didn't have our traditional New Year's Day kite fly this year. Ola Lola's was open and we had a lot of prep to do. Really, just bad planning on our part. But I did go out and fly a kite on Shacks Beach for a little KAP (kite aerial photography) session. The winds were rippin' 20 knots+. It's hard to tell from here but those are 8-10 foot waves in the cove.

Since our New Year's Eve beach-bonfire-and-kitefly got high-winded and high-watered out, we spent a (fairly) quiet New Year's Eve with friends. It was actually a very nice way to bring in the new decade. I missed the kite flying though. We have to plan better for next year.

The Huge Christmas Week swell

This past week brought the biggest waves we've seen in more than a year and a half. There were some reports that the waves at Tres Palmes in Rincon were actually bigger this week than they were during the "Perfect Storm" of March, 2008. I chased around looking for surfers between here and Rincon. I finally caught up with some daring souls at Wilderness on Tuesday afternoon. The photos from this session are on the website, www.PuertoRicoSurfPhoto.com and on our Flickr page. It was some amazing surf and there were some incredible rides. Check 'em out.

Happy New Year!!!

All of us at Ola Lola's wish you and yours a very happy new year filled will peace, love, joy and prosperity. May 2010 be your best year ever!

Christmas breakfast with Kennedy

and her Ama, Mama and Miguel. This is serious stuff!

Merry Christmas, everybody. Be safe and warm.

This Christmas Eve

One of the things (for me at least) about living on a tropical island is that it is difficult to get in the mood for Christmas. And this year has been a very quiet, laid-back Christmas season, especially by Puerto Rican standards. As I wrote in my last post, being from the North, that whole white Christmas thing is pretty much imprinted in my DNA. So, no matter how many Santas in red trimmed with white fur(!) or how many inflatable snowmen (we have one in front of Ola Lola's) there are, it just doesn't feel like Christmas.

That said, Christmas isn't really about presents or snow or shopping or music or even the birth of Jesus for that matter. It's really about family and friends and love and peace and joy and the fading away of an old year and the promise and renewal of a fresh new year - the same things this winter solstice season has been about since hundreds of years before Jesus.

Even though we are many miles away from many of our friends and most of our family, we still feel very connected. Despite the miles between us, we love them and are loved in return. And of course, Elaine and I are here together, sharing this great adventure. Tonight we had the now-traditional Christmas Eve Chinese take-out dinner with Amy, Miguel and Kennedy, so we are sharing the holiday with family. To the rest of our big extended family out there, we love you and miss you. We hope wherever you are tonight, you are warm and safe and full of joy. Merry Christmas to all, and to a good night!

12th day of Christmas - nostalgia

On the twelfth day of Christmas - I posted a new blog!

We get asked a lot if we miss the cold and the snow we left behind in Michigan (as in the photo above of the park in downtown Kalamazoo, MI at Christmas time). My stock answer is "Maybe someday but this isn't the day."

This time of year I don't so much miss it as I get nostalgic for it. Most of our Christmas traditions are of Northern European origin, transplanted to North America. The dream of a white Christmas is almost imprinted in our DNA. The magic of the ever-green pine tree - the symbol of life continuing through the cold and dark of winter and the promise of its return in the spring - is an integral part of a norther winter. Back in Michigan we used to put up our Christmas tree around the first of December and didn't take it down until at least Valentine's Day, often later.

I never minded the cold. Yes, I get nostalgic for my sweaters. I used to have 25 or 30. Did I need so many sweaters? Of course not. But I love(d) sweaters! By mid-September (when the temps in Michigan are still often in the high-70s or low-80s) I started looking forward to "sweater weather." But I miss much less than I thought I would. The other day I found two that I brought with me and and I thought, "What was I thinking?" Yes, I get nostalgic about sitting in front of a fire in the fireplace sipping a "butter nipple" (Bailey's and butterscotch schnapps), watching the snow fall outside our window. I didn't move to the tropics to "escape" the cold, but I don't "miss" doing those things.

I loved the look of the light from Christmas rope lights I put under the railing of our deck falling on fresh snow. I miss cross-country skiing, but then I missed that in the years in Michigan that we had too little snow or too much snow or too little time. If I miss anything about snow, it is the postcard or Christmas card look of a fresh snowfall.

Cold in the north but sunny here

Our niece Kenzie escaped the north just in time, just a head of the first big storm of the winter. She showed up at our door (at 4:30 am!) on Monday. (If you notice a family resemblence, yes, Kenzie is Jordan's sister.) For now she's staying with Amy and Miguel and Kennedy and enjoying the sunshine. She's gonna be hangin' out on the island for a couple of weeks. She'll be at Ola Lola's off and on. Stop by and say howdy. Welcome, Kenzie. Have fun!

And for all our friends and family in the frigid north, we feel your pain. Well, not really - but we do remember it.

So what kind of bar are we?

Sometimes we're a surfer bar (Zan and her longboard in her sports car - not exactly the surfride of choice). Sometimes we're a dive bar (we talk about SCUBA diving a lot). Sometimes we're the "19th Hole" golf bar.

Sometimes we're a cowboy bar (what's a horse gotta do to get a beer in this place?).

We're always a great local place-to-hangout-and-chill neighborhood bar. And in the last year we've become known as a great local restaurant. (Our new friends Skip and Jane came to the island this weekend for a golf outing at Royal Isabel Golf Club. They were in Newark airport chatting with some folks. When their conversation partners heard Skip and Jane were coming to Isabela, they told them "Oh! There's this great little bar you have to go to! It's called Ola Lola's! They've got great burgers!")


Yesterday we entered a new phase: We became a biker bar! Our friend Jose brought a bunch of his friends on a ride from San Juan and they specifically came to Isabela to come to Ola Lola's. Awesome! Thank you, Jose - and everybody - for coming by. We had a great time.

Night dive

The ocean has finally cleaned up enough to make diving a fun idea. Darryl, John D. and I went night diving at Natural last night. It was beautiful! We saw shrimp, a big hawksbill turtle sleeping under a coral, lots of sleeping parrotfish, two good-sized moray eels, starfish, half-a-dozen reef squid and a really cool something else I haven't identified yet.

As we swam out in the dark to the "drop zone," I remarked that Elaine was going to ride Chocolate on the beach under the full moon. John responded, "That's crazy!" To which Darryl replied, "Well, think about we're doing." We all laughed, then dropped into the darkness and toward the sandy bottom 35 feet below us.

One of the most popular tourist activities on the island is to swim in the "bio-luminescent bays" at La Parguera and Fajardo. Swimming or just about any movement in the water for that matter, triggers these little creatures to give off light. It's like being surrounded by fireflies under water. Although La Parguera and Farjado are the most popular sites, you can see bioluminescence in many places. We could see the creatures just by looking in the water around our fins as we swam out. At one point in our dive we stopped and turned off our lights so we could wave our arms and watch them glow. Wow. Hey, just another one of the attractions of night diving!

Mary's (and John's) Birthday

On Saturday we had a "Surprise - it's not really your birthday" party for Mary Scott. We planned a little surprise party for her on her birthday, which was actually the Monday before. However, the surprise was on us: Mary was in New York! So we had a great time in her honor. Then on Saturday, we actually got to celebrate with her. We gave Mary the sombrero because - as the guest of honor - she deserved the biggest hat. All the rest of us wore hats too (supplied by Lacy), but somewhat smaller ones. A special Motown (Mary's favorite) mix of tunes was the music of the evening, including some songs like "My Girl" with lyrics rewritten especially for Mary.

And, to add to the Saturday celebration we also surprised our friend, John Delametter whose birthday was two days later. John got to wear the sombrego while he was lauded with "Happy Birthday" and "Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch" with lyrics written by Elaine especially for him. Everyone did a lot of laughing and helping to sing along. And, of course, there was yummy birthday cake. Evenings like that bring so many smiles to Ola Lola's. Thanks everyone!

Thanksgiving

Just a couple of photos from Thanksgiving at Marisol and JR's house. I hope we don't ever get so blasé that we take parties like this one for granted. We had amazing good food and we have amazing good friends. It is always such a good time getting together at their house. Thank you, Marisol and JR for opening your home and your hearts for all of us.

In the Thanksgiving post I said there would be more to give thanks for so here comes another one. We are so grateful to Dr. Lamela and his wife Lilly for allowing us to keep Chocolate and Sahara on their property. They had family staying in their house over the Thanksgiving weekend. Since people were in and out, we moved Sahara into a stall we built next to Ola Lola's and moved Chocolate on the other side of our house. It worked okay but shuffling the horses around reminded us of what a fantastic gift we have to be able to keep our horses safe and near. Thank you, Dr. Lamela!