2016 (so far) in pictures

So far 2016 has been a very busy year. Here are some of the highlights:

January 1, New Year's Day ride on the beach.

 

 

January 2,  another ride on the beach

 

 

January 3, scuba diving at Natural

January 4, scuba diving at Natural

January 5, scuba diving at Natural...

and at Crashboat

January 6, scuba diving at Crashboat...

and at Natural

There as been no surf so the diving has been excellent (as you can see). My goal is to have 500 dives by the end of the year. This dive at Natural was #348. Ambitious, but doable.

Ola Lola's has been busy so all in all, it's not been a bad week.

Merry Christmas!

It's been a wonderful Christmas weekend so far! Yesterday I take a big group from the States scuba diving at Natural. Not a bad way to spend Christmas Eve. This couple wasn't part of the group, just  a couple of hangers-on.

Last night we hosted Christmas Eve pot luck dinner for a bunch of "misfit toys" or "orphan gringos" as one of our number called us. So much fabulous food and so much fun!

Hope your holidays are filled with warmth and love and joy and that the new year brings you health and happiness.

Happy Holidays!

Tonight's the night!!!!

Some time tonight someone will eat the 4,000th Peanut Butter Burger.

Don't know about our World Famous Peanut Butter Burger?

It is a handmade, hand-seasoned 100% all-beef burger, grilled to your order, then served on grilled fresh local bakery bread, topped with peanut butter and sweet pickle relish. #warmcreamysaltysweetmeaty The way it all comes together in your mouth in nothing short of amazing.

And tonight, we will reach a major milestone. We have a great gift package for whoever gets # 4,000: Standup Paddle Board tours from VerdeAzul, Discover Scuba Adventures from Darryl's Diving Adventures, gift certificates from Levain Artisan Bread, Fusion Art and Floral and Ola Lola's, portrait photography sessions and more.

Wish you were here.

Diving with new friends

It's a strange kind of in-between-time right now. No surf to speak of (unusual), not the usual howling December/Christmas winds (very unusual) so not much kite surfing, and just enough rain to keep visibility marginal for diving (not so unusual).

Even so, we took Marie's (and now our) friends Mark and Leslie diving at Crashboat. Despite the 25-30 foot vis, there is always something beautiful to see. The limited vis encourages you to look closer, for little things.

There is supposed to be a little surf bump later this week. We'll see. And here's hoping the vis finally cleans up soon!

Fade to black (and white)

Back in the Dark ages, B.D. (Before Digital) I used to do a lot of black and white photography. For years I had my own darkroom. I even got into large format with one of those "cumbersome" 4"x5" view cameras. ("Cumbersome" seems to be a descriptor that always accompanies "view camera.") But S.D. (Since Digital) I've done very little with b&w. Yes, I've played with it in Photoshop but I've never been very happy with the results and so just let it go.

The other night Elaine had a dream that I was photographing surfers in black and white. When she told me about it, it triggered a new thought. Whenever it's cloudy, I avoid shooting surfers because because the light is flat and relatively colorless. But what about black and white? Maybe b&w could be a way to "save" those cloudy day shots. This was an especially interesting thought since we just went through two days of good waves but crappy light.

So I started doing some studying and more, serious experimenting. I'm certainly not an expert. but I've come a long way from where I was. 

Yesterday I went out to Surfers Beach on a beautiful sunny morning. Right at the end of my photo session it clouded over.  This gave me new material to work with.

What do you think of the results?

You can see more of the color surf photos on our website, PuertoRicoSurfPhoto.com
and on Flickr.   

And now the weather

It is still quite warm and very still for this time of year. The Trade Winds should be howling but  they're not. We've had more calm, nearly windless days in a row in October and November than I ever remember.

There has been a lot of rain up in the mountains this fall. That's good news for the islands water supply. The reservoirs are full. But it's bad news for diving. The rain washes sediment down the rivers and into the ocean. With no wind to drive the currents, the sediment just hangs around making visibility crappy.

On the bright side there has been some fun surf.

That's on of the wonderful things about living here, one of the things we're grateful for: There is almost always something to do. It's a very rare day that weather and ocean combine to keep us inside watching Netflix.

The Mourning Moon

This November full moon goes by many names. In the Old Farmer's Almanac (based mostly on traditions colonists brought from the United Kingdom) it is the Beaver Moon. Some First Nations/Native American cultures called it the Snow Moon or Fog Moon or Moon When the Deer Sheds Its Antlers. In pagan customs, it is the Mourning Moon.

This is a transition time, between light and the darkness of winter. It is a time to let go of negative thoughts or emotions, to cut ties with things and people that are toxic and destructive. But it is also a time to nurture positive relationships, to strengthen ties with friends and family and to celebrate life.

Happy Thanksgiving!

(You can read more about the Mourning Moon here.)

September 19, Canada, Day 18 Banff to Calgary

It was a fire-in-the-sky sunrise outside our hostel as we prepared to leave Banff and head down the road to Calgary and then on to home.

Be we still had one more adventure - a trailrideat Moose Mountain Trailrides outside of Calgary.

It was a very different ride from our first one in Jasper. But that's good; different is good. There are more photos from the trailride on Flickr. Have a look at your leisure.

From Moose Mountain we were back on the prairie and onto Calgary. We spent our last night in Canada at the brand new Soaring Eagle Casino in Calgary. We won $50 playing the slots but alas did not win the Canadian national lottery.

After the fiery mountain sunrise in Banff, Calgary gave us an incredible prairie sunrise to send us off.

From there it was off to the airport and a silver bird home.