Christmas in Puerto Rico

With the holidays, vacation, and a lot going on at work, this blog has been horribly neglected lately. I am due for a few updates!

I had a wonderful Christmas with Lauren's family in Puerto Rico. Rincon is an amazing, laidback beach town, known as the "Pueblo del Surfing," which means the surfing town, and "El Pueblo de los Bellos Atardeceres," the town of beautiful sunsets. Rincon has become more popular over the past few years, although part of its charm is the quiet, low key, friendly beach town atmosphere.

Lauren's family goes every year for Christmas and invited me to join them again. I can't think of a better place to spend the holidays. We stay right on the beach, in an incredible beachfront villa, with our own little stretch of beach and sparkling blue water, waking up to the sound of ocean waves in the morning. The view from the back deck is incredible. I have kept this picture as the desktop background on my computer since first staying at the villa in 2003.

This is paradise!

After a slightly traumatic detour in getting there (and an unexpected night at a lovely Newark Airport hotel), I finally made it to Rincon. We had a great Christmas Eve tropical dinner at "The Spot" (or the "Survivor Place" as I call it due to all the tiki torches), where you can hear the ocean waves crashing as you are enjoying dinner.

On Christmas morning, our personal bartender, Stan, broke out the holiday pina coladas, which we enjoyed out on the beach with a few of our Rincon friends. For Christmas dinner, we went to a place called "Rock Bottom," which is essentially a shack up in a treehouse, run by surfers who have clearly been out in the sun too long. Awesome.

We watched the Eagles/Cowboys game, then Nick, Stan & I headed over to Kasa Vieja, a little dive sports bar in town, to catch the first half of a very boring Jets/Dolphins game. Who would have thought we would be the only ones out on Christmas night, watching football and eating 25 cent wings, chilling with a famous television star.

Rincon is a top surfing destination and during our stay we made trips to Sandy Beach and the famous Playa Marias, where the big waves and the surfers are. After a decent lunch at Shipwreck Bar & Grill, we also made a quick stop at Tamboo Beside the Pointe.

Life in Puerto Rico was pretty rough. Sleep, have coffee out on the back deck overlooking the ocean, a morning walk down Corcega Beach, catch a few hours of sun, our daily lazy afternoon strolls over to Villa Cofresi, a nap or two in the hammock, watching the beautiful sunsets in the evening with a glass of wine. Our days were clearly very stresful!

Nick gave his mom some DVD collections for Nip/Tuck, Grey's Anatomy, and possibly the best show ever, The Shield, so despite our very busy schedule (see above), we managed to catch up on a few episodes from the first season.

Of course, the highlight of any vacation to Rincon is a visit from the massage therapist. Yes, she brings her table right to the house and sets it up on the back deck. There is not a whole lot better than a massage at night, in the dark and ocean air, hearing the waves crashing just a few feet away. Amazing. Unfortunately, it makes any other massage you ever get suck in comparison!

The weather there was beautiful. I came back with a great tan that is quickly fading. I just wish we would have taken more pictures! Thank you Lauren, Nick, Stan & Sharon for an excellent vacation!