The Last Day...

Andy and I check the waves at dawn. Domes is definitely bigger. The sun isn't even up yet, and there are four guys paddling out. It looks head high, kinda fat, but glassy and fun.

I race out there, Andy right behind me. It feels chilly, the trades are already blowing. We surf until it gets too crowded. It's all locals today, everyone's speaking Spanish, for the most part. The waves are so blue-green, it all appears like something from a dream. We take one last look at it, knowing it is nearly over. We head back to get Deb and Ryan for breakfast.

Deb is still feeling sad, but Andy manages to talk her into going back to the English Rose for one last breakfast. Ruth is so sweet, and that same roly-poly waitress we had is smiling, and understands our sadness that it is our last day. We sit outside on the porch, the trade winds blow through, and I order us a fruit plate to share. Then it is off to pack, in a rush, as we want to surf Wilderness one last time before our plane leaves at 3 p.m.

As we pull onto the bumpy dirt road lining the coast, we can see blue swells breaking in what looks like slow-motion. It is definitely bigger! As we pull into the parking lot, our jaws drop. Cars are everywhere. It is packed. There looks to be at least 35 people out in the line-up, so I am dragging a bit. Andy is amped, he has been wanting bigger waves, and he is out there in an instant. I was glad I was about ten minutes behind him when I saw the horizon go dark, as a cleanup set rolled in just as he entered the impact zone. He said he took the entire set on the head. I paddled out and didn't even get my hair wet. That broke my usual style of catching the set of the day on the inside. Andy caught a couple good sized ones, and was smiling from ear to ear every time he paddled back outside. I took a couple, and then looked over to see a guy wearing a helmet and... a life vest! Now, that's something I have never seen in forty years of surfing.

We surfed until the last minute, and then paddled in and rinsed off with the water we had brought from the room. We changed back into our winter clothes, and it felt so odd and sad, there on the bright sunny beach.

Good-bye, Puerto Rico...