Taking the morning to go surfing at Playa Chica

ARROYO SECO, Jalisco, Mexico - No, I didn't actually climb aboard a real surfboard today. I left that duty to a new amigo, Ricardo, who hails from South Africa by way of Ashland, Oregon where he and his amiga Amy live.

Amy and Richard arrived yesterday bearing gifts from the Admiral's cousin Lynn and her partner Suzanne who had seen the couple in Yelapa, at the memorial service for Isabel, the woman who died earlier this year after falling off a staircase in La Manzanilla.

What were the gifts? A set of pink flamingo glasses and stir sticks. Amazing! We celebrated the gift with a round of Cuba Libres - in the flamingo glasses, of course.


The Admiral and Amy at Playa Chica

What I did do - instead of surfing - was jump on one of our boogie boards to go out and challenge the waves.

The cross currents were pretty strong, knocking me over several times when I lost my footing. So after just a few rides I decided to take it a little easier today. I can always head back to the beach.


Richard comes in from the surf

The waves were better for surfing than for boogie boarding and Richard is hoping to get a repeat tomorrow of today's good surf before he and Amy make their way back north.

Here's a very brief video of our amigo Max (from France) followed by a short clip of Richard getting a ride.