Hurtling towards the shore, paddling my arms as fast as possible, I could faintly hear the surf instructor yelling: “Get up, get up, get up!” Easier said than done. Braced for impact, I tried to leap onto the board, then immediately crashed sideways into the water and choked down a mouthful of seawater. The cool expert surfer dude (also a high-level competitor), Ramse, called me back out to try again.
.. and again.
.. Shoulders aching, I was determined.
This was my first ever surfing lesson . I was on a pristine beach in Rincón in the north west of Puerto Rico, a region known as the Hawaii of the Caribbean . A stunning location to distract from my complete lack of skill.
Ramse, a self-styled ‘waterman maestro’, made it look so easy. Though I tried several times to adopt the surf stance in the sea, I could only just about manage it when my surfboard was laid flat on the sandy beach. But my bruised knees – sports injury! – were a souvenir that left me feeling just a little bit pleased with myself.
With world-class beaches and 270 miles of coastline, water sports such as surfing, diving, kayaking and paddle boarding are a big draw for this far-reaching tropical US territory island. But in a more chilled water experience, I set off on a sailing and snorkelling tour to the Icacos off-shore island. Arturo, chilled-out captain at Sandy Bottoms Sailing, took us on a private boutique trip, during which I swam to a deserted beach and took a nap under a palm tree.
How else s.