Puerto Rico Perspectives with GX1000

If you've never seen them, the GX-1000 Slap edits are one of the best web-video features out. Amazing filming, dope spots, solid editing and always a sick line-up of skaters. Ryan Garshell recently rounded up his caravan of wandering hippie shredders and set sail for the isle of Puerto Rico. And what resulted was one of the best skate offerings from GX-1000 yet. Our good friend Ben Gore was along for the ride and documented the whole trip for TOA. Our "imbedded" reporter if you will. He put together this rad story for us so kick back and enjoy PR through the perspectives of the GX-1000 crew.

The crew was Jake Johnson, Jonathan Cruz, Abdias Rivera, Alex Davis, Brian Delatorre, Ryan Garshell and myself. Majority of us being from florida and back in town for the holidays made Puerto Rico a quick and affordable place to travel. Affordable being one of the more important things considering pretty much all of us were paying for it out of our own pockets. But, with that being said, I wouldn't of wanted it any other way. We skated when and what we wanted to, not feeling pressured by a team manager or a company that put us up in a hotel. Straight to the point friends skating with friends.
To the average skater Puerto Rico is probably not the first place that comes to mind when planning a trip but this is soon to change. 'Never judge a book by its cover' is the best phrase to describe Puerto Rico in my eyes. Behind all the beautiful beaches, waterfalls in the rainforest and that Corona ad lifestyle is an island filled with aesthetically pleasing and diverse skate spots. You name it; rough, smooth, plazas, and bump to bars. They got it.
So heres a behind the scenes look at one of the best trips I've been apart of. Enjoy.
-Ben Gore (ALL PHOTOGRAPHY BY BEN GORE)
 

Ryan Garshell films while Jake Johnson blasts off to the moon

Being asked to write a paragraph or two about Puerto Rico sounded so easy to me at first. Then I had a realization. I knew nothing I could write would do justice like the footage, photos and actual experiences you get being there. In Puerto Rico there are a plethora of breathtaking locations to visit, things to experience, food to consume, beautiful girls and amazing spots to perform on as a skateboarder. Basically, it is US territory so you don't need a passport or to convert any cash, most residents speak at least a little english and it is relatively cheap to fly to from any state especially Florida. I would suggest visiting anytime, but especially in the winter. The tropical weather can get mind-melting hot.
I decided to write kind of timeline from a mini trip we took the last two days we were there most recently. Yonnie and a gang of us Florida heads knew a buddy Yoyo that acted as a tour guide and delegate for the first few trips we took to Puerto Rico. The time I visited before he linked us up with a friend Raffi that lives on Vieques, an island roughly 8 miles from the main island of PR. We stayed in a house that he inherited with multiple rooms, a hammock and amazing view. We got in contact with him again and decided to plan the mini trip knowing we would have a place to stay. We took the ferry with the rental van on it. As soon as we arrived Raffi was waiting for us in his jeep at the port. We went straight to the beach, of course, since Vieques is known for their beautiful beaches. On the island there is white sand, yellow sand, red sand, and black sand beaches. We went to a close-by white sand beach and enjoyed relaxing in the water and conversating with Raffi. I over heard a conversation he was having with Al, where Al asked if he had always lived on Vieques.  Raffi calmly said with his island vibes "yeah I moved to the mainland (San Juan) for a couple of years, but the people are just different and it is just not as nice." We left the beach and headed to an empanada spot with another great atmosphere. At the place they had every kind of empanada you could think of for their location. Conch, lobster, crab, swordfish, shrimp, grouper, beef, chicken and veggie are some I can recall. We left there after getting our fill and some cervasas for the boys and Raffi drove us to an old bridge that you could walk out to the end of and jump off into the clear blue water. We got some jumps in then headed to raffi's place. We got there to his dog and some family members who were being entertained by his mother. They left within about 20 minutes leaving only Raffi, his mother and us. She excitedly asked Raffi if we were hungry and wanted a home cooked meal. We of course said yes, after enjoying the food Raffi had arranged with a buddy for us to do a tour of the Mosquito Bay. Which wikipedia did a great job of describing, 
"The Bioluminescent Bay (also known as Puerto Mosquito, Mosquito Bay, or "The Bio Bay"), is considered the best example of a bioluminescent bay in the United States and is listed as a national natural landmark, one of 5 in Puerto Rico. The luminescence in the bay is caused by micro-organisms, dinoflagellates, which glow whenever the water is disturbed, leaving a trail of neon blue."
  We met up with the tour in one of the two small towns in Vieques. After piling into a van and enduring a seriously bumpy ride in the pitch black through what seemed to be a tropical rainforest jungle we arrived to the kayaks we were about to row around the bay. Then we found out out they were tandem only, meaning you had to go with two people to each one kayak. I wound up with Ben as my co-pilot. As we traveled into the bay following our guide we began to notice the strokes of our oars making a glow. Then at a second glance, we realized all the fish that were swimming were also making what looked to be underwater lazer beams throughout the bay. Since we were now in the middle of the bay and the tour guide just explained to us that the water was actually really good to get on your body and that it contained 3 times more salt than any other bodies of water. Everybody of course began splashing each other with the water. When someone was splashing it looked like a firework coming towards you is my the best explanation for the occurrence. Ben was a little tipsy and couldn't take being confined to the kayak anymore and dove into the water. A majority of us all followed suit and began swimming in the bay watching our movements make the glow with our every stroke. After we got out of the kayaks and were heading back to Raffi's to dry off he told us that the reason they have you sign waivers before going is because someone went swimming like us and put their foot on the floor and came back up with no foot! In retrospect, we all realized that there must be a great deal of creatures that live in such a mystical place and that it may have not been the wisest choice to swim in there. After our break at Raffi's we went to the marble plaza by the ferry that has a bunch of cool obstacles to enjoy yourself on. Jake and Al both filmed runs then we headed back to Raffi's exhausted from an epic day. Everyone had their own bed and it is safe to say we all slept great. Very special thanks to him for making it one of the best days of my life and my favorite memory of Puerto Rico. If you can get there go there! you won't be disappointed.
-Ryan Garshell

Well, I went from freezing my ass off in 15 degree weather up north to 80 degrees in this awesome place where you can drink in the streets and skate everywhere with out being hassled. The spots are amazing, new shit everywhere the beaches are beautiful, food is delicious. You can be in the middle of a small town shredding the plazas with your friends to jumping off of water falls in the middle of the jungle, unreal.
Would I do it all again? Hahaha fuck yes!
-Abdias Rivera

-Abdias Rivera back smiths a dream spot

Aight picture this…seven skaters in a van filled with chronic smoke, six out seven people are drinking brews and that one person not drinking isn't the driver. This beautiful island with the most random skate spots, water falls, the juiciest fresh fruit from east to west that you ever tasted, a bioluminescent bay with water that will glow your body from head to toe. Did I forget to mention every woman's body in sight will remind you of a Fat Joe or Jennifer Lopez music video? Rice and beans has done miracles for every señora on this island. I thought I saw at least 50 Rosario Dawsons while I was skating in the hood. Basically what I am trying to say to you dirts is once your done with your skater life crusade you should ride it out in Puerto Rico, I know I am going to do it. Until next time, peace.
-Alexander Davis

Al Davis three flip

It reminded me a lot of where I grew up‚ Puerto Ricans, KFC's and bad drivers. The only difference was the architecture/marble plazas everywhere and the jungle. I honestly can't wait to get back!!! Pura vida!
-Brian Delatorre

Brian Delatore frontside feebles all the way to paradise

It was hot. Im talking thick. So humid you'd sweat right through a new shirt. The ground polished smooth, you could almost see your reflection. There were marble ledges everywhere. Some were curved, some were long. Some were small and some were tall. All of them were buttery. I saw my homies all warming up. 'I must be dreaming' I thought to myself. I caught a glimpse of the cops. The officer instantly on the loud speaker screams "OYE CHICOS!!" Some of us stopped rolling at the sound of the officer. I did‚Ķ'Thats it. Its over. No warm up, no lines, no filming, no skating. NO MORE FUN '.... I  was clogged to my throat thinking how we went all this way..{The plane ride the rental van even the ferry ride.} And now its about to be all OVER. Nothing mattered. We knew we weren't supposed to be skating‚Ķ"USTEDES PONEN SUS CAMISAS EN!!"....."PUT YOUR SHIRTS BACK ON!!!" Then they strolled off.. We knew we were in PUERTO RICO.
-Yonnie Cruz

Yonnie Cruz ollies gap to gap to bananas

Puerto Rico is one of the most exciting places I have ever visited for skateboarding. The health of the people and the land are both quite becoming for the skateboarding man, and I'll tell you why. Puerto Rico is a small island, peppered with small towns and rural communities. It only takes a few hours (4or 5) to drive a circumference around the entire territory. The Carribbean culture has been blessed by the skate gods and a laid back, colorful, community-oriented attitude has been breeding throughout Puerto Rico's small towns and larger cities. This attitude can be seen in the colorful sidewalks and cast cement buildings, in the mostly passive attitude of security guards and police, and in the multitude of skateable town plazas, where locals congregate and party together throughout the week or during a holiday. Each city takes great pride in their plazas and it seems like alot of a town's money goes into revamping the layout of their plaza every few years. With the potential of a new plaza waiting around every corner, one of the most exciting parts of skating PR, is traveling in loops around the island, visiting small towns in the hopes of finding fresh marble, skateable water features, and open space. And for the record, there are over 90 of these plazas on the island, most of which are still "undiscovered" by skateboarders. The second anomaly of Puerto Rico, and possibly the most evident during our mobile outings, is the plethora of handicap curb cuts, wheel chair ramps, and bump to bars. In an urban American city like Philadelphia, bump to bars litter the streets, but are often built to accommodate people with handicaps related to violence and criminal activity. In Puerto Rico the opposite is found. The closeness to the equator, an abundance of hardy local foods and an all around jovial attitude towards life has given Puerto Ricans a rich percentage of elderly in their population. The elderly are given much respect and most businesses or personal residences are equipped with an easy solution for those who walk slow or move about in a wheelchair. BINGO, handicap ramps everywhere. It would be interesting to take a survey of all the skateable bump-to-bars in Puerto Rico. If I had to guess I'd set the bar at 200. I swear, on every corner, down every street, after every wrong turn we saw a new bump to bar. Awe-struck looks, screaming and u-turns we're never far apart when in the van and the time was passed quickly, as everyone scoured the streets, searching for the next best spot. Skate spots weren't the only thing we were searching for from the van windows. The "banana" game, made its way into our group and we all kept a keen eye out for privately owned yellow vehicles. Puerto Rico is also a gold mine for bananas.
    The last skateable feature of Puerto Rico that I will discuss is directly related to the climate on the island. There is a huge amount of rainfall throughout the year, and I believe this is a determining factor for the easy going culture I have just described. Island people have to be patient and respectful. They have learned to accept the rain, accept the boundaries of their land, and appreciate the beautiful tropical climate, as well as manage the destructive tropical storms. They've built a series of giant water drainage ditches throughout Puerto Rico to help protect their rivers, tributaries, and towns. Some of these ditches are as vast as multiple football fields, with varying angles of inclines, banks, and hills. For a skateboarder, there's nothing quite like staring down a giant cement mountain and the isolated tropical setting of the ditches is just an extra bonus. Teams have been coming here for years to get a taste of the weathered concrete and intimidating size of these ditches.
           So there you go. That's my two cents on Puerto Rico. And I did'nt even mention how cheap airfare and the cost of living is, how beautiful the women are, or the exotic rainforests, waterfalls and beaches that can be found at every corner of the island. Maybe one day you'll get your priorities straight and go there to see for yourself.
-Jake Johnson