I awoke fairly early, and
seeing everyone else fast asleep I decided to go for a walk so as to explore
and not disturb them. I dressed quickly and left the hotel looking for somewhere
to have breakfast. Things were very quiet this Sunday morning, Mother's Day,
2002. There was a giant Carnival cruise line ship docked right next to our hotel,
but no one seemed to be on the streets. I took off down the waterfront and walked
quite some way before cutting back 90 degrees up into Old San Juan. Then, when
I seemed to be at the peak of the hill I walked down its spine until nearing
the end of that sector of town, and then turning back down towards the waterfront.
In all of this, I found not a single place to have breakfast. I gave up and
actually had an overpriced breakfast in our expensive hotel. I stopped at the
front desk and asked about a rental car. They did a brief survey of cars and
got me a very reasonably priced car from Charlie Rental Car of Puerto Rico.
They sent a shuttle over to get me and within minutes I was signing for a plain,
white, four-door sedan and on my way back to the hotel. I even found a parking
place close to the hotel.
By the time I got up to the
room they were up and ready for action. Carlos was staying behind in order to
fulfill his Mother's Day obligations. We piled into the car and went on our
day trip exploration of Puerto Rico. We had asked a lot of questions and decided
on a number of places we wanted to visit: the ceremonial grounds of the indigenous
people, the rural back country, the panoramas available in the mountains, and
of course some beautiful beaches. We had a plan to do it all in one day. Now,
all we had to do was implement that plan.
We drove along the north coast
following a large highway into what quickly became a beautiful lush countryside,
a type of terrain we had yet to experience in Puerto Rico. Anthony was, as usual,
hungry, so we looked for a place to have a late breakfast that was not typical
American fast food. We found a place called "Burger City" which did
not conform to its name, and seemed to be a more indigenous version of fast
food. I saw they had plantains and rice and beans, so that was a beginning.
I had some water while Anthony and Jackie all had some real food. I love being
out of the city, because we were finally in a situation where a more "real"
culture could leak through, as locals and others came through the establishment
while they finished cooking Anthony's food. It was good, but it wasn't fast.
We piled back into the car
and headed off west again, until we reached the highway where we were to turn
south and go into the mountains. Our goal was to go to the indigenous celebration
grounds at Utuado, a place I had heard so much about. As we climbed into the
mountains we saw them as their own reward, beautiful and stark, covered with
lush vegetation and beautiful trees, both deciduous and tropical. The road became
progressively smaller until we were on a simple two lane road winding our way
up towards Utuado.
When we arrived at Utuado
we were disappointed to find that the installation was closed for Sunday, Mother's
Day. We decided to at least explore the beautiful countryside. The roads were
intensely winding at extreme angles, winding along ridges amidst a frolic of
greenery.
Jackie had located some small
roads indicated on the map as "panoramico" and we decided that sounded
good. As we were on our way we passed by a small watering hole (bar) that had
a spectacular view of a huge valley from its cliffside location. We pulled in
and found what seems to be in every small bar in Puerto Rico, a pool table.
We ordered some beers and started to play, taking time between shots to look
out over the valley. I beat Anthony, and then I beat Jackie, although he is
clearly the better player than I
am. It was during this game someone else entered the bar, a man named Willy.
He had a beer and then offered to play the winner. When I won I encouraged him
to play Jackie instead. They had a fine competitive game and I honestly can't
remember whether Willy or Jackie won. Willy was ready for another game, but
we sensed it was time to move on. We piled back in the car and headed down into
the valley, looking for the panoramic route that would take us up the mountains
on the other side of the valley and eventually down to the ocean again.
To say the route we found
was 'panoramic' would be an understatement. The narrow roads went up and down
steeply, and then would plop us down on a remarkable vantage point over the
terrain spreading out below us. We slowly made our way along the mountains and
over the valleys, until finally we began making our way down towards the ocean.
The terrain seemed to change
as soon as we crossed the ridge of the mountains, become drier and less lush,
with more grass and less dense vegetation. As we continued to descend we noticed
that it became more and more dry, with a few cactus growing here and there.
We rejoined a major highway
and made our way west until we arrive at our exit, a road that would take us
to what we were told is an impressive collection of beautiful beaches. As we
made our way along the tiny road towards the beaches we saw numerous and beautiful
coves and rocky points, and even a few wonderful beaches. But, we were told
to continue on until we reached a place called Playa de las Ballenas, Whale
beach.
We knew we had arrived when
all of a sudden we were driving along one of the most beautiful beaches I have
ever seen. We stopped the car and set a time to meet back at the car and went
off exploring. I walked down the beach and admired the lovely vistas. I took
some time to sit on an old log and try and determine whether the tide was going
in or out. It was coming in, I decided after a long time of watching. I waded
a bit, but Jackie noted that a very strong undertow did indicate some dangerous
swimming. The beach was very clean and had an excellent array of shells. Perhaps
you have seen my shell collection? I keep them on beaches all over the world
[Joke courtesy of Jim Wade].
The beach was enchanting,
and made me think about time. Things have been the same on that beach for a
long, long time. Likewise I had thoughts about space. Looking off the coast,
south into the Caribbean, as towering clouds came scudding in from a huge distance,
I was again reminded about how huge the world is, not to mention the universe,
and how small we really are. Here I was, in Puerto Rico, trying to promote international
debating, and it is all such a tiny part of the life of the world. I love the
way communing with nature makes we feel small and short lived.
Our time was up and we met
back at the car. Both Jackie and Anthony were hungry, so we headed into a small
town looking for a local place to eat (not plastic fast food along the main
highway), and soon found a small shop that obviously was not a chain or franchise.
I ordered lasagna, and realized that there really is a sort of Puerto Rican
lasagna. It has lots of meat and not very much tomato sauce, but is spicy without
the sauce. I loved it.
As we drove away towards the
highway and a return to San Juan, the sun began to set and the passengers began
to nod off. Every debate coach should make sure to be very skilled at driving
long distances while everyone else in the vehicle is asleep. We encountered
a lot of traffic as people returned home at the end of Mother's Day, but it
only slowed us down a little, and we never really got into a real traffic jam.
By the time we arrived back
at the hotel Anthony and Jackie were rested and I was tired. Carlos met us at
the hotel, and we decided that it might be better to stay up all night (and
sleep on the plane) rather than go to sleep only to have to get up at 3 AM to
catch our 6 AM flight. We decided that we would leave after the "night
out" was over and Carlos could drive us to the airport and drop us there.
So, Anthony, Carlos, and Jackie
went out to play some pool and I read a bit and then nodded off to sleep. I
was tired because I drove home from the other end of the island, but I don't
mind. I like driving. You really see the scenery.
The boys coming in at about
3:30 AM awakened me. We started throwing things into bags and were soon on our
way downstairs. I checked out of the hotel and we all piled into Carlos' swank
silver SUV. It was absurdly early, and I kept thinking about how early we had
been to the airport both times on this trip. I had actually been at LaGuardia
at 4:30 AM for our flight to Puerto Rico, and here I was about to arrive at
the San Juan airport at about 4:45 AM. That is a new record for being at the
airport (except when one has been there all night) in my rather long debate
career.
Nothing was open, then Spirit
Airlines opened first to let us check in. Soon thereafter the McDonald's opened
and I discovered that they did not have Egg McMuffin, but instead had a local
sandwich called a McCriollo. I soon learned that this traditional Puerto Rican
sandwich is ham and cheese.
The trip home was a nightmare
so I shall not dwell on it. Needless to say, we flew to Fort Lauderdale, had
to wait there to take off because of LaGuardia traffic, took off from Fort Lauderdale,
then had to return to Fort Lauderdale because we had bags that did not match
people on board, then we got off at Fort Lauderdale and waited while rainstorms
delayed LaGuardia. Finally in the air on our way to NYC, we then circled the
city for another hour until we got permission to land.
Upon landing I rushed to get
my car, and had to walk all over in the rain to find it, discovered my window
had been left open by one of my passengers (I'll make them sit on the wet spot),
and then drove into a huge traffic jam to pick them up from the arrival area.
We finally got everything
into my VW bug and made our way slowly out of NYC during rush hour. It kept
raining hard. It rained hard all the way home to Vermont. Once again, I got
to use my skill as a driver while others slept. But, I liked it because I felt
safe.
Luis, Gonzalo, and Cristian,
congratulations on your title, and making Chile the first Latin American country
to have two awesome debate schools. Hey Gonzalo, be careful of politics!
Francisco, Francisco, and
Jose from ETEA/Cordoba, thanks for your fine debating and for sharing a camera
so well. Nice matching suits on day 2!
Madelaine Ruiz, Universidad
Nuestra Senora de La Paz, Bolivia, thank you so much for your excellent questions,
your judging, and the gift of the Bolivian lapel pin. I hope to work with you
in the future.
Patricia and Gabriela, from
Bolivia, keep being true to yourself and keep on learning and you will succeed.
Stephan and Pamela, Diego
Portales, thanks for being so friendly and so welcoming, and for helping me
with my Spanish. I know I will see great things from you in the future.
Benito Escobar, you are the
real 21st century debate professional. With great priorities and
a flair for style and presentation, your efforts to promote debate through the
Hispanic world will succeed.
Antonio and Jesus from Compostela,
you are amazing speakers and debaters, and I hope to work with you some time
soon. Let's stay in touch.
Carlos Navia, I admire your
serious and professional approach to debate. You represent an impressive Spanish
debate community with distinction.
Eva and Anabella, Universidad
Americana de Nicaragua, I appreciate your friendship and cooperation. I look
forward to bringing debaters to Nicaragua in the future, and to welcome you
and your students to America whenever I can.
Victoria and Mayling, you
are fantastic debaters with immense abilities, and I urge you to use those powers
for the good of all in your country and in the world. See you in Managua or
Vermont!
Frank and Felix, Interamericana,
I really appreciated your dedication and your support. Great job by Felix, just
like last year, and Frank will get even better.
Pedro Perez, you made my trip
so much easier and more convenient. Be yourself and speak your mind. I love
your spirit of Puerto Rico libre!
Maria Rosso, for making this
all possible. You were the most important person in this entire effort. Everyone
knows that. Thank you for being my friend.
Profs. Zeno and Murray, my
new colleagues and friends. Now we have to plan to further our cooperative relationships.
I want to recognize President
Fernos of Interamericana and all of his administration, who worked so hard on
this project.
A new, talented, and resilient
debate community is growing in the Hispanic world. The beautiful language of
Cervantes is now being used in the great debate traditions of humanity, and
offering a new and important voice.
As each of our nations becomes
more engaged with each other, and as the USA recognizes that its Hispanic citizens
and residents should join the debate, these efforts can and should grow and
flourish.
We need to continue working
towards that goal, and I hope the third Torneo Hispanoamericano de Debate and
other events will pave the way for this.