La Pared beach, named for its colorful mosaic pared (wall) along the boardwalk, is a soft-sand inlet that Luquillo boasts as the surf and skate central of East Island Puerto Rico. When standing in front of el Monumento—the monument built in honor of the tiger shark that supposedly protects the beach—you have a flawless view to the east of the sunrise in the morning or the lighthouse and the distant haze of the Fajardo city lights at night. Straight ahead is the open Atlantic Ocean, and to the west lies the deepest point of the Atlantic— the Puerto Rico Trench. Following west along the coast, you pass the fortress-lined shores of San Juan and eventually arrive at Puerto Rico's famous surf destination, Rincon. But as Bob Roberts of Bob’s East Island Surfing Adventures said, Luquillo has everything a local or tourist needs to spend a day—or lifetime—at the beach.

Bob owned and operated a surf shop in Luquillo in the 1980s with his wife Suzy and has stayed at the beach ever since. Within the past ten years he has shifted his business to instructing surfing adventures. His adventure starts out on la orilla (the shore) with 30 minutes of instruction on safety and surfing techniques. His instructors, Justo, Brad and Jeremy, help each student perfect their “ready position” and stance on the board and teach them how to paddle, stand up on the board and even the best way to fall off the board in a "wipe out" and how to escape a riptide. Then it is time to dive into el mar (the ocean) for 90 minutes of riding las ondas (the waves). The comfortably warm Caribbean sea at La Pared is perfect for low-intensity surfing because it only reaches a few feet deep by 100 meters out, so beginner surfers can catch the white waves, which indicate shallow water, or the intermediate-level green waves as the tide rises.

Bob reassures his students that although surfing is a difficult sport that takes years to master, the success rate of his beginner-to-intermediate level course is surprisingly high. Virtually all students catch at least a few waves and remain standing all the way to shore, as many of our guests have told us. Since some people need help just getting onto the board, while others are quickly ready to ride more challenging waves, Bob and his crew pride themselves on their personal approach to teaching that caters to all levels of surfers. Bob lectures and demonstrates the techniques excellently, even bilingually when necessary. All the instructors are genuinely encouraging and high-spirited; their love for the sport and Luquillo is apparent in their upbeat but laid-back instruction and bright expressions.

Because friends and family may have a hard time believing that you actually managed to ride a wave, Bob’s crew takes plenty of pictures of every student. They post on Facebook only the photos that make even the short bursts of beginner’s luck look like longer rides that come from years of experience.

With the perfect location and exceptional instruction, Bob’s East Island Surfing Adventures deserves the overwhelming praise it receives online from its customers. To reserve your lesson, call (or better yet, text since his phone is often just at the fringe of cell service) Bob at (787) 435-1760

Check out our Puerto Rico Travelcast (on iTunes or here) for an interview with Bob that goes deeper into his adventures in Puerto Rico and his surfing lessons.