Tica and back to Nica

Last I wrote we were in Costa Rica, laying low in Tamarindo while Kris was on the mend from some travellers sickness.
Tamarindo was not much our style, and the surfing was awful, so the next morning, when Kris was feeling better, we jumped on a shuttle south to Avellanes hoping to score some better surf and a less touristy town. Most places were full or closed for the season, so we ended up at a run-down place called ¨Iguana Verde¨. The swell was dying and the forecast was that it would only get worse. Our new rooms were infested with mold and spiders. We payed for the rooms and camped on the front lawn.
After only one night in Avellanas, Kris and Skyler decided that they´d rather finish their trips in Nicaragua. If there was no swell, we´d all rather be hanging out at Buena Onda than in any place we´d seen in Costa Rica. Plus, the beach at Buena Onda tends to pick up a bit more swell, and the winds are always favorable.
So, with the decision made, it was another full day on busses. When we made it into Nica and onto the dingy bus (all the public busses in Nicaragua are old school busses from the US and Canada - we are constantly on the lookout for one from a Seattle school district - that are repainted bright colors and adorned with various dashboard ornaments), it was a breath of fresh air. The people are so friendly, the place is so alive, and we all just get a wonderful feeling from the country.
We are back at Buena Onda now, camping out for $5 a day. We had a fun surf this morning and are enjoying the laid back atmosphere and seclusion of the resort. The season is ending and things around the beach are starting to quiet down, which is nice.
I hope all is well with everyone. I´ll write again soon.

The Gang

A brief hike from Playa Remanso

Los niños of Vera Cruz
El Astillero, where we spent most of our time in Nicaragua

surfing at our favorite spot

End of trip 1

Hey all;
Last I wrote we were about to leave the Buena Onda resort. Well, after leaving the beachside internet cafe (a laptop with wireless in the main room of a guy's house), Steve, Kris, Sky, and I had a really fun, 3 hour surf session at Playa Santana. This was followed by a late lunch. By that time it was around 4pm, too late to head off to the unknown. So, we talked to the guy at Buena Onda, and he let us set up our camping gear on the property for the night at $5 each.
When we finally left Las Salinas we headed south to San Juan del Sur, the most touristy of the towns we had seen in Nica. We stayed in town just long enough to use the ATM and go to the first grocery store we'd seen since we left the states. We got some cold beers and potato chips and set off down south, looking for a nice beach where we could enjoy both. We took a random dirt road to the west that eventually took us to Playa Remanos, a beautiful beach set in a small cove with rock outcroppings on either side. We enjoyed the views while sipping our cold beer, then went out for a playful surf in the mellow waves. Kris and Sky stayed on for a while as Steve and I ventured further south, looking for a place to camp.
We found the perfect spot. Playa Yankee - a secluded beach with nothing on it but a tin hut on a rise at the northern end of the beach. Our campsite for the night was the backyard of the house, looking out over the beach. We returned to Remanos for a sunset surf, then drove in the dark to our campsite. We had dinner of bread and wine from the grocery store on wonderful wooden benches made by the proprieter of the hut at Playa Yankee. The stars were out, phosfluorescents were stirring in the waves, and fireflies zoomed overhead.
The next day we drove to a fishing village in the far south of Nica, where we had an afternoon surf with some local kids on yet another pituresque, secluded beach. The large penninsulas of Costa Rica were in sight, and were blocking the newly arriving south swell. So - after a short stop in San Juan del Sur to get Kris'stitches out (his lip had started to grow around them, so we couldn't do it ourselves - this was, again, a five minute - and free - ordeal), we headed north to return to our favorite lodge, Bahia Paraiso in El Astillero, to surf the new swell at our favorite beach, Chococente.
The next three days were a return to the known for us, after so much time exploring the unknown. We felt like we had a routine in El Astillero - a routine of constant bliss. Our bliss consisted of a beautiful town full of wonderful characters, great surfing on the most beautiful beach all to ourselves, amazing cooking of the freshest seafood, and great company...and a lot of cribbage. We surfed the best waves of the trip. We swam with sea turtles. We ate fresh lobster. It was a great way to finish the trip with Steve.
It was hard to see Steve go. The four of us had developed a great dynamic and comraderie. We travelled so well together and enjoyed each other's company so much. It felt as though the trip was ending for us all. So, Kris, Skyler, and I chose to just let that portion of the trip end, and begin anew. The next day we set out for Costa Rica.
Costa Rica is so much different than Nicaragua. The infrastructure is far superior, there is much more wealth, the buildings and homes are more modern, and the charm is much less. We all missed Nicaragua very much upon entering Costa Rica. Tamarindo, where we are staying now, is hardly different from Malibu, California. Four surf shops on every block, a Pizza Hut and Subway across the street, and more English than Spanish. But, we are experiencing all aspects of Central America and, like it or not, this is one of them. So we will just go with the flow.
I'm sorry for such a long and boring post. I'm going to try and post some pictures to spice things up a bit.
take care

On the road again

Hey all
We are on our last day in Las Salinas at the Buenos Onda (good vibes) resort. Fun waves, big crowds, and a very mellow place to spend three nights. We drove north the last two days and scored really good waves with slightly smaller crowds. Today, we continue our journey south, hopefully making it to a town just north of San Juan Del Sur for the night. I´m not sure when we´ll have internet access again, so I just wanted to drop a line before going off the grid for a while.
Highlight of the day, besides the waves, was a group of howler monkeys we encountered while driving a dirt road through the jungle after our surf. They make a booming moan that echos through the jungle and would scare the crap out of me if I hadn´t had a car´s worth of metal between me and the them. As Skyler eloquently put it, it´s a sound that makes your balls shrink.
I hope all is well with everyone. Hasta luego.

Hola

Last I wrote we were about to leave Managua in search of surf. We drove first to Puerto Sandino, and then just south to the small village of Velero. In Valero we had a nice first session at a left point. That morning, my right foot was pricked by rocks, sea urchin, and a cactus. Other than that, the start of our trip was going very smooth. We had a great sunset surf session at the beach break inside from the point we´d surfed earlier. The water is about 80 degrees and the air about 85. Perfect.
We camped our first night on a piece of ocean front government land in Valero for free. The woman in charge wrote us a note in Spanish granting permission to camp. At night, after a change of the guards, we were approached by a man with a sawed off shotgun. Fortunately, the many people we´ve met carrying shotguns have been very friendly. We showed him our note and he gave us a big smile and left us alone. We had a great 3 hour surf in the morning at the beach break. We were all sort of trickling in, when Kris, on his last wave of the morning, got whacked by his board, gouging a decently sized hole in his lower lip. We drove forty five minutes to the town of Masa Chapa, where we hoped there would be a clinic.
We found a clinic, walked in the door and showed the nurse Kris´ cut. She sat him down on the bed beside her and went to work. Within 10 minutes of arriving, Kris was all fixed up with four stitches, two on the outside of his lip and two inside. We asked how much it cost. ¨nada.¨ In and out in 10 minutes at no cost. In America, we still would have been waiting to fill out 30 minutes worth of paperwork.
We got a palapa on the beach and had a lunch consisting of three lobster, a large, whole fish, and tacos, plus beers and soda, for 10 US dollars. An expensive meal in Nicaragua. We surfed right out front after lunch.
Not liking the tourist vibe of Masa Chapa, we headed further south to La Boquita.
We surfed La Boquita in the morning, had another amazing lunch on the beach, surfed again, then headed south. What was going to be a short drive turned out to be over four hours of offroading on roads later described to us as impassible. Our host at our current location, who has lived here for 10 years, has never met anyone who drove through this road. The only traffic we met were several people on horseback and some cattle. The road was rough, to say the least. We forged five rivers in the car, putting the four wheel drive to work. We passed through remote jungle villages consisting of several tin huts, the children running out and chasing the car with big smiles on there faces. We would stop and Steve would hand out packets of colored pens and paper he made for the trip.
We finally made it to El Astillero, where we stayed for the next two nights. For 12.50 US, we got rooms, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Whole fish or fresh chicken for lunch and dinner, fresh eggs for breakfast. Rice and beans with everything. We would drive 20 minutes to a pristine beach that is a preserve for sea turtles for surfing. It was a magical place and we appreciated our four hour stays on this beautiful beach.
The only concrete plans we had on our trip were reservations in Las Salinas, the surf hub of Nicaragua. That is where we are now. After surfing by ourselves thus far, we are now accompanied by about 30 other surfers for every session. But we are enjoying it, knowing that we are seeing every side of Nicaragua. Though, we will be happy to get back to remote beaches and camping.
That is all for now. I hope all is well with everyone.

Nicaragua!!! Gullible is BACK

Hi all

I am at the start of a new journey. Kris Van Gieson, Steve Neff, Skyler Vella and I landed in Nicaragua last night and stayed near the airport at a Best Western. We´ve rented a car and are finally about to leave the familiar and enter the unknown. Stepping off the plane and smelling the air and feeling the tropical humidity, I felt a rush of excitement as the reality of my three month adventure finally settled in. All is well thus far. I have no time to write anything else, because we´re about to leave in search of surf! First stop - Puerto Sandino.