the last 2 weeks in Costa Rica

hello world. I'm just chilling in my office chair on a Sunday afternoon right now. Rafa just walked in and offered me a beer, but its too early in the day for me right now if you can believe it. OK, I just caved in. He asked me again and I said yeah the second time. I guess he knows me well. And yeah its Sunday.

I'm logged in to last.fm right now (by the way I suggest that you check out last.fm if you haven't, its awesome internet radio customized to what you like)
I typed in "Boogie Down Productions" and am now listening to a combination of ("thank you Rafa. Salud" he just brought me an ice-cold Imperial and YES its Sunday!), anyways I'm listening to a combination of KRS-One, Eric B. & Rakim, EPMD, really old school hip hop. The beginnings of it all. Very chill.

Yesterday we listened to Radio Dos all day long in the truck (I'll tell you about that surf trip later), 99.5 FM, Costa Rica's gringo radio station aimed at the retired ex-pat, was the station with the least static, and of course this is Larry's favorite radio station ever. He can't help himself and despite repeated requests to keep his grubby paws off of the volume knob or scanner button, he's all over the radio. I am amazed by his ability to name every artist though. In the car yesterday I decided that if I was ever on that show where you get a lifeline and if I ever get a question having to do with crap 70s and 80s music, I'm calling Larry up before I even hear the question. He probably relived a few high school anthems from early 1980s Torrence during yesterday's drive, but I did catch myself singing "Take These Broken Wings" somewhere outside Samara. We surfed for Larry's mother yesterday, celebrating five years since she passed away from cancer. It was a beautiful day of driving through the Guanacaste countryside and surfing great waves, I'm sure she would have loved the music too.

On Saturday March 14th, near the peak of the big 4-day south swell we received last week, George Chatzopoulos drowned while surfing in El Salvador. George was the brother of Katie Chatzopoulos, a past WRSC guest. A lot of us at the camp dedicated the next day's surf session to him. Surfing takes people from you sometimes, and it is sad.

Without family where would we be? We'd have a lot more free time to be much more irresponsible, that's where. I'm happy I have kids, it helps keep me in check. I love my my family, I am totally stoked.

Here I am giving Otis a bath.


And here I am with Happy, playing with our Christmas antlers. In our house its always Christmas, or until we finally get around to take the tree down.


I got home from California and Holly showed me this video she took of the boys dancing to Bob Marley. Happy isn't yet 14 months old and he's fully walking, trying to jump, getting knocked around by his big brother a lot but definitely standing up for himself. He has no fear, while Otis is quite cautious. Its going to be fun watching them grow up together.



Its getting easier all of the time for me to be a parent, I'm finding more and more time to chill out with my kids. I wake up somewhere between 6 and 630am each morning because Happy wakes up early. Otis and Holly sleep in longer, Happy and I chill in the tv room and watch channel 73. I check the surf, stretch, play with Happy and his toys, check out the news, drink a coffee, chill on the deck with Happy looking at birds or sometimes monkeys right above us. Lately we have had this random group of cows showing up around dawn each morning and eating the WRSC flowers. I find myself downstairs in my boxers at 6am chasing off cattle, a pretty funny sight for the hotel guests I'm sure.




Otis officially started preschool on Thursday March 12th. By Monday March 16th Otis had officially completed preschool. Holly realized how much time she had been spending setting up her new organic market, to a point where she and I are both working every day and she wasn't spending the time she wanted to spend with the boys, so she pulled him out of school after only two days. Its tough to have a part time job doing something you're passionate about, trust me I know. I wish I didn't have to work as much as I'd spend more time hanging out with my family (when I wasn't writing stupid blogs of course)

DIRECTIONS TO PARADISE:

Last weekend and this weekend have been all about surf touring on the Nicoya Peninsula, Guanacaste, Costa Rica. Even if you flew down here and rented a car with a GPS and had some really good maps, I'm pretty sure you'd still get lost.

If you know where this sign is, you're less than half an hour away from a really good left point break that was going off last weekend. Larry and I surfed by ourselves with overhead 150 meter lefts to ourselves. It was out of a movie, just dizzying.


Here we surfed another left point break that only breaks on big south swells. I'm pretty sure that if you go searching up into the Gulf of Nicoya you'll be surprised at what you find.


A local beach-cantina owner hooking Larry and I up with cold beers and plenty of rice and shrimp.


Lots of river crossings.


WRSC stickers are also good for vehicle repairs when your truck breaks down in the middle of nowhere.


The Nicoya Peninsula is special to me in the way that California is special to me. Maybe it has something to do with that whole before / after mindset, after having lived in both places for long periods of time. I was worried for a long time that Costa Rica was changing too quickly, but now that the world is in a full-on recession I'm quite certain I have quite a few more years to chill out and enjoy the countryside.




Yet another sheltered cove along the Nicoya Peninsula. I have been calling this place my home for over 8 years now, maybe you can see why? All of this plus really good waves.


I'm riding my new 5'9 Hynson Black Knight Quad I got from Boardworks, its seeming to be working out quite well. I'm still figuring out my footing and waiting on an order of traction pads we just made for the surf shop. I figure that a traction pad on this fish will help me rip like Sean Mattison... at least I could wish for that.

I am shipping a container from LA to Costa Rica at the end of this month. If you want a surfboard(s) please tell me which boards you want so I can give you a price and tell you when I will have them here.

Yesterday Larry and I took the 3 interns on a day trip through Camaronal, Nosara and Marbella. I figured it was about time they saw something outside of Tamarindo. I was amazed that Cory and Reggie can go down the line on head high waves after only surfing for 6 weeks. Tommy is lagging a little bit, probably because he's super tall and missed a couple of weeks with that whole appendix removal thingy.

It takes Tommy 12 beers to get drunk, so being 6'8 has it's advantages too. This photo reminds me that I'm pretty sure an internship at Witch's Rock Surf Camp is the best way to learn hands-on about running a business while having a good time. If you're serious and willing to work hard in exchange for learning about business and how to surf, email me. Our next internship starts on May 1st, 2009.

Now today, Sunday, after great waves yesterday while Tamarindo was flat, after tons of bad 80s music with the Larry sing-along, and after ingesting about a pound of dust, everyone is chilling back in Tamarindo. Holly held her Pura Vida Health organic market yesterday and again today and is about to close up shop. I'm taking some cucumbers to the eyes with Otis in hopes of soothing the burn. Lots of sun and salt water day after day. I think I should check in with an eye doctor just to make sure I don't have any permanent damage.


My parents just flew down to WRSC last night. A week from today Otis turns 3. We're planning on turning the old boat in front of WRSC into a pirate ship for the birthday party as well as building a swing set for Otis and Happy on the property next to WRSC. There have been some canons going off outside and a tope (horse parade) is now passing in front of WRSC. Here's Chilo, our boat captain, cruising by on a horse.

Reality: you'd never see a parade of drunk ticos on horses with canons in front of an Economy Rent a Car in America.

I wish it was football season, I could use a Charger game right about now.