Big swell coming to California

I'm hopping the 8am flight to LAX, I'll explain everything tomorrow

God I hate not having Chargers football to talk about on a Monday morning

hurry up and relax

maybe its because I feel a little stress these last few days, like for example right now I'm filing my sales tax for January for the surf camp at 9 at night with a surf camp restaurant packed to the point of no-more-tables-sorry-what-can-we-do and instead of being out there, or upstairs watching tv while Tico Hendrix is playing, I'm in the office doing something I should have done a week ago, or that I should have figured out how to get someone else to do for me a week ago. whatever, its up to me to get it done. A great way to spend a Sunday night, right? I'm so stoked the camp is so busy and wish I could be meeting the 45 new surf camp guests that arrived yesterday. From what I hear everyone seems pretty cool thus far. Last week was a great week full of lots of really nice guests, many of which booked their next trip to WRSC while they were here because of our new "book before you leave and get 20% off of your next trip". We know this place is like heroin and you need it, we're just trying to make it easier. I decided to leave the surf camp compound and spend Saturday night in Avellanas at the beach house with the family, my dad, chris natalia larry valerie plus then Mark Tucker's crew. Avellanas sunset surf session, then beers, pasta, my shitty guitar and a few more beers. This morning we just cruised. Having kids is an always kind of thing, and this morning they were up at 630am and playing toys on the bed and on my head and Otis was doing whatever he could to wake me up. That was rough. Today has been a long day, but looking back at the last week I feel good because a lot of good things happened. Here I am chilling with my dad Friday night, just hanging out shooting the shit and a "hey look here I'm taking a photo" comment and-

I blogged about trying to get some music down here for the surf contest this coming weekend Feb 21-22. I went to school with the guys from Switchfoot and mentioned them and BAM Chad Butler emails me and then next thing you know they're staying here after a show a couple nights ago in Guatamala and surfing a bit, tomorrow they're going out on the boat to Witch's Rock and Ollie's Point with Ricardo. I used to love driving the boat to Witch's and Ollie's and I miss it. I don't go nearly enough now that I live in Tamarindo, but I guess I surf down here a lot more than I used to when I lived in Playa Coco. This last week the waves were really fun right out in front of the surf camp. I feel I can talk about it since the swell direction, tides and wind all changed, so its not like you're going to read this and then be out there tomorrow. Besides, if you were it would be fine because the rivermouth is going to suck tomorrow. Or maybe it isn't and I'm just trying to confuse you. Maybe I'm just rambling. All I know is that the Tamarindo Rivermouth can be firing at times and there will be nobody out, then at other times it can suck and be really crowded. It definitely helps when you live nearby and can watch it throughout the day, and then when its good just disappear from work for an hour or two. Thats just the best. I was getting lots of rights off of the sand bar and getting some little tubitos or trying to bust shitty airs.

I don't normally do airs, probably because I never used to really know how to do them. Lately I've been figuring them out a little bit. The offshore winds pretty much blew the board out to outerspace, I shouldve been grabbing the board and flipping it back into the wave. At least I can do that on Kelly Slater's Pro Skater video game but yeah thats different than real life. At least I can still get 30 free lives on Contra Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, B, A

Magnum Martinez autograph signing at WRSC tomorrow 5pm - HAPPY HOUR 5-9PM with big drink specials

sand castles

Otis and I spent about an hour watching the sunset last night, building sand castles. The weather has been great, the surf has been great, life in general has been great. I'm pretty tired from surfing so I'm having a 3pm cruda to wake me up, that should help. Town is pretty dead, the surf camp is packed. This Saturday alone the surf camp has 15 dropoffs and 28 pickups, the house is going to be rocking. I'm feeling really fortunate as the rest of Tamarindo is really slow. I can't say THANK YOU enough to all of our supporters, guests that come back again and again. We appreciate you immensly, you are making all of this possible. Thank you.

So, about my interns... well, Tommy had to be driven to San Jose in an ambulance to have his appendix removed before it burst, so that was interesting. They've been giving English classes to our employees, which has made them very popular at work. I've gotten them surfboards and lessons and expect that in three months we will have turned them into surfing machines. Does anyone know how long you have to wait to go in the water after losing an appendix? just curious.

The waves have been excellent, I'm so stoked. It just doesn't get old. This whole surfing thing, I'm really starting to like it. In-and-out little right-hand tubes off of the tamarindo rivermouth, nothing like surfing your home break and getting exceptional waves. I'm glowing from 2 hours of sick surf this AM. The last few days have been great, the wind finally went onshore today for the first time since well before those wind storms from last week. Right now its high tide and there are some fun waves rolling in, I'm just too tired to surf. Its nice to see great waves and hardly anybody surfing.

Mark Tucker and his skate posse from Atlanta are in town, skating the local skate park and going to some big skate park tomorrow somewhere near Arenal. I'm going to put a bunch of videos and pics from their trip on the blog in the next couple of days.

Anyone want a 1986 VW Westfalia? The one that was living in front of the camp for the last 18 months. Its the same year that VW released the Syncrho and you could pretty easily switch out the transmission for a 4WD transmission. Just think, a 1986 VW Westfalia 4x4 as your surfing vessel in Costa Rica. I wish I wasn't so busy but I am, otherwise I'd be doing the work and gearing up this van. The van runs but needs some minor work, but it already has import taxes paid. I bought the van from some Canadians that drove it down from Ontario. It can be yours for $4000 or just offer me $3500 because I'd take it. But don't offer me any less because I'll say no. You could offer me $3800 and I'd say yes to that too. Or trade me for something, that could be fun.

Snake vs. Cat

It started a few days ago when I heard this "meow" outside of my window. I went downstairs into the restaurant and found this cat up on the hot tin roof. I helped him down and he was off on his merry way. Then a couple of nights ago I'm in my bar having a couple of beers with Josymar and Carton and two of my very sweet middle aged female surf camp guests bring this cat up to me and proceed to tell me that it is pregnant and where should they put it? hmmm.... Where are you going? I ask. Across the street, to Frutas Tropicales, they say. Take it over there then, I say. They are shocked. Wait- I'm not the insensitive asshole you may think I am. I grew up with cats. My job growing up was the honorable cat box changer. We had three cats and three cat boxes, something I never truly understood. Now my parents have 3 cats and 6 cat boxes, so thankfully Cory has the job of cat box changer instead of me. My first real job was working in Tierrasanta at Casa de Pets, so its not that I was being insensitive. It was simply that I have a large snake living at the surf camp and think that a mother cat having kittens is pretty much a death sentence for the kittens and maybe also the cat. So I tell this to these women and they of course are now shocked that I have a boa living in the floorboards of my own house. When do you stop and realize its just different living in Costa Rica? Probably before you start talking about snake vs. cat.

The movie A Scanner Darkly was on tv again last night, that movie is a little eerie and I like it and I'm not sure why, but its evident that Cinemax wants me to watch it.

Cinemax shows this movie late at night with the idea that everyone who is watching it will more than likely watch the whole thing. If you fall asleep during it, like I did last night, your dreams go berserk.

Crazy CRAZY weather this last week. First we had the heaviest offshore winds I think I've ever seen in Costa Rica. The swell hit last Wednesday and there have been waves ever since, but Thursday and Friday were near impossible to surf. Not to mention that the internet was out for 2 days. It can be hard to run a business when the phones, electricity and internet go out. There were sand clouds firing up and flying along the beach, reminded me of Tatooine from Star Wars, with those crazy sand creatures. I sat inside wishing I could go surfing. I did get some waves Wednesday morning. I've been lucky that there have been photographers on the beach lately.

A nice little frontside cutback laying into the wave. I make the stupidest faces when I surf, its pretty funny.

I was surfing one of my favorite little reefs that I frequent this time of year. The swell is amplified by the reef and the trees hold up the offshore winds when its howling. On south swells there is a left that ledges up over a slab, I got a couple good ones including this nice little backside barrel. On northwest swells the right peels in and lets you have a lot of fun doing cutbacks. This day there were both lefts and rights. I only surfed for about 2 hours but I got enough waves. I would have surfed longer if I would have known that a wind storm was about to make surfing impossible until Saturday. Oh yeah, now that the water is freezing there are jellyfish everywhere. I surfed twice today and now I'm done. Done. I'm stung up so bad, my chest, my arms, my face... I can't remember the last time there have ever been jellyfish here, its like the apocalypse with these winds and then the jellyfish and ? It will pass. Things will normalize. At least the waves were good today.

I just bought ten new boards this week from Carton. Here I'm with Josymar (just won 4th at the CNS Nosara contest this weekend) and Carton in front of the camp.

I have 7 thrusters between 5'10 and 6'6, all brand new and all only available for rent for our surf tour guests. Don't sweat the incredible airline fees and worrying about not having a good board to ride when you're here. Besides thrusters and the sick WRSC fish boards (we have tons for rent), WRSC is going to be carrying some Walden epoxy 8ft and 9ft boards. Walden makes a good epoxy shape, light and rippable. I just surfed one the other day and I was pleasantly surprised. Its important to have good boards available, I understand that.

Regarding the WRSC web cam: OK, this has been an ongoing thing for some time. Lots of people, tons actually, use the web cam every day to check the surf, the wind, the sunset, the people on the beach, or anything else here in Playa Tamarindo. I've always hosted the web cam for free. I'm going to continue to do so, but there are some new additions. Check the web cam page on the website for more info and email me via the blog if you want a username / password to control the web cam. Let me know why you want it.

my new interns

I got an email a couple of months ago from some guys in college somewhere in Canada, doing a tourism leasure / recreation degree of some kind. I get a lot of emails like this and, since my email skills are weak at best as it is, I don't usually get a chance to write back to them. If it wasn't for Larry McKinney, new at his post in the surf camp office doing everything he can for everyone possible, these kids might not have had a chance at all. I told Larry to deal with it since I had too many things going on, normally an email saying "I'm sorry but we're not hiring at this time", but somehow these kids had their shit in order and next thing I know I'm receiving faxes from Fleming College in Ontario and having to sign (three times) on the dotted line. Yesterday I get home from the store with Otis and there they are. Three Canadians, 19 and 20 years old, never having surfed, never having been to the jungle, on my doorstep and ready to be the surf camp interns for the next three months. Here we go.

I decided to get a BEFORE picture so I could later compare it to an AFTER picture, from left to right we have intern Reggie, intern Tommy (all six foot 8 of him), intern Corey (supposedly interns have to have names that rhyme for lunatic business owners like me) and then Hazel. But she's the Restaurant Bar Manager, not an intern.

Today we had baby Happy's one year birthday party. It was at 2pm, and today had to be the hottest day of the year. One cannot rate birthday parties for one year olds in the same way one does for adults. After the piñata and the candy and the confetti, the kids were super stoked. This made all of the adults stoked. There were a few sodas and beer, super mellow, some cake and ice cream. Then everyone takes off and we chill out a bit and clean up and then the Super Bowl. Not a bad Sunday. Too bad the Chargers didn't win.

Theres a lot going on, I plan on decyphering it all tomorrow and then letting everyone else know. One big thing are the surf tours, there are four in the next seven months going to Nicaragua, CR/Panama, Peru and Indo, with people signed up on all four already. Let me know if you're interested as I'm about to post it on the next newsletter for the camp. If you're in town come by so we can surf as I'm going every day, besides that you can find me by calling the surf camp hot-line (or they can find me if I'm not there). The only thing you have to remember right now is that we're having the San Diego blues band Road Dogs (www.roaddogs.us) play on Tuesday night at WRSC, music starts at 6:30PM and there will be plenty of drink specials going on.

That movie Babel is really depressing. Does it get better towards the end?