Been a while...sorry for slacking!

So after I left the big city, I headed down the hill and stayed one night on the side of the road in a place called Ciudad Altamirano...a REAL shithole! I was fine with it though, as I knew that I was quickly approaching one of my favorite spots in all of the world...Zihuatanejo and the coast to the north. I made a quick stop in Saladita, and then headed onto The Ranch promptly.

The Ranch...Yeah, hung here for a while! After I hit Zihuat to stock up on food and the necessary shit, I headed to Saladita and just wasn't getting the right vibe. I was bummed that the waves were small, so I headed to El Rancho, where I heard the waves were bigger. I was pleasantly surprised when I arrived to find that they WERE!

I stayed long enough to find a travel partner in Elizabeth (aka Sophie) and really start to get my feet under me on a left point...and then I lost my feet...and then I got them back! Really loved hangin' at The Ranch with Tina, the crazy German chick in the VW Bus! She was awesome and quite a good surfer as well. I learned much from her.

I was rewarded many times with epic lefts at The Ranch, both inside and outside. Had fun surfing with a bunch of different groups that moved in and then out of the ranch while I was there. Beginning with Bud and his crew, and ending with Charlie and his girlfriend, the people there were part of the highlight.

Really, apart from the good surfing, The Ranch had the most incredible camping spot that I have come across. There was a perfect spot for the hammock, plenty of shade for the truck and the campsite, and we were literally a stone's throw from the ocean, which was evidenced many times as I entertained Kenzie by throwing her ball from camp into the ocean. Good times had by all, but alas, we needed to move on...I guess?

Lizzy and I headed down the coast like bats out of hell to our first stop (can't remember the name), and found a kickin' camping spot right on the beach with a decent fishing spot and what turned into a fun surfing spot as well. Lizzy caught her first "real" waves there, and said that she caught the surfing bug full on! We shall see!

The next night was spent a ways down the road at a place called Playa Ventura. It was a total bust of a surf spot, but a beautiful beach with incredible scenery. We watched the "Red Tide" and it seemed that there was lightning shooting through the waves as they broke, but were FAR too big to interact with. Good times, though.

We arrived in Puerto and got lucky enough to bump into Shawn and Erin, whom Justin and I had met previously in the trip. We had a night out with those two that included plenty of boozin' and a bunch of good dancing as well.

Erin was planning a trip to Oaxaca, which Lizzy ended up signing up for, which left just the boys on our way back north (yeah, again) to a break where Shawn had spent a couple of weeks. Chacahua ended up being pretty epic!!!

Shawn and I headed for Chacahua with out essentially identical set-ups and camped at a place where he had been for the past couple of weeks prior to Erin's departure.

The wave at Chacahua was definitely the highlight of the adventure. Although it really didn't pick up until the day before I left, I had some SUPER fun rides in-between, despite small swell. Got my feet back under me going right, which was nice and will be good preparation for most of the waves from here on out, which will also be rights.

Although I liked Chacahua, I was eventually chased out by the heat and the mozzies! The place is incredible, but a bit on the "surface of the sun" side for me, especially with no shade, breeze, or aircon.

It was SUPER cool to get to hang with Shawn, and he and I definitely had some fun. Apart from the constant surf and camper conversations, though, I really don't think that we covered much else! That sufficed for a week, so we will have to see what else comes out of the woodwork if we get another chance to hang.

Wow...I just realize that I have not posted for nearly a month...what a slacker, indeed! I promise to be better about it going forward! Lizzy and I are meeting up this evening here in Puerto Escondido, where I have returned, and will be making decisions from here. I have to be to Guatemala City to meet Christina in the middle of next month, so I had better get my foot-draggin' ass headin' south pretty fast here to make sure that I make it in time! More to to come of course!