Not been traveling much, but I will update my blog when I actually do some traveling. I have almost a grand of printed materials coming my way at the end of the week. Once I have them in hand, I plan to put Desperado back on the truck and head down to Costa Rica and Panama, and then finally back up to El Salvador to distribute the materials.

Thanks for the visit...Nicolas

Surf Tours Nicaragua provides tours of the uncrowded surf in northern Nicaragua, where there are over 25 surf spots within striking distance of our base camp in Leon. The north coast is relatively undiscovered, and thus provides an opportunity for surfers to experience what surfing in Central America was like 20 or 30 years ago.

With Surf Tours Nicaragua </a>, you get the “local knowledge” that will allow you to consistently score good, uncrowded surf. We get you access to a number of different surf spots that otherwise would be prohibitively difficult to access on your own. If you would like to surf waves that few have surfed and would like to check out what the north Pacific coast of Nicaragua has to offer, start by checking out some killer photos , then head over and check out our packages at the Deal . Finally, get in touch with us for reservations and information . We hope you can come spend a week with us that may change your life.

Surf Tours Nicaragua remains copyright of the author NicaNic, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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http://www.dalepuessurftours.com

and send me some clients so that I can continue this adventure!!!

Much love,

Nico

Forgot remains copyright of the author NicaNic, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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After a few days hangin' in PDX with my cousin, I headed over to Seaside for a couple of nights of hard partying and surfing with Blaine and his dad David. Two nights were all that I could handle with those fellers, and it was time to get over the hill to Bend for Jim and Megan's wedding festivities.

The wedding kicked off in proper style with a beautiful ceremony at Black Butte Ranch under the cover of a forest fire that was burning just behind the ranch. It really had us all worried that we might have to evacuate, but with a little luck, they got the wedding done, and we all enjoyed the reception to the fullest!

After Bend, I was off to Ashland to start preparing for Annie's wedding on the 8th of September. I got there early in the week expecting to be put to work, but instead, I was just put on the sauce! Eric had a couple of friends in town from Michigan, so in true form, I got on the piss with them in early celebration of Annie's marriage. When the wedding day finally rolled around, I was definitely ready for it. The ceremony was INCREDIBLE, and all went as planned at Clint's place out on the Little Applegate. Thanks to all that contributed and showed up for this incredible joining of two beautiful families!

Another week passed for me in Ashland, including a fishing trip to the lower Rogue with Dad, where I caught the only Salmon of the trip, a few days of visiting grandmas and the rest of the fam, and now I am back at PDX, ready for my return to Nica.

I bought a new 6'1" board that I am pretty excited to use when I get back, and from what the surf report has to say, I am definitely in for some good waves upon my return. Just gotta get myself from Managua to Poneloya, and I will be all set in no time!

More adventures to come!

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Lots of things here in Nica have been moving along quickly. Over the course of the past couple of weeks, a number of opportunities have fallen in my lap, some of which I have jumped at, and others I have had to turn down. Didn't I say that Nicaragua is the "land of opportunties?"

First, I finally came up with a winning idea for a business here in Nicaragua...and of course, it involves my new found love of surfing! I am in the process of developing a surf tour company here called <a href="http://www.dalepuessurftours.com">DA'LE PUES SURF TOURS</a> that I hope to get off the ground in the coming months up on my return. Follow the link above to see what its all about. As well, I have taken over a magazine that a buddy of mine has been producing for the past 6 months here in Leon. Harry his heading back to England, and his business partner Adam wants out of the mag, so over the course of the next few months, I am going to take it over and see what I can make of it. It is far from a money-making proposition, but something that will keep me busy and that I can enjoy...hopefully!

I have been offered three managerial positions as well, all of which I was forced to turn down, as I want to put my energy into the other ventures that I have taken on. One was a hostel manager here in Leon, and the other two are managerial positions for two different surf camps north of here. Although they are all good opportunities, and things that I might consider for the future, I really want to put a ton of effort and time into <a href="http://www.dalepuessurftours.com">Da'le Pues</a> and LeonEazy to see if I can make them successful ventures.

I have been surfing a ton, of course, chillin' with McKenzie, relaxing in my hammock, and getting in touch with the community here in my spare time. Things are going so well that it is scary at times!

All for now. More from the US in a while.

Nico (my Nica name!)

Heading Back Home remains copyright of the author NicaNic, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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After a few nights at the beach with Josue, Olin, Ofelia, Bridgit, and a few other friends, everyone departed except me. With Josue's emphatic blessing, I decided to stay on in Poneloya/Las Peñitas for a while. Turned out that I stayed longer than just a while!

With Nicaraguan surfing buddies on the horizon in the brother's Lenin and Rafael from Las Penitas, better waves than I expected, and a beautiful house to stay in compliments of Josue, I decided that I had better stay on for a bit to see what I might discover.

I was able to take the camper off the truck and leave it in Josue's driveway, so that gave me the freedom to move about unimpeded by Desperado. I surfed the break at Penitas almost everyday, and got to know the local kids there better with each day surfing. Other than that, my days were spent reading, writing, engaged in a war with bats, swinging in my hammock, walking the beach with McKenzie, and just basically chilling out!

I spent one night in Puerto Sandino hangin' with my friend Jlili, who was nice enough to put me up in her family's hotel there. I only had a short session at Punta Miramar, as the waves were SUPER heavy, and breaking over a reef that was intent on drowning me!!!

I got down the road toward Popoyo and the competition early the following morning.

I made it to Popoyo after a rough travel day, but was VERY excited at what I saw when I arrived. The swell picked up quite a bit over the day before, and the crowds for the competition had not yet filled in. I connected up with the brother's Rafael and Lenin from Las Peñitas, and their friend (and Josue's) Bridgit, and we surfed the beach break at Popoyo and LOVED it!

I stayed for the next couple of nights at my buddy Chip's place in Las Salinas, about a 20 minute, grueling drive from the breaks. Samir, Chip's pseudo son and his girlfriend, Ashley, were there chilling, getting ready for the competition. Samir's preparations paid off, as he won the competition for the Nicaraguan Nationals! Nice work, buddy.

After a hard night of partying on Saturday with Lenin and another buddy of the brothers, I had to get up early on Sunday to head to the CR border as my vehicle permit expired that day, and I needed another one. The drive in the morning was a killer, especially with a lasting hang-over, not to mention the time and frustration of the border!

Although it cost me a fortune and the better part of the day, I was able to cross the border of CR and return the same day with a new vehicle permit in hand lasting for the next 30 days.

I was disappointed to only get 30 days, not 90 that I thought I would get by heading to the CR border, but I was happy to have done the process in one day, rather than having to stay in CR for 3 days, which is mandated by Nicaraguan customs and aduana.

I headed into SJDS after hitting the border, and was not disappointed by this shithole, once again. I had a hell of a time finding a place to stay where they would accept Kenzie, as they were afraid of her infecting their houses with fleas (more likely that their houses infected her), and ended up staying in a TERRIBLE room that cost me more than I wanted to pay for such luxury.

I did get a chance to surf Playa Maderas in the morning on my way north, which was fun, although it definitely left something to be desired in the waves. Good experience nonetheless, as I hadn't surfed there since I actually am able to surf, finally!

After my lovely night in SJDS and my night of partying in Popoyo, I managed to catch a wicked cold that drove me home early from the south back to Poneloya where I could take up my chill lifestyle of rest and relaxation.

Viva La Vida Tranquila!!! remains copyright of the author NicaNic, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Instead, I hung around for a few nights, visited Las Peñitas with Josue and his buddy Jordan a couple of times for surf sessions, and reminisced with old friends about fun times, and then I was finally off to find my Nicaragua beach with the break of my dreams...all to myself. Yeah right!!!

While in Leon, Lizzy and I decided to go our separate ways. She had been plagued by chronic ear infections, and thus was advised by her doctor (her dad) to not swim anymore, which is essentially impossible for her as a devote water baby, so she decided that it would be best to head inland. Therefore, she was off for Granada and I off to the sea.

I ran across Hotel Chancletas, via a recommendation by my buddy Chip, who I met my last time here in Nica when I was traveling with Blaine and Tacy. Chancletas was rumored to have some of the fastest breaks here in Nica, and a good point break to boot. I was pretty keen to check it out.

Although the place was packed to the gills when I arrived, I really never felt the pressure on the waves, as there were countless peaks up and down this beach for people to spread out on. Although I stayed for a couple of days, the beach breaks weren't working that well, and the point was a 100 cordoba ride from the hotel, so I decided to keep on movin' to find a cheaper and less crowded spot.

Back in Leon for the night after having decided that it was a good idea to extend my adventure until December. After having decided that it was probably best that I return home in September to continue my masters program, I changed my mind and think that it is a better idea if I take a good hard look at my options, at which I realized that having made it this far down, I would be a fool to rush home after only spending a short time here.

Therefore, I was off again to find a good beach with a point break to my liking and hopefully no crowds. I was off to Puerto Sandino and Miramar to hopefully find both of these.

Although the surfing at Miramar left something to be desired, I was hopeful that I might be able to rent a killer house on the ocean for a month of rest and relaxation and a break from the grinding beat of traveling in Desperado. Unfortunately, after four days of looking, I came up empty handed, but I had some fun surf sessions in the area, and really enjoyed getting to know this beautiful little fishing village for a while.

I still think that a visit to Miramar again when there is a bit more swell might be worth my effort, as the left point there called La Jamaicana really could work well with a decent sized swell and might produce some barreling lefts for LONG rides.

Alas, having struck out, I was off again down the road to a place that I had been in the past with a surf camp by the name of Los Cardones, where Blaine and I stayed when he was visiting.

I flew down the coast and made it to Los Cardones in no time flat. When I arrived, I realized that management of the place had changed, and they had little interest in my budget shenanigans, so I made haste down the beach to Comunidad San Diego, where I was hoping to find a house to rent and get a look at the famous Punta San Diego that sits right out front of the largest single development in NIcaragua, Gran Pacifica. Although this monstrosity proves to be a nuisance to surfing the point in the future, for now it is barely off the ground, so there are few people around providing pressure on the wave.

The swell when I was there was pretty bleak, but I was able to catch a few rides in the morning after I stayed on a vacant lot in San Diego, and was luckily able to find a house that I am considering renting for the next month or so. Due to a terrible forecast for swell, I decided to get on the road again and to some more exploring.

I drove from the Montelimar/Pochomil/Masachapa area down the coast on probably one of the worst roads in the country to Casares. Although I was able to find some beautiful beaches along the way, and stumbled across what proves to be another imposing development along the way, I found very little in the way of waves, so I didn't stay in Casares more than a few minutes to have a beer to wet my whistle.

Due to my drive down the beach (literally on the beach for about 5 km or so), I was now significantly south of where I had planned to be, so I ended up having to go through Managua to return to my northern route back to Leon for festivities for La Dia de la Revolucion.

I got a call that my buddy Josue was in Miramar, so I made haste back there to find that he had already left, but I was lucky enough to find my friend Yili there who was interested in a little beach time. I was looking for waves, but was disappointed to find a lake-like ocean when I arrived back at La Jamaicana. No worries, though, as the swell outlook next week looks decent, and the end of this week is filled with fiestas with friends in Leon.

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The setup was pretty killer, with ShErin camped right across the way from us at a place just down the beach from the break called Roots. Later, we were joined by a couple that I had met in Nicaragua six months previously. Aaron and Amy were on their way north to Mexico on an extended return to the US after almost 2 years on the road.

Sean, Aaron and I had a few good nights of booxin' that eventually chased all of us down our respective roads due to the pain we suffered the next morning. After that little experience, we each individually signed off alcohol for periods, some longer than others.

With a week logged at Sunzal and an ever-growing confidence on the wave, the ShErin and Nizzy crews headed off down the road, further south in El Salvador in search of another place that would suit our surfing expectations for a few days. We found Las Flores, just outside of El Cuco.

The setup at Las Flores was pretty killer as well, as we were camped about 20 meters from one of the premier surf camps in the world. The land next to the surf camp is still owned by a Salvadoran, so we were able to park and camp there for just $5 a night each, rather than the minimum $100 a night that they are getting at Las Flores Surf Camp.

We only stayed 3 nights there at Las Flores before heading on down the road, as our timing was not the best to catch good surf. My first morning out was pretty good, but I was just getting to know the wave, and then the waves went to shit the rest of the time we were there. The Nizzy crew headed on down the road in search of Nicaragua sessions, while the ShErin crew remained at Las Flores trying to catch some good surf there and decide if the Honduran border is worth the pain.

Our pain at the northern Honduran border was plentiful. After 4 plus hours of waiting, we finally made it through the border just before dark. That left us with a dark drive to the other border, some two and a half hours down the road. Although tension was high in Desperado, we did make it to the Honduran/Nicaraguan border in time to get into the country and find a place to stay on the Nica side.

After over 6 months away, I am finally back in Nicaragua, and I couldn't be happier to be here. The feeling here is remarkably different than the other Latin countries that we have been through. Nicaraguans can easily be mistaken for trying to take advantage of you (like their other Lain counterparts), but in nearly every circumstance, in my experiences, they are simply trying to help out of the kindness of their hearts. The adjustment is a bit of a chore, but I am once again in the process of accepting generosity at face value, rather than assuming ill-intentions in everyone. What a breath of fresh air, indeed!

After staying near the border, Lizzy and I made it down to Leon, where I began my last Nicaraguan adventure. We sorted some things on the internet, and then made the decision to go our separate ways, as Lizzy has been plagued by ear infections and can't seem to stay out of the water when we are at the beach (who can blame her), so therefore must go inland, while I on the other hand am TOTALLY surf focused for the remainder of the trip.

With the winds of change a-blowin', I am here in Leon deciding my next course of action and catching up with some old friends from my last stay here. With any luck at all, I will find myself staying in a private residence somewhere on the coast of Nicaragua with a surf break just outside my front door, while I enjoy a bit of relaxation before I return to the US.

Nicaragua...or Bust!!! remains copyright of the author NicaNic, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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After much persuasion and a relaxing day at the hot springs in Zunil, I was able to convince Christina to head to the beach for a bit of a surf. We found a place where we could drive right to the beach and stay just off the surf break (Los Pinos) outside of Sipacate.

We had a surf the evening we arrived, but it wasn't until the next morning that it shaped up enough to catch a few waves. Although I was frustrated with the quality of the beach break, I had a blast catching waves and riding right up onto the sand. After a couple of sessions, we decided that we were pooped enough, and motivated to get closer to the airport for Christina's departure in the morning.

Although we tried to stay away from Antigua, we ended up back there after getting a little lost trying to find a village in the hills above the city. We were disappointed to return to the city, but ended up enjoying it much more than our previous stay, considering that McKenzie was well, we stayed in a nicer hotel, enjoyed a nice dinner outside of the tourist area, and even had a bit of time to pick up some souvenirs on our way out of town.

I got Christina to the airport in time for her flight and promptly returned to Antigua (7th time in/out of the city) to collect Lizzy to head to El Salvador (8th and final time in/out of Antigua). We didn't quite make it to the border, but instead decided to stay the night back at Los Pinos before making the charge for the border...

After a fast border crossing, we headed down to El Zonte to meet up with Sean and Erin to continue the surf journey.

Sean and I had a sunset session at El Zonte, but decided that it was not worth sticking around for unless it got much better in the morning. When it failed to get better, we got on the road to head down to La Libertad to outfit, and then try El Sunzal to see if it is handling the surf any better than El Zonte.

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When we found ourselves stuck behind a large truck making a delivery, we decided that we would have to back up the hill that we had gone down and wait for him to move before we could pass. Easy, right? Well, it turned out that it was easy until the very end, when I backed the side of Desperado into probably the most expensive car in Guatemala (actually, without a doubt), that belonged to one of the local politicians running for mayor, who apparently could afford the Volvo truck because he is running drugs with it (we found that out later, but it makes good sense).

The damage was actually pretty severe, with one of Desperado's legs having left a 18 inch scratch/dent down the bed of his truck. Of course, it was parked outside of his political office, so he and all of his cronies were there to witness the event and ensure that we didn't try to get away. This is where it really gets interesting...

No insurance is available to people traveling through Guatemala. They must figure that all the cars (excepting this one) are so shitty that there is really no need to repair them in the case of an accident anyway. Just my luck that I found a nice car, eh? So, with no insurance, it became my responsibility to take care of the damages through monetary reimbursement. After much arbitration, we finally arrived at the following agreement:

1. 2250 Quetzalis (equivalent of $300US)
2. my Ipod and all attachments (equivalent of $200US)
3. my favorite hat (right off my head)
4. a promise to return to San Pedro and enjoy the place more the next time (yeah, fucking right!)

With that behind us, we finally did have some time to enjoy the town, although Christina had not been feeling herself. A quick check with the internet and she isolated that the lack of sensation and ability to move the muscles on the right side of her face are indicative of Bells Palsy...a VERY serious condition caused by stress. She has begun a regiment of drugs that will hopefully clear the symptoms up here shortly...we hope!

Ok...our luck has to change, right? After a couple of days enjoying the lake with little in the way of drama, we are out of here and heading further into Guatemala in search of tranquility and a illness, accident-free lifestyle!!! Wish us luck!

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On a positive note, the Howlers did get us up and on the road early, with out earliest start yet at a quarter after six. Lizzy and I made it to Antigua after our longest day of driving yet. We had planned to stop at Tical, but with an estimated 10 hours of driving ahead of us, we decided that the prudent route would be to leg it directly to Antigua to secure decent accommodations for the night. Due to widespread road construction here in Guatemala, the trip took much longer than expected, especially getting through Guatemala City.

We arrived just in time to meet up with Sean and Erin at a little place called Cafe No Se. Our patron there, Steve, took us under his wing that night and was nice enough to educate us about Agave and its "medicinal" benefits, much to our chagrin the next morning when we woke up on the street outside of Sean and Erin's pimpin' pad.

The night was a blast, with many large first stories having been told and a basic education on agave having been gleaned. The biggest lesson that I took away was that Agave is equally as dangerous as its older and "more cultured" brother Tequila!

I collected Christina from the airport the day following the agave night and was lucky enough that she was as bushed as me after nearly 24 hours of traveling to get here. We returned to Antigua after collecting lost luggage from the airport and found a decent little spot to stay for the night.

Our plan was to get out of Antigua straight away, but McKenzie fell under the weather with what turned out to be a pretty serious condition, so we have been in Antigua for a bit longer than planned, which is definitely not all bad, as this city is absolutely incredible. Definitely the gem of Central America!

With McKenzie on the upswing after a heavy dose of antibiotics, we are on our way to the peace and tranquility of Lago Itatlan.

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Our time in Placencia was SUPER chill, in part due to the chill atmosphere here, the cost of the Belize in general, and partially due to a wicked ear infection that Lizzy developed from too much time in the water. Poor thing...apparently the doctor was winging when he took look inside her ear canal due to the exorbitant amount of blood and yuck that had developed and the state of hear ear in general.

Despite those factors, we managed to enjoy our time, relaxing, walking the path into town, doing a bit of fishing, and a LOT of swimming. We ate good food, played with the local children, enjoyed the mellow atmosphere that prevails around here, and generally just CHILLED out after a couple of weeks of traveling.

We decided that it is time to get moving, as we are about 14 hours from Guatemala City, and still have some sites that we would like to visit between here and there. Therefore, we are back on the road on our way north, and eventually west, and then back south to get to Guatemala City and Antigua, where I will meet up with Christina and Lizzy will hopefully meet up with Sean and Erin again for the coming week.

We are staying about 15 feet from the sea under a couple of palm trees on a beautiful stretch of beach just north of the Placentia Center (if you can call it that).

Gotta get outta here before we never leave!!! remains copyright of the author NicaNic, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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After leaving San Cristobal, we headed further up into the mountains, and then back down the other side to a sweet place called Agua Azul, complete with waterfalls, rope swings, rivers with overhanging trees, etc.

We spent the night there after a long drive, enjoyed the sights and activities during the day, and bolted to head up to Palenque, the Mayan Archeological sight in the middle of the State of Chiapas.

Before heading up to Palenque, we made a stop at an incredible waterfall in the Misol-Ha park, and swam our little hearts out, jumping through waterfalls, off rock cliffs, and around the pool at the bottom of a beautiful 100 foot waterfall in the middle of the jungle.

After a LONG day of swimming and messing around, we headed up to Palenque and found a place near the archeological site to stay so that we could visit it in the morning for a day of tourism! Yeah!

Palenque turned out to be better than we thought, much to our surprise, and with the assistance of a guide that we hired for an hour "quick paced tour" through the site, we were able to invest a minimal amount of time with a maximum amount of "trourism." This turned out to be a good decision, considering the heat and the usual "bore" of archeological sites!!!

After the morning at the site, we made a last minute decision to head to the Caribbean coast and down through Belize before entering Guatemala, whiich would require a long day of driving but allow us to see another country, not to mention another ocean.

With a little luck, we made it all the way to the coast, and to a little dot on the map called Bacalar, which was on a BEAUTIFUL lagoon. We stayed in what was probably the most idealic setting that I have experienced thus far, before continuing north and east to the REAL Caribbean coast.

After doing a bit of laundry and getting things dry in Bacalar, we we set off up the coast and east to a Peninsula that looked to be a piece of heaven. I even had dreams of surf near Majahual, but I soon realized that this was totally unrealistic as we WERE in the Caribbean.

We blazed all the way down the Peninsula to Xcalak, where we stayed for part of the night until we were chased out by heavy winds and forced to move north closer to Majahual.

We had a best a fitful nights sleep, and so Lizzy and I were both motivated to move on from the peninsula, although without the gale-force winds this part of Mexico could easily be one of the most beautiful we have seen.

We shot down to Corozal with the intention of crossing the border into Belize, but we found that we had missed our opportunity, as the mexican Aduana was closed for the day by the time we arrived. It worked out well, though, as we stayed just north of Chetumal on another lagoon, where we enjoyed evening and mornng paddle sessions on the water.

The next day, we were all set to cross the border, but had NO idea of what we were in for...

Despite shenanigans at the border, including about a hundred bucks to get Kenzie into the country, we finally were on our way south to Belize City, with the intention of a night in the city to get our party on!

We located an excellent place to park the truck (thank to Lizzy) right beside the Radisson hotel, which provided us with luxury items such as pool, a/c'd toilets, etc. for the evening and the next morning before we continued further south.

We had a bit of trouble finding a decent place to have drinks, but finally stumbled upon a pool hall that had decently priced beers and some interesting characters to chill with. This gave us the green light to get our drink on, especially with chilled Belikin awaiting us...we paid for it in the morning, though!

Although a bit hung from the night before, we managed to get ourselves all the way down to Placentia the same day, but that is about all we accomplished, aside from finding a camping spot that is right up there with the best. We are staying about 15 feet from the sea under a couple of palm trees on a beautiful stretch of beach just north of the Placentia Center (if you can call it that).

Onward Ho! To Belize... remains copyright of the author NicaNic, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Nonetheless, we did have a good time surfing the next morning with our buddy Antonio, an 11 year old that we leant a board for a morning whitewater session. He really seemed to have some good potential, as he was up and riding on his firsts session...that is more than I can say for me!!!

After just one night there, and with shitty weather on the way, we decided to make the trek up to the mountains to San Cristobal de las Casas for some temperate weather and sight seeing in the mountains.

Now we are here trying to decide whether we should head back to the beach, as Lizzy and I are both missing the ocean (can´t say the same is true for McKenzie...she got her personality back after only one day in a more temperate climate...I thought she had lost it to teenagehood, but it turns out it was just the three months of blinding heat that were affecting her).

San Cristobal is a sweet colonial city high in the mountains, with a cool climate, where pine trees abound. We are planning a few hikes and waterfall discovery sessions before we get out of here and either head back to the beach or further inland to Palenque (archeological sight) and maybe around the Yucatan before we head down to Guatemala where I will meet up with Christina for a week of Guate discovery. Can´t wait!!!

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After a mellow first night, a group of guys showed up in an identical setup to ours and ended up staying for the next few nights with us. Those nights are still weighing on me, as it was a combination of an Englishman, an Aussie, and an American that LOVED their drink. Although awesome surfers and good guys, we had to head south after three nights on the piss with them to dry out.

I caught some good waves at Chepehua, although it was pretty bumpy and wind affected the whole time we were there. Unfortunately, due to a big night with a bottle of tequila and a persuasive Englishman, I didn't make it out for what turned out to be the best day while we were there...argh!

Definitely good times with Charlie (English), Ben (Aussie), and Nick (American).

Lizzy and I are now on our way south again, possibly to Puerto Arista, but we may take a little trip inland, as the waves are being heavily affected by some storms that are looming offshore of Southern Mexico right now.

Gotta get!!! remains copyright of the author NicaNic, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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As I have yet to be abducted by a drug baron, I thought I'd take an
opportunity to send you all a note to say hello and an update on the
Central American adventures. I apologise in advance for the group
email and as I haven't done much work on editing the address book,
apologise to those who simply aren't interested.

At the moment I'm writing from Salina Cruz which is about 1200 km
south from where I arrived in Zihuatenajo (Mexico). We had a week of
surfing around Zihuatanejo and I then had an incredible week in the
inland mountain city of Oaxaca where I was able to enjoy some slightly
milder weather (dropping back to the early 30s during the day) and
heal some nasty surfing injuries including a severe case of
water-logged ear. The local contemporary art scene is one of the most
vibrant and imaginative I've seen and the local markets are worth the
trip here alone. I could easily have spent another week bartering
locals out of next-to-nothing for their amazing crafts.

I took a bus back to meet up with my travel partner Nick and black
labrador McKenzie in Puerto Escondido and somehow ended up on one of
the buses normal frequented by villagers moving chickens from one town
to the next. The bus driver masterfully negotiated one hair-pin turn
after another whilst listening to the latest Mexican pop sensation
'Miguel' full-blast, plus chain-smoking and chatting to his friends
for the entire 10 hour drive. At one stage I was sharing my seat with
half of a 10-strong Mexican family. All in all it was quite jolly
until I climbed over Maria the goat to find I had been driven to the
wrong town. Those nasty Mexicans with their non English- speaking ways
had viciously taken advantage of my very poor Spanish and put me on a
bus going only vaguely towards where I needed to be, and then in true
Mexican style, tried to swindle me out of 300 persos ($30 bucks) to do
the 3 hour bus ride to my destination (quite rough, given the original
ticket was only $10). I stomped my foot and yelled a bit which told
them the little 'yellow-haired one' was in charge and got myself back
to Puerto but have concluded the old Spanish needs some serious
polishing.

Anyway we took off southwards again and hit some very famous surf
breaks: Barra de la Cruz being one of them. That night we pulled in
quite late and found the entire place booked out by bloody Australian
surfers! I don't know where they come from given the population of
Australia is only 22 million. Anyway, the place is a protected turtle
preserve so couldn't do our usual beach front park. We found a
building site which was level enough so set up for the night and hit
the hay. At around 2am the first of the Big Storms hit, marking the
start of the wet season. I have never heard thunder so frighteningly
loud in my life; the whole place seemed to have turned into a giant
firework display. McKenzie and I were cowering together through the
night (although she was much more scared than I). We awoke to find the
campervan in the middle of a giant lake and most of our bits either
floating downhill or covered in a thick layer of an intoxicating
mixture of goat shit and Mexican mud. We then found an amazing beach
called 'El Mojon' which translates to 'the turd', where we were able
to dry everything off. We were very glad to meet a lovely English
couple who had an amazing custom-built house overlooking the beach and
being somewhat deprived of civilised company they took in McKenzie the
labrador (and after much whining outside, Nick and I), and and gave us
a shower (bliss!) and even several glasses of wine which, after a diet
of Sol beer and lime, was a true luxury.

We've since headed further south again and will spend 3-4 days surfing
the breaks around Salina Cruz: Punta Conejo, La Bamba etc, until we
head south towards Guatemala. The beaches are absolutely incredible
and certainly give Sydney beaches a run for the money ... I saw a
manta ray just yesterday and the other surfers spotted a bottle-nosed
dolphin. What will really frighten everyone is that I'm waking up at
6am most morning and have even been hitting the hay as early as 9.30pm in the evening.

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After our night in Esco, we decided that a short travel would be nice, so we headed about 45 mins north to Roca Blanca. I had checked the beach the day before and found that it was a place that both Lizzy and I could enjoy. Beautiful white sandy beaches, and potentially good surf awaited us.

I was disappointed to find that the surf was less than good, but we did have some fun playing "rich" when we found the house of Grabriel Orozco, apparently a famous artist, was just up the hill from the palapa that we found to camp by. We were officially toured about the property by its caretaker, which was excellent, and we even had a dip in the pool that sat ON TOP of the house before we left the area.

I had a couple of surf sessions in Roca Blanca, but they left much to be desired, so we decided to hit the road and head south of Escondido, back to Barra de la Cruz.

Decided to hit Barra again, which turned out to be a bit of a nightmare. We went back to Escondido to provision and didn't make it out until pretty late, which put us in Barra around 9 pm. Unfortunately, the gate was closed, which left us with no place to crash for the night.

We found a decent spot just outside the gate, but didn't expect the INCREDIBLE rain storm that hit later to wash down the hill and form a puddle under the truck that evening. The rain was so hard that when I went outside to get Kenzie, she was laying in a puddle about 8 inches deep after only 10 minutes of rain. The thunder claps shook the camper and set Lizzy a' screamin' through the night!

In the morning, we found that we were in the bottom of a mud puddle, and began the process of cleaning everything that had weathered the storm outside the camper, which sent us up the road to another beach with less crowds and more sunshine!

We arrived to El Mojon, feeling a bit like drowned rats after our first rain experience of the trip. We were a bit slow in getting everything out of the rain the night before (lesson learned there), so we set up lines on the beach in the sun to dry all of our stuff.

I surfed at the adjacent beach to Mojon that morning and then again at El Mojon in the afternoon, but the swell seemed to have the wrong aspect for both points after the storm.

We met an awesome English couple on the beach that were living just down the way. Kevin and Tess were nice enough to let us come by their place for a shower and then were even NICER ENOUGH to feed us and get us a bit pissed on white wine that they had brought back from the highlands the week before. Thanks guys!!! All this thanks to McKenzie, who developed the relationship through their three boxers that they have living with them.

In the morning, another poor surf session led to our departure, but we first took the liberty of pulling the "Playa El Mojon" sign out of the ground that marked the entrance to the beach, with the permission of Kevin and Tess, of course!

After a bit of a drive from El Mojon, we arrived in the Salina Cruz area and began our wave hunt. Because the coastline is so easily visible from the road, we were able to easily find a few ridable waves, although we didn't take advantage of them right away.

On the advice of the locals, we didn't stay at Punta Conejo, where we really wanted to surf the next morning, and instead opted for Punta Congrejo, about 45 minutes up the road.

The morning brought an interesting adventure trying to find gas before we were able to relax and find La Bamba, a nice jetty break, where we spent the remainder of the morning and most of the afternoon surfing the right.

After a long day of surfing at La Bamba, we were on our way back to Punta Conejo, when we happened up on a road that looked like it headed to the beach. We were pleasantly surprised to find that it indeed did, but not before we had to cut a path with the top of the camper through overgrown brush on the road.

Nonetheless, we were rewarded with a pristine beach with what looked to be a beautiful left point that we would tackle in the morning. After a big spaghetti dinner, we were off to be before 10 (tricked Lizzy into going to bed early... finally) and up early in the morning to check the surf.

We realized in the middle of the night that rainy season is upon us when we had our third night of thunder storms followed this night by a bit of light rain. Sure makes a mess.

After a morning session on the hardest wave that I have surfed yet at Excondida, we were out of there and back on the hunt for the perfect combination of camping spot and a good break!

Heading South...or is it East now? remains copyright of the author NicaNic, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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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!

Been a while...sorry for slacking! remains copyright of the author NicaNic, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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So I have been in the biggest city in the world, Mexico City (aka Districto Federal) since Saturday night, and I have to say that I have about had my fill. It has really been great, though. Cristina has been an incredible hostess, has showed me the ropes of the city, and I actually feel pretty comfortable here now.

A couple of days ago, I headed to the center and visited La Basilica, the largest of the churches here in DF...yeah, I know...another f'ing church, but the views from the top were pretty incredible. Yes, Brooke...I now know what you meant when we were looking out over Barcelona, and you said that it reminded you of Mexico City!

After La Basilica, I officially got ripped off by a cabbie and drove all over the city for 45 minutes for what should have been about an 8 minute cab ride. Pero, I finally arrived at the historical center called the Zocalo, where I visited the Palacio Nacional. There, a famous artist (I think Diego Torres, but that could be a pop artist) has painted a number of murals depicting the history of Mexico, especially the Mexico City region. This was definitely the highlight, as the murals are incredible, as is the history of the region...check some of that out on the internet if you are interested...I promise you won't be disappointed.

Yesterday I decided to get the rig out of storage and take a trip out of the city. I visited the ruins at Teotihuacan, which is a couple hours outside the city, and was formerly one of the largest pre-Aztecan settlements in the Valley. Definitely interesting, but in the blazing sun, I only lasted a couple of hours...I do what I can at all this touristy bullshit! At least I made it there for a visit, right?

We had planned on a baseball game last night, but after a long day in the sun, I didn't exactly feel up to it. I have decided to make this my last night in the city, and will head NW to Zihuatanejo and return to Saladita tomorrow. I am SUPER stoked to get back there and try out my new skills on that ever-so-forgiving wave!

Today was definitely the highlight of my visit here, as I was finally able to make it to Cristina's school for the morning. She showed me around a bit, showed me some portfolios, and rekindled my desire to return to the US in January to finish my masters...so that I can teach internationally! Thanks for the good times Stina!!!

Out for now. Much love.

Nick

PS - Made a posting on Craigslist for a travel partner...you might get a good laugh out of it if you search for it and are able to find it!!!

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Pics, Pics, Pics!!! remains copyright of the author NicaNic, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Just a few pics from the industry!!! remains copyright of the author NicaNic, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Coming down to it... remains copyright of the author NicaNic, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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We have been chillin' in Barra for the past week or so, basically JUST surfing. I have put in daily-double sessions for the past week, and have actually come a long way, as has Justin. We are both riding green water with ease, catching head-high waves from time-to-time, and having a blast. I would like to say that I am "slashing" off the top of the wave, which was my goal at Barra, but I didn't quite make it there...but I am close!

We are now back in Puerto Escondido for a couple of nights of partying before we part ways. Justin will be heading south (east) to Guatemala City, and I will be heading north to Districto Federal. I will spend a week or so in DF visiting friends, and trying to sort things out for the rest of the adventure. From DF, I will probably return to the coast so that I can once again hit the epic waves of the west coast before I head down south and finally leave Mexico.

McKenzie is still in good health, and loving life. She has become quite a wanderer at night (one brush with a near-loss situation), so I have really cracked down on her and even tie her up at night to keep her from wandering off. She LOVES the beach, and is really mellowing out about me being in the water when I am surfing. I think that she even was calm enough the other day to take a quick nap!

All for now. Much love and more to come.

Nick

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puerto escondido. that is where we have been for the better part of 3 days now. very cool surf town of roughly 40,000 people is famous for the zicatela surf break. this beach is also known as the mexican pipeline, for its resemblance to the famous pipeline of hawaii. without further explanation i will share that i did not attempt to surf this. we did however find good surf, oh yes, i almost forgot... i am surfing again! ribs mostly healed up i am out on the water. and doing alright. this is a tough sport. the biggest challenge seems to be location. be in the right place at the right time. see the sets roll in and get where you need to be. its a learning game. i like short sentences. cheers.
anyway, from where i left of last, saladita, we drove to this very remote little fishing town called puerto maldanado. i dont think they see gringos here very often. we were sort of a spectacle but everyone was friendly as we stuck around for a couple nights. most interestingly this area has a pretty good african influence so many of the mexicans are not of the usual brown skin color but actually black. just a interesting thing as once we left this area and traveled south a couple of hours this african influence is not really seen.
so that gets us back to puerto escondido. like i said, cool place, i like it a lot. met some canadians right of who turned us onto a rv camp spot right in the kind of touristy part of town for about $3 a person per night. a small price to pay for a shower. so that night we decided to go out for a drink or seven. straight off we met 3 aussie girls. really nice girls all 23 years old who have completed law school in australia and are now doing some traveling before returning home to careers. they actually just got done with winter resort jobs in vail, co. got me thinking about snow again. i miss it. but who can really complain about a cold night being 72 degrees. so while nick was shopping for a new, shorter, surfboard we also got to meet a local shaper who has been repairing boards in the area for many years now. his name is miguel rodriguez and his is right up there and one of the coolest people i have met. very laid back, but also energetic. just a local ripping surfer turned boardshop owner/ board shaper. to date he claims to have repaired over 40,000 boards. incredible. so cool thing is this guy made nick a deal on a brand new board for 3400 pesos, or about 320 usd. this board would probably sell for 500 back home. so he is stoked. i bought a shirt. 150 pesos well spent.
so after days of saying we are leaving here and not, today is the day. we have some tips on some good surf spots south and we will hit the road. 13 days remain. i hate to count down like that, its just how my brain works. i plan to make the most of it. at this point we are still making surfing the priority. so the coast may be where we stay. i will try the catch us to ya´ll in another 5 to 7. now get out there and enjoy whatever weather you may have.
out.
justin.

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The following day, with Semana Santa finally over, we were able to have a peaceful day on the beach, without the crowds that we had been fighting for the past week. We surfed the left point at Maldonado, which was decent, but really nothing to write home about due to onshore winds that kicked up in the afternoon. We decided to stick around another night in hopes of an EPIC dawn patrol session that never actually happened. The swell in the morning changed direction completely, so the point was in no shape for surfing that day. With the surf blown out, we decided to make some tracks down the the infamous Puerto Escondido. With reports of big swell arriving, we were excited to get to Escondido to see some rippers on the "Mexican Pipeline" which is apparently the fastest wave in the world.

Monday found us bumping around Escondido, getting out legs under us, trying to find a suitable place to stay. As luck would have it, we bumped into a Canadian couple that were camping right around the corner from the internet shop where we were stationed. The spot was perfect, and right off of Playa Zicatel, which is pipeline. We heard reports almost immediately that there were pro surfers and their entorage (sp?) of photographers in town that would be hitting the MONSTER waves in the morning that were pounding Zicatela that afternoon.

After boon-docking it for a while, Justin and I were pretty excited for a night out. We met three Ausi girls at dinner on our way out, and ended up partying with them 'till the wee hours of the morning Monday night. Apparently the day of the week has no consequence for partying here in Escondido! What luck! Yesterday started a bit slow as we didn't make it to bed until after 3, but eventually, we found our way down to the beach and watched some of the surfers at Pipeline doin' their thing! Pretty amazing shit, to say the least.

With plenty of motivation from the pros, we spent the afternoon at Playa Carrizalillo (yeah, that's a mouthful even for the locals) surfing and hangin' in the sun. Kenzie got a bath last night after surfing, so she is like a new pooch, and has really taken to her new nickname, Kooke! For those of you unfamiliar with surfing, a kooke is the equivalent of a gaper in the skiing world, which is essentially a shitty skier. I decided that I would call Kenzie Kooke until I am actually not a kooke.

Today, we started with a dawn patrol session at Carrizalillo, but the swell was less than favorable, so we are all packed up and heading down the road. Next stop east of here is supposed to be a wicked little right point break called Zipolite, and something like that.

Cheers and peace!!!

Nick

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hello and welcome, and thanks for reading. so we spent a couple days in this tiny village outside of puerto vallarta called yelapa. this village is only accessible via water taxi as there are no roads in. they have only gotten power in the last 4 years. very interesting. so after our stay there we moved down the coast through a couple little surf spots only to find incredibly huge waves. far to big for our intermediate skills. while staying the night at a surf camp called nexpa, we met a couple from colorado who had a similar camper/truck set up and had been traveling for the past 10 months. good advice came in the form of a surf spot a little further south called saladita. this place is a dream spot for surfers. unfortunately i had taken a tumble surfing a couple days prior and banged up my ribs. pretty good too. so this past 3 days i have only been able to view the great surf, not partake. pretty bummed. make that really bummed. i tried to go our the other day but the pain was a little more than i could stand. so here i am reading maxim and soaking up the sun, while taking in a few beers. last night nick and i went out for a little night life. though none was to be had. we found a little bar with ping pong and as nick went to get the ball he got tagged by a scorpion. this little guy got him right in the foot. the local woman assured that he would be okay, that it is just painful. the venom made its way up his leg causing significant pain through the night and into today. enough that he skipped his morning surf. so neither of us are surfing this morning thus we are going to pack up and go south again. this time its to the southern end of acapulco. hopefully my ribs allow me to surf again in the next few days.
for those who dont know yet, i am coming home. its offical. i bought the ticket a couple days ago. april 25th out of guatemala city. i know i know. thats not nicaragua. but i cant stay away the time that would be required to get there. our agenda is very up in the air and i dont even know what i will see in the last 19 days of this trip, but what i can count on is that i will be in guatemala by the time my flight leaves.
so that is all my friends. take it easy, i am.
cheers-

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