Mexico

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!

Yo,

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!!!

Here are a couple of pics from the past week or so. Some fun ones, I think!!!

six weeks in the books, one more to write still. and the plans are changed. nick doesnt want to leave mexico yet and i have a plane ticket for a week from today out of guatemala city. so here is the plan. i will travel 1-alone. and 2-by bus. both new to me so it is certain to not go smoothly.
so to recap, we left escondido and drive south to hautulco. there is an awesome surf break to the south another 30-40 minutes called barra de la cruz. literally a world class point break. when the waves are big it attracts some amazing surfers. luck for us the swell has not been huge. in fact its been a little too small at times, but we have fun, and are still learning a lot. so we have been at this spot for almost a week now. we just met a cool guy from switzerland. his name is marcelo and he is now traveling alone as his travel partners have all returned home. we actually invited him to travel with us for a few days and he will accompany us until saturday when we all go out separate ways.
here is the plan. we will remain here outside huatulco for another day and a half and on friday drive back north to puerto escondido. we will stay the night there friday and have out last big party together. maybe a beer or two. saturday we may put i may get my final surf in the morning then i hang in pto. escondido for the day. nick will be off toward acopulco, to meet a friend of his from mexico city who will accompany him into the big big city. i will be getting on a bus that evening to tapachula, a town near the boarder of guatemala. the next morning i get a bus to antigua, gt. this city should be very cool and i will hang out there for two nights before i make my exit, and return on wednesday the 25th.
so thats about all i have. surf surf surf. cheers.
-justin