Nicaragua...or BUST!!!

Back to PE to pick up Lizzy and get on the road again! Ended up sticking around for the Monday night festivities before taking off. Lizzy and I had another big night out in Esco before we left that included many cervezas, dancing, etc. before we called it a night sometime after 2 in the morning. Made the next morning a bit late and a bit rough, so we only made it a little ways up the coast to Roca Blanca after doing our town chores.

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!

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!!!