This time I think it`s for real, but I`m done stressing about where and when. For now it`s back to the beautiful wave that took my world class wave virginity, this time by bus and boat. Might stay a whole week there, as it looks like a pretty hearty swell is coming on Thursday and lasting into the weekend. It`s a funny thing, waiting around for swell to arrive so that you can go score the wave just outside of town. On the one hand, I`ve been able to surf a pretty manageable Zicatela with a couple really, really good sunset sessions that saw flawless peaks breaking over complete glass. On the other hand, it`s hard not to feel like my limited time to see this amazing part of the world is passing by while I`m sitting on a thumb chair. I`ve learned a lot, regardless, and hopefully we get some really good face time next week. I`ve got a feeling that the waves we are about to get will be worth all the simmering we`ve been doing in this pressure cooker. It is really goddamn hot right now.
With a new guitar in hand, thanks to Raoul the German hulk`s incredible string of bad luck which included a mugging, a deep laceration, and a cataclysmic episode involving the hostel`s high velocity ceiling fan and my first guitar, I am off to re-discover paradise with a new crew of international wanderers. I`ve got travel chess, a new book from Robbie the Irishman entitled Love in the Time of Cholera, and a journal that is half empty. The green is cheap, and the thrills are cheaper; sails up!
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Last day in Puerto
My bus leaves in an hour and a half, and I´ve tied up all of the loose ends that my mind can muster. I missed the Aussies when they left this morning, and I´ll say goodbye to Eric when I jump into a taxi in front of our beloved Hotel Villa Mexicana. I´m more than ready to hit the road again, but I´m gonna miss a lot about this slow little tourist paradise. I don´t imagine that I´ll ever eat as cheaply and as well as I have for the last month, and I don´t think that getting surfboards repaired will ever be so fast and painless. Fifteen bucks for a cracked rail on an epoxy skin board! Sorry about that one Victor, I think that I´ll just end up buying this board off of you.
I´m really gonna miss the brothers Fernando and Emencio who watch over the hotel. I got so wasted last night that I don´t remember pounding on the gate to wake up Fernando to let me in, and I owe it all that fun loving Mexican´s generosity with his primo mezcal. I´m also going to miss the burrito place with the best juice to hit this digestive tract. On some days I´d order pineapple, banana, and strawberry, on other days I´d get something like apple, pineapple, and lime, all blended with ice and orange juice. I´m going to start a mobile juice bar when I get back stateside and use the cash to fund a coinciding tour of the coast
Managed to get down to Barra de la Cruz, which is an amazing place, and though the surf we got wasn´t perfect the potential of the place smacks you in the face. Took some pretty hairy drops there, one of which taxed me for a couple of my own hairs which I later found in the crack in the board caused by a violent encounter with my shin. I swear I felt the big barnacled rock brush my ass a couple times, and even a couple surly locals hooted for me as I paddled for do or die rides. Some other guys just shook their heads at what they saw as complete recklesness, and after thinking about it for a bit I decided that with the hospital so far away and my life so fresh, maybe the glory is not worth the risk. Of course we left Barra on Saturday the 19th, the day after we arrived, and three days later I heard from a local bigwig that Sunday was really good and devoid of people. Documented travel lesson #1 : let the herd go its own way if you´ve got greener pastures in your sights. Oh well, at least we got to play chess at Cafe Babylon and spend travel funds on beer.
The real jewel down here is the sleepy fishing/mexican vacationer town of (insert name here). Jaime, the expat Puerto veteran who looks over the sweet house that sheltered Brandon, Jeff, Colin and myself, told us about the place and we went there not knowing what we would find. The good lord really took his time on this one; absolutely beautiful, reasonably priced, and the wave is perfect. Went there twice, with the first trip bestowing upon me the best ride of my life on a perfectly shaped ten foot wave that was like a big steep neverending ramp. The second trip gave us a different look at the place, with the swell coming in from a bit more to the west creating perfect aquatic cylinders for those able to wrangle them. I certainly tried. That time was with Colin, John, and Natalie, and we lived like royalty in a concrete cabaña atop our ever attentive host Carlos´ own home.
Oh shit I hope I don´t miss my bus. I´m off to barrel riding school with the travel chess set that I bought at a toy store for 25 pesos. It´s got backgammon and checkers too, so I´m sure I´ll have a pretty easy time making friends.
I´m really gonna miss the brothers Fernando and Emencio who watch over the hotel. I got so wasted last night that I don´t remember pounding on the gate to wake up Fernando to let me in, and I owe it all that fun loving Mexican´s generosity with his primo mezcal. I´m also going to miss the burrito place with the best juice to hit this digestive tract. On some days I´d order pineapple, banana, and strawberry, on other days I´d get something like apple, pineapple, and lime, all blended with ice and orange juice. I´m going to start a mobile juice bar when I get back stateside and use the cash to fund a coinciding tour of the coast
Managed to get down to Barra de la Cruz, which is an amazing place, and though the surf we got wasn´t perfect the potential of the place smacks you in the face. Took some pretty hairy drops there, one of which taxed me for a couple of my own hairs which I later found in the crack in the board caused by a violent encounter with my shin. I swear I felt the big barnacled rock brush my ass a couple times, and even a couple surly locals hooted for me as I paddled for do or die rides. Some other guys just shook their heads at what they saw as complete recklesness, and after thinking about it for a bit I decided that with the hospital so far away and my life so fresh, maybe the glory is not worth the risk. Of course we left Barra on Saturday the 19th, the day after we arrived, and three days later I heard from a local bigwig that Sunday was really good and devoid of people. Documented travel lesson #1 : let the herd go its own way if you´ve got greener pastures in your sights. Oh well, at least we got to play chess at Cafe Babylon and spend travel funds on beer.
The real jewel down here is the sleepy fishing/mexican vacationer town of (insert name here). Jaime, the expat Puerto veteran who looks over the sweet house that sheltered Brandon, Jeff, Colin and myself, told us about the place and we went there not knowing what we would find. The good lord really took his time on this one; absolutely beautiful, reasonably priced, and the wave is perfect. Went there twice, with the first trip bestowing upon me the best ride of my life on a perfectly shaped ten foot wave that was like a big steep neverending ramp. The second trip gave us a different look at the place, with the swell coming in from a bit more to the west creating perfect aquatic cylinders for those able to wrangle them. I certainly tried. That time was with Colin, John, and Natalie, and we lived like royalty in a concrete cabaña atop our ever attentive host Carlos´ own home.
Oh shit I hope I don´t miss my bus. I´m off to barrel riding school with the travel chess set that I bought at a toy store for 25 pesos. It´s got backgammon and checkers too, so I´m sure I´ll have a pretty easy time making friends.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Al sur antes de la viaja al norte. Necesito mas español
Travels north have been delayed in favor of heading to Barra de la Cruz, the famous right pointbreak lusted over by regular footers around the world. In an hour our international crew boards a luxurious taxi that will take us right to the gate of the little fishing village overlooking the wave. A bit of haggling by Eric the Spanish king of tranquilo brought the price of the one way drive down to 200 pesos each, which is a chunk of cash down here but not much when still living off of paychecks delivering western wages. I´ll spend two to four days there, most likely saying goodbye to Michael and Joel the Australian players as they head for the airport and their respective destinations, and then its back to Puerto to regroup and head north to Pascuales. If something else happens...
Hope this whole blog thing doesn´t slowly drain my soul through my eyes and fingers.
Hope this whole blog thing doesn´t slowly drain my soul through my eyes and fingers.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)