Simple and Perfect and Good

Sometimes everything is just perfect.

Laying in bed right now with JamieD, who has been a confidant, a comedian and a wonderful partner in crime - I've cried on her shoulder, laughed with her until I could no longer breath, and run around with bulls with her at my side. We are sipping the BEST cup of coffee that I've made yet {purchased some grounds at Milagro, a roaster based out of Quepos} and we are watching the sun rise through the trees, listening to the ocean pounding the shore. Sometimes you are so content that you get a pain in your chest and throat, the kind you get right before a good cry or while you're reaching the peak of a great novel. I just feel so blessed for this perfect morning. So cheers to the simple things like a good friend, delicious coffee, and a sunrise....at the end of the day, this is what matters most.

"The aspects of things that are most important for us are hidden because of their simplicity and familiarity."
-- Ludwig Wittgenstein

Barrachas and Bulls.

Saturday night Jules and I played music @ El Vago, and ran it kind of like an open mic. It was super fun, everyone came out and I ate dinner for free! Hooray! Everyone was pregaming because there was a Rodeo here in town...and not just here, but a 30second walk from my front door! Up on Canada Hill there is a corral and I always wondered what it was for! Well, Saturday night all of Oeste headed up the hill to run around with the bulls. JamD and I were a little tweaked...a few beers and a few swigs of really amazing tequila that Shawn had brought me back from Mex. Jamie swore that she wasn't getting in the ring but after a few more beers sure enough she was in the ring. She slapped the bull on the ass, again. And then, I decided to join everybody in the ring. I sure as hell didn't slap the bull, I barely left the safety of the fence, but I still had some adrenaline pumping. After the rodeo the whole crew trekked down the hill and to Barrillito's. Bah. Dancing, dancing, laughing, and a bunch of barrachas! Made it home around 1:30am and cooked JamieD and I some breakfast burritos: bean tortillas, scrambled eggs, sliced cabbage with lime and cilantro, natilla, tomato, onion and garlic. Boom. JamieD was eating it and said "Mmm, this fish is really good. "Where did we get fish?". "Nice fish". I said "Jam, it's egg" about 5 times, and around the 6th time she goes "OOOOOh, EGG!". Decided to go without the alarm the next morning - a 5am wake up wouldn't be good for anyone. We slept til around 8am, laughed in bed as we recapped the previous evening, and then came downstairs - for round 2 of breakfast burritos!! Waves were crappy, wind was crappy, tide was crappy - so we decided to spend the WHOLE day up on the hill, just relaxing, swimming...and eating our faces off. Around lunchtime Pat came over, complaining of a hangover, so I whipped us up some rice and an asian vegetable stir-fry. Lunch was followed by a bag of Lays Sour Cream & Onion chips as well as an array of beverages: pipas, iced tea, pineapple juice, water and iced coffee. JamD and I napped for about 3 hours and then I made us cheeseburgers for dinner. I forgot that we had a TV in the house, so Jam and I put it to use last night, watching TV for several hours. We watched "Iron Man", a few episodes of "Rescue Me", and a slew of other odds and ends. Retired to bed and up this morning at 5:30, almost back on schedule, for some delicious french press coffee. Forgot to buy the dogs food again, so I cooked them scrambled eggs and rice. I teach yoga at 10am today, and until then we are just chillax'n by the pool. Pura Vida.

Mexico? Yes please.

Fire in the hole. JamieD and I just bought one way tickets to Ixtapa, Mexico. We arrive on Friday April 9th. Boom. The plan: Jamie will stay until the end of April. I will stay until the beginning of May and then hop in the truck/camper with Bill of BillsBoards {check out his blog: http://billboardssurfboards.blogspot.com/ } and drive from Mexico back to North Carolina and then fly home. "WHY?" you ask....Why NOT?!

Road Trippin'

Well, the swell has been here for the past few days and its been BIG. I feel bad for Karen and Bill, it's definitely not the best sized swell for beginner surfers looking to improve their skills. Oh well, you can't control Mother Nature. We've been having a bunch of fun cooking, eating, laughing, listening to music, playing music, doing yoga and surfing when possible. Yesterday they opted for massages, and JamD & I hopped a ride to LA ISLA for a surf excursion. La Isla is off the coast of Herradura, so it's a 35minute car ride and then a 3 minute boat ride to this left point break. We went with locals David, Andreas, Danny and Jonah. The boat dropped us off for 3 hours at a break which at first glance seemed to only be about head high and pretty mellow. There was 16 of us total in the water...and then the cleanup set came. Holy shit. JamD and me, scratchin for the horizon and got drilled by all 12 waves in the set. Humbling and got the heart-pumping! Three hours of adrenaline and intense sun and then we were back on the boat and headed home. David owns the restaurant AZUL in town, so we all went there for lunch and he made us a big batch of arroz con camarones, pollo y chuleta! Que Rico! This morning we woke up at 4am, had coffee and then trekked down the hill to load up Bretts car for our adventure. Karen, Bill, JamD and I paddled out at the point break in Quepos around 6am and for a few hours surfed some knee high to head high perfect left peelers. I was so glad that Karen and Bill finally got in a good, tranquilo surf session. Surf was followed by an outstanding breakfast and the best cup of coffee @ Milago in Quepos. Back at the house now and completely, utterly exhausted. Looking forward to some quiet time. Pura Vida.

Mi Casa

This is the house we've been living in for the past month. Only have a week and a half left, so enjoying every moment.

music in the kitchen.

jam and i drinkin pipas from our pipa tree!

kitchen table.

our pool.

upstairs living room.

5am sunrise...view from our bedroom.

6am sunrise from our bedroom.

Pura Fucking Vida.

Bah. So much so much so much. Karen and Bill Barlow arrived Saturday night just in time for fish tacos and then an early-to-bed night. Woke up at 5am, coffee club and then took Bill and Karen for a surf. They both know HOW to surf and Bill's pretty good, but they want to get better and become more comfortable in the water. Well, of course the waves have been small for a month and the week that they come in its supposed to be huge. Swell is filling in, and it looks like we are going ot have to find other activities to keep us busy. Anyways, successful surf session in the am and then Shawn left that afternoon. JamD and I hopped a surf session and then I was approached by the oh-so-talented Jules about playing music. Jules is from Canada and has been 'passing through' for some time now. In the past months he's been traveling around Asia and he's just a pretty cool dude that plays a meeeeeaaan guitar. Holy christ. Amazing. Anyways - we set up and played at Vago's for a wonderful audience, and we got paid in pizza and booze! PERFECT. Vago was pushing tequila shots at me all night, and silly me - I actually drank them!

Shit, I hate tequila.

But for some reason, I drank it anyways.

It was Karen and Bill's second night in town and I think that we all had a bit too much fun...godbless Brett aka Lagarto for driving us up the hill. I don't think I coulda done it. Wake up at 5am, waves are huge - Bill attempts to ride the bombs and Karen opts out. She made the right decision for sure. We had a delightful breakfast at Margarita's and then headed back to the house. Surfed again in the afternoon, some sloppy lowtide mush but atleast Karen was able to get in the water. JamD and I surfed the sunset session....bombing sunset session. I almost drowned twice because JamD is sooo goddamn funny. We are getting completely WRECKED by huge overhead sets and she has me laughing so hard I'm literally swallowing gallons of water everytime I'm getting worked because I cant control my laughter. Rushed back to the house because Jules was heading over to play some music and Karen was making dinner.


We had rice and roasted veggies with an outstanding peanut sauce, topped with some shredded coconut {thanks ma!} and then we had an amazing jam session. Bill plays guitar and sings and Karen plays the FLUTE. No bullshit. And absolutely outrageously talented. Wonderful dinner, Wonderful Jam, what next? CARNIVAL for the BULLS! Brett pulled up and in the car was me, JamD, Scottie and Tigre en route for the final day of the fiesta. Well surprise surprise, after a few beers Jamie is in the ring with the bulls {along with a handful of crazy drunk Ticos}. She never turns down a dare, so all it took was Brett saying “Go slap the bull in the ass” and she was off. From the stands I see this cute curly haired chica charging the bull, which is completely across the ring, and then slap the shit outta its ass! The crowd went WILD….she ran a lap around the ring and then charged the angry bull AGAIN and slapped it for the second time.

I was under the bleachers...close enough for some adrenaline, but safe behind the fence. JamD jumping on the fence, climbing for safety.

BAH. After that we hung outside of the ring and chowed down on some meat-on-a-stick. Drank some more beers then headed home.

We love meat on a stick!

Why are we drinking Pilsen? BAH : the devil.

Life is good when you eat meat on a stick.

Woke up 4 hours later, had some coffee and then headed down the hill for some surf. Well, waves were huge and all over the place so we walked back UP the hill for some more coffee and some pool/puppy time. Tonight is Mojitos @ LowTide and then bowling. As David would say…PURA-FUCKING-VIDA!

Hasta Luego Shawnie.

Shawn and me picking blueberries, 2008.

Shawnie is leaving today. First he's headed to California, going to stay with his friend Kevin and his wife Sue for a bit before leaving for Australia. It's a tough goodbye to swallow but I think we have the power to maintain the friendship we have and cherish. Safe travels Shawnie.

Piscina y Pilsens

The waves have been PHENOMENAL the past two days. I've been having a freaking blast!! Said goodbye to my cousin Jenny after yesterdays session, and unfortunately JamieD has been out of commission with food poisoning {thanks Nicaragua!}. Had another epic surf sess out front this AM, and after 3 hours of surfing Jeff Pace and I decided that our late breakfast should consist of cheeseburgers and beers up at my pool. Well I left the gate open and people kept flooding in. Shawnie, Jeff and Sharon, Scott and Pat joined JamieD, the puppies and I at the house for some R&R by the pool and some bomb burgers. Hopefully the wind will die down and we'll be able to get in a sunset surf session, but if not I won't be tragically depressed....my body could use a break. Tomorrow night Bill and Karen Barlow arrive for their "Cailin Callahan B&B" experience. Surfing every day for a week, eating delicious breakfasts every morning, drinking good coffee and doing yoga! Pura Vida.

Feelin' Fine @ 5am

Photos from last weeks coffee club.

It's 5am.

Last night caught a few waves before the sun set and then went to LowTide cause Roni was working and making her famous MOJITOS!! Had a few before heading back up to the house and making Jeni {my friend/neighbor}, Jenny {my cousin}, Shawnie, JamieD and me some killer BREAKFAST BURRITOS with fried plantains, rice and bacon on the side for dinner! Early to bed because...

...Alarm went off at 4:55am. I went down stairs and started up the coffee machine. Yes, coffee machine. Adam has my bialetti and Shawn left with the french press so I've been forced to use an automatic drip...it's tragic. Oh well. Anyways, came down the stairs - was greeted by the butt-wiggling puppy parade (+1, Mikey, a little dog that refuses to leave), started the coffee maker and then fed the dogs. Heated up some milk, made up 3 coffees and delivered them to the sleeping beauties. Coffee Club is in full swing, sitting in bed - shooting the shit, taking breaks to take our morning shit - and then back to gabbin'. Surf is gonna be early this morning, and I'm pretty sure that it's gonna be goooood. Pura Vida.

Just Another Day

Last night I had about 20 people over my house for music, pool, food and fun. I cooked up a big batch of chili, made hard boiled eggs, a pesto-tomato pasta salad and a curry chickpea pasta salad along with some freshly sliced fruit. Karen {of the wonderful restaurant in town, Aleamendro's} made an outstanding chickpea,cauliflower curry dish. Noah made some rockin mac & cheese, and Jeff and Sharon hooked it up with some freshly made salsa. We ate and laughed and hung out, and then got down to business. Mikey was on harmonica, Gary was playing guitar and singing, I was playing guitar and singing as well - and the highlight of the night was a newbie in town, Jules. Amazing. Amazing. Let me just emphasize this one more time...amazing. Tearing it apart on the guitar, singing his heart out - and playing some of the best accompaniment of all time. I played some originals that I haven't played in months, and they sounded the best they've ever been. Wow. It was a pretty early evening - everyone went to bed a little after 10pm. Gary was up at the crack of dawn, bags packed and I saw him off as he hopped in with Coki for the airport. Jamie and I had coffee club in bed, chatted a bit - then woke up Jenny for a surf. (Did I mention that my cousin Jenny is in town for a few days?). Tranquilo surf sess was followed by a trip into Parrita. Brett and Adam gave us a ride and we went to Ropa Americana {thrift store} for some cool goods and then lucked out with some badass earrings at a cheap little shop in town. Because we were with Adam and Brett we of course had to stop for beers...several beers. Got home, tuckered out - passed out for a half hour and now getting ready for an evening surf. If the waves aren't good - no worries...Roni's bartending tonight at LowTide and shes making her FAMOUS MOJITOS. It's my most favorite day of the week. Going to do some bowling across the street at Vago's but then rest up because tomorrow is a big day....SAINT PATRICK'S DAY! VaVaVOOOOM Pura Vida.

JamTime

Having a rough few days, so I've just been hanging at the house with the puppies. Visited Lee for a bit because he's house/dog-sitting next door. Went to the Rodeo for the 3rd time last night and enjoyed some more mayhem in the ring. I actually got into the ring last night, but took up safe haven under the bleachers. When I got back to the house JamieD had arrived back from Nicaragua. She had an amazing trip and it was great to hear her stories. Having Mike {harmonica}, Jules {guitar}, Gary {guitar} and me over for a jam session tonight, going to make a big batch of chili and two big pasta salads. Spectators are coming as well - bringing along some food to contribute as well. Should be a good time, especially because the pool is finally fixed and swimable. Hoooray.

Fugata.

This is my grande fugata {bonfire} that the boys built for my birthday. It was mostly Flacko {in photo} with a little help from locals Tigre + Carlos. Sorry it took me awhile to upload these!

bob marley.

“Life is one big road with lots of signs. So when you're riding through the ruts, don't complicate your mind. Flee from hate, mischief and jealousy. Don't bury your thoughts, put your vision to reality . Wake Up and Live!” -Bob Marley

G'Damn Bob...you are always spot on!

Las Perritas

Cards from Mikey.

Mikey is pretty phenomenal. He is super tranquilo, picks me up from the airport, plays a mean harmonica and always - ALWAYS gives me the best cards. Here are two of them - one that he made me for valentines day, and one that he made for my birthday. Love you mikey!

This is my valentines card. In the card he gave me for my birthday last year he drew this same drawing and said "I missed you this much". Notice that in this drawing, his stance is WARRIOR 2...he's a regular at my yoga classes.

My fabulous birthday card.

En Fuego.

Usually it's my personality that is 'en fuego', but today...it's my whole body.

JamD left first thing yesterday morning for Nicaragua to have a long weekend. Well, she blew it. The best surf that I have seen in Esterillos was yesterday. It stayed good ALL DAY LONG. The wind didn't affect it in the afternoon, and as soon as you thought it may be dying - BOOM, it was epic again. I surfed for well over 3 hours and when I got outta the water, ever single inch of my body was burnt. Everyone, literally every single person who was in the water, was left with a wicked sunburn. I knew that it was hot, even by Costa Rica standards, and I found out today that the temperature was 109degrees fahrenheit. HOly shit. Went back to the house to reapply, no - SLATHER - my body in sunscreen. Took a brief power nap on the cold floor with the puppies, put on MORE sunscreen, sucked down an iced coffee and then headed back for the beach. Wave slave. Ha. To my surprise, the waves were STILL perfect! I just simply could not get myself to head back out into the sun. I waited til a little after 4pm and then I paddled out for a far inferior surf than I'd had in the morning. Went to bed at 730 last night and slept through til 530 this morning. Waves today were no where near as good as yesterday...but the size was still there despite the wind. Paddled out for a bit, but the waves weren't worth the damage of the sun so I made it a short session. Seeing that my life is an open book, I'll tell everyone that Shawn and I have officially called it quits. He moved out of the house today and into Soda Mary, and in about a week he'll be leaving for an Australian Adventure. I love him, I'll miss him and I wish him the best. I'm sure we'll stay in contact, and he is surely part of the family. On that note, I'm headed back up to the house for some cuddle time with the puppies. Time and puppies heal everything...right?

Pura Vida.

Pura Vida and Puppies.

Life is good. It is simple and wonderful and good. Worked yesterday for JimmyT doing a party for my favorite VIP, Taylor. Taylor is the captain of the yacht GOTCHA that's currently in Los Suenos. Super cool guy from Texas who I feel completely comfortable to be completely myself around. He takes extra good care of me when I work for him, and we have an agreement that I'll work any events that he's hosting. So last night Sean (Roni's husband) was the chef and I was the server/bartender/whatever-you-need. Love working with Sean because he is the most cool, calm and collected chef that I have ever met. Ego-free, laid-back, and organized. Oh yeah, did I mention that he's an amazing chef?? On the menu was bruschetta to start, along with grilled shrimp and pineapple kabob's served with cilantro mayonnaise and some kickass guacamole. Dinner was a greek salad, grilled lamb chops, grilled steak {topped with a red wine ajus and sauteed mushrooms} and grilled wahoo {topped with mango salsa, which was outta this world}, sauteed veggies that were done to perfection and MASHED POTATOES! To top it off were little mini banana/chocolate bread cakes topped with vanilla ice cream, melted chocolate and strawberry's. Holy christ, I was in food heaven {yes, that's right...I sneak a few bites}. Taylor and his crew of 10 other gentlemen had me laughing the whole time I worked and Taylor was sure to make sure I had a good time and didn't feel like the "hired help". Also, did I mention that I made good money? Like GOOD money. Sean gave me a ride back to Oeste and I rolled into the bar for ONE drink. Well, there was a beer pong competition going on and I wasn't tired - so I hauled ass up the hill, rallied both bed-bound JamieD and Shawnie and we all headed back down the hill to kick some ass in beer pong. Well, the night did not end with our victory at the beer pong table, oh no, we headed down the street to the tico-filled disco bar, BARRILITO. Bah. Strobe lights and dancing and thumping bass and too many beers. We were home by 12:30 at night at the 6 beers I consumed had me a bit more tipsy than I'd planned on. The alarm went off at 5am, I woke up - made coffee - delivered the coffee to my sleeping beauties, had some puppy love time and then JamD and I went for a surf out front. FUN, as always. Super fun. Fast lil zippy waves, about waist to chest high. Wash it all down with some of my delicioso breakfast burritos and BAM, it's a beautiful day. It's only 11am now but I feel like I've already had a full, amazing day. Going to take a nap with the pooches and then hit up Vago's for some chicharones, soak up some Sunday Funday! Pura Vida.

This is "TIBBY". She has a white tip on her tail like a shark, and she nibbles alot- so I named her Tibaron which means 'shark' in spanish. I've been calling her Tibarona but Tibby for short. Her sisters name is Arena, which is spanish for 'sand', because she's a light brown color. I'm only keeping Tibby, but in the meantime I'm taking care of her sister Arena as well. I had the vet come out yesterday and worm em, clean out their mite-infested ears and check out their poor little bodies. They've been eating and drinking and they are constantly showered with love. They aren't locked up or anything, just cruising around our very open house, but I don't think that they plan on going anywhere. Pura Vida.

March 5th Surf Sess

My buddy Beau got these shots yesterday morning during a little surf sess out front. Pura Vida.

Work in Paradise.

Work.

Above is a photo of me and a 250lb tuna. This is what I do. Been working for a caterer down here....catering to the wealthy. It's a great job. I make good money and get fed AMAZING food!! It's pretty laid back and it's a perfect fit for me. Hooray for a good job in paradise! These photos are from when we were catering an AMAZING wedding....the neighbor came in and dropped off this tuna to the groom. Ha.

Birthday Bash.

Yesterday was my 23rd birthday. Woke up at 5am and had Coffee Club. My alarm goes off, I come down and make coffee and then bring it upstairs. Shawn, JamieD and me all lay in bed, sipping coffee, and thanks to the AMAZING view that this new house offers - we watch the sun come up. A little after 6am we were in the water for a super fun, super clean surf. As I was getting out of the water, local bus-stop-hanger-outer FLACKO said FELIZ CUMPLEANOS and told me that he was going to build me the best Fugata (bonfire) for my birthday! VaVaVOOM....Then the festivities began!

Thanks to my good friend Roni (and everyone who came out of course!), it was an EPIC birthday from start to finish. Roni lined up a tour of Tortuga Island for us. For $60 25 of us were picked up in Oeste, put on a boat in Herradura, taken to Tortuga Island where we spent the day snorkeling and swimming and floating and laughing and eating and DRINKING. I must admit, I don't drink much and I'm really not very good at it. But my birthday was a shit show. Lara Pappas (dr. potato), JamieD, Kara and me cracked open Cuba Libres (rum and coke in a can) at 8am once we stepped into the taxi. I went into this madness with a gameplan: get drunk before lunch, eat, sober up, swim snorkel fun, nap on the taxi ride back, surf, beer at beach, return to house for swim and food and then return to the beach for a bonfire. Well, the plan pretty much was followed to a T. When we sat down to eat, everyone was drunk and I was pretty trashed. Not something I proud to say, but I was just having an amazing time. Drunk on happiness....and a few beers. I was surrounded by 25 wonderful friends on a white sandy beach with crystal clear water. Stopped drinking at lunch, and after eating and floating in the ocean, I was sobered up and ready to go. We loaded back into the passenger boat, came back to land and piled into taxi's. I didn't nap, but it was a nice tranquilo rest time. We got back to Oeste and I had a PIPA from one of the other bus-stop-hanger-outers Carlos. Waves weren't good at all, so didn't get to surf...but when I approached the beach what I DID see was the biggest goddamn FUGATA that you've ever seen!! Flacko had spent the day building this epic pyramid of sticks and wood and old coconuts and brush. He had some assistance from Carlos and Tigre, and it almost brought me to tears! We hurried back to the house for some black bean soup and a shower and then were back down at the beach by sundown ready to light up the Fugata. Festivities went on throughout the night at LowTide Lounge and by the Fugata...and then later and Roni and Seans. We were home and in bed by 12, but when my alarm went off at 5am today I was hurtin'. Jamie, Shawn and Me had coffee club then we dropped Lara off at the bus for her return to the States and THEN we went for a surf. Following the not-so-eventful, slightly-hungover surf we all ate 10lb breakfast burritos before my Yoga Class. Today's class was RESTORATIVE yoga because most people were at my party the day before! It was relaxing and lovely. Directly following yoga JamD stated that she NEEDED a cheeseburger, so we rolled up our mats, pulled up a seat and had cheeseburgers with bacon and avocado, and french fries of course! We walked our fat, exhausted asses back up the hill and napped the afternoon away. Surfed again this evening, still not feeling 100%, but the waves are supposed to be good tomorrow and I know that I'll be feelin back to my normal self by then. Tonight for dinner I made a string-bean/peanut/sesame oil salad, a big honkin' green salad with a homemade vinagrette, and we had the last of the black bean soup. As Jamie says "Fuck, I feel like I've died and gone to heaven". Pura Vida.