La Dron's Strike Again!!

CSI Samara!

My last night in Samara we were robbed. The thieves got away with some sweet gear - about 18,000$ worth!! 6 Mac Laptops, several ipods, speakers, external hard-drives, cash and a boatload of clothes... they even took all of the guys flip flops from outside and the boardshorts they had hanging on the back of chairs. Poor Dietz - they took everything he owned, except for his Green Man suit and the clothes that he was wearing - boxers and a shirt that said "Babes and Waves" in neon writing. They took Lenny's whole bookbag - wallet, passport - everything. None of the guys speak Spanish, so I stayed an extra day to be an interpreter. Well, typical Costa RIca - we get down to the police station and they act as if we are the first people to EVER get robbed in Costa Rica. I can't explain it to people who haven't been here - but for those of you who are from Costa or frequent this beautiful country, you know that something as basic as filing a police report in a thieve-filled-country can take a WHOLE DAY. We were here, we were there - we talked to this person, that person and that persons friend. Brian took matters into his own hands, going around to some locals and ruffing them up and talking to his good friends who live in town and know whats up. The "OIJ" which is similar to the FBI came to our house and dusted for FINGERPRINTS. HA. We all just laughed. I'm totally bummed for the guys, but glad that none of us ran into the robbers...who knows what could have happened. The bad guys had been watching the house and waited for us to go to bed - and anyone who entered a house with NINE full grown men in it - one of them a very scary Brian Bourgeios - well, they must have been armed - cause there is no way that they had the cajones otherwise. Another quote for Costa Rica is "Welcome to Costa Rica, you've just been robbed." Have a beer. Pura Vida.

You Can't Have a PLAN in Costa Rica...but You Can Have a BEER.

Been having a good time in the house. I can't stress enough what a sweet place that Brian got - and how stoked I am on Ben paying for all the food, just letting me cook up whatever I want. It's like a mini bed and breakfast....and I think that I'm pretty good at it and that this is my calling in life. Surfed Camaronal today -- got ripped again by Ben and Brian for being a "BD"..."Barrel Dodger". Ha. Still, got some super fun waves and Nate got them on film. Woohooo. I am supposed to leave tomorrow after our morning surf. This was the plan. But...the problem is that we are in Costa Rica, and in Costa Rica you cannot have a plan. Waves should stay this way - small and fun...and their friend Johnny, who is opening a sushi restaurant, is coming over tomorrow and making sushi for all of us...IF I decide to stick around. The holdup is my yoga lesson on Thursday morning. I hate to let down my students, so I'm going to try and find a balance. Hmmmm -- I will make my decision tomorrow after the surf.

Pura Vida.

Marbella.

SO - last night we surfed Camaronal - and it was well overhead with no one out. Surfed til sunset and then headed back to the house where I made some dinner. Earlier that day I made a breakfast that Ben was stoked on...so later on he insisted that I went to the supermarket with him. He basically just followed me around with the baskets and let me buy anything and everything, and he paid for it. I was excited to have all of this food to cook and eat, and was even more excited that I didn't have to pay for it. Anyways -for dinner I whipped up some salad and pasta. MmMmMm delicious. We retired early...no need to repeat our previous night of rum and more rum. I was asleep by 8pm. This morning we were all up at 5am and prepping for an hour ride to Marbella, a spot a bit north of Nosara. The ride was bumpy and river-filled, but we arrived to perfect head high beachbreak with only 3 people out. Ben (Bouregious) is a pro-surfer and was a little bummed about the "small" waves, but inside I was doing jumping jacks!! THANK GOD! I didn't want to surf death barrels, and from the looks of it Marbella gets pretty insane, not exactly prime conditions for a log. Ben and Brian were giving me lessons on how to get barreled, legitimately and in a fast, firing wave. I wasn't so successful with this, but I did get some super fun waves and the cameraman Nate got clips of a few of em. Woohooo!! Tonight two more people arrive and for dinner we are having fish tacos!! Pura Vida.

Rum...with a shot of ginger ale.

Rum...with a shot of ginger ale.

Last night I had 3 rums, on ice -- with a splash of ginger ale and a wedge of lime. The most I've drank in a while...sleep deprived and stressed from 3 point turns, my 3 drinks put me over the edge and right to bed. The search for waves begins....

Samara.

I arrived in Samara, and I didn't kill or maim anyone. I still stand strong on my love for automatic cars, this stick shift shit is simply not for me. Atleast this clown car that I am renting for way-too-much-a-day has power steering and power brakes....but everytime I think that I have this whole "stick shift" thing down I pull some dumb shit: for example....

-passing a truck, putting car in 5th gear to do so, after passing - going back down to 4th but accidentally put into 2nd gear...car clearly doesnt like this and freaks out and the truck which i just passed almost ran me over.

-missing my exit...going down an empty dead end street...trying to make a 3 point turn and stall, 6 times. thats 2 times for each point in the 3 point turn - and by the end of it there are 3 cars beeping at me -- clearly not as amused as i was at my inability to drive in reverse.

I could go on, but for my parents sanity I will stop there. Mom and Dad (and Shawn) - I promise...I'm not an AWFUL driver, just a couple slipups, and I'm still ALIVE!!! woohooo!!!

I arrive into Samara in 4 hours and miss Brian and the video guy, Nate, by 10 minutes. Kill well over an hour outside of the amazing house I will be staying at. House locked up - I'm held hostage by my car which makes Adam's golf cart look like a luxury ride - because I don't want hoodlums to steal my shit.

My internet won't work on my ancient laptop - so I'm forced to borrow some internet time from one of the boys - who are more addicted to the world wide web than I am!! Holy shit.

Gotta go. Pura Vida. Pray for waves, cause right now its FLAT.