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.