Two Thumbs to Dominical

Oh me, oh my. The adventures we've had.

First of all, I realize that I keep talking about Semana Santa...and you probably have no idea what the hell Semana Santa is:

Holy Week in Christianity is the last week of Lent and the week before Easter. It includes the religious holidays of Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday (Holy Thursday) and Good Friday, and lasts from Palm Sunday (or in the Eastern, Lazarus Saturday) until but not including Easter Sunday, as Easter Sunday is the first day of the new season of The Great Fifty Days. It commemorates the last week of the earthly life of Jesus Christ before his crucifixion on Good Friday and his resurrection on Easter Sunday.

Well, for those who live in Costa Rica at the beach it's absolute hell. Tico's fill the town with their coolers and tents and food and garbage. They shower in the river...as well as swim in it, shower in it, and god knows what else. It's like the 4th of July in Ocean City...but on crack. JamieD and I decided to escape the chaos and head for Dominical for a few days - a town that is usually busier than Esterillos, but for this Tico holiday it would be less crowded and just full of the normal flow of tourists.

The adventure begins...
We get out of the water with 20minutes to get rinsed off, changed, boards put away and down to the bus stop...which is outside of town. Bah. We are hauling ass down the hot blacktop, sun beating down on us -- I'm carrying a backpack and a bag full of groceries: bottle of red wine, pineapple, 5 mangoes, bag of linguini, pasta sauce, dried bananas and raisins, and tortillas. The essentials. Jamie is making me laugh, so I have to keep stopping to cross my legs so I don't pee my pants...then I need a second to regain composure, catch my breath, and catch up. We get to the bus stop and we wait. And wait. Hundreds of cars pass us, all beeping their horns - which isn't too unusual cause we are two gringas standing on the side of the road. It's actually unusual if they don't honk. Little do we know that they are all beeping and laughing. Why are they laughing, you ask...because it's Good Friday, and there aren't any buses that run on Good Friday. Dumb gringas. We were already completely set on heading to Dominical, so we decide that we are going to have to thumb it there. As soon as the thought popped into our minds a man stopped his car and asked where we were going. A tico, mid-40's, glasses...and sized so that Jamie and I could both kick his ass if he tried any shit. With both of our assessments we glanced at eachother, smiled, and hopped in the car. Martin didn't speak any English, so him and I chatted in Spanish. We all stopped for breakfast, we picked up the tab, and then within an hour we were hopping out of the car in Dominical, waving goodbye and thanks. First stop was Soda Nanyoa, clearly, my favorite place in Dominical and where I eat all of my meals. Gave hugs and kisses to the whole family that owns/operates it and sipped on some of their delicious coffee. After cafe Jam and I strolled into my friend Taylors' bar, Que Nivel. All rooms were rented in town but one of her employees was away on a surf trip so she put us in his room. She assured us that he wouldn't mind, and she apologized profusely for how dirty it was. Boys....ew. Clean your room. Details aside, we were thankful for a {free} place to stay. We cruised around town and reconnected with all of my old but dear friends. It was GREAT to see everyone's familiar faces and we made plans for the next few days. Took a dip in the river with Taylor and Brittany {britt works with Taylor at the bar, and is originally from margate. we've known eachother for several years now...}, played with the dogs, and enjoyed the nice cool water. Because it was Good Friday, no alcohol was to be served until midnight...good thing we brought that bottle of red wine! We made some makeshift Sangria {club soda, Te Frio fruta mixtas, and red wine} and brought it down to the beach for sunset in a water bottle along with plastic cups. Had some dinner at Que Nivel, hung out with friends, and then celebrated the stroke of midnight like it was New Years Eve...which a shot of tequila! Went out to a local disco later for some dancing and then to bed.

Next morning. Saturday. Day before Easter. Buses are now running, alcohol is being served, and Jam and I are a bit hungover. We have some coffee, laugh, and then go for a refreshing swim. We swim and swim and swim and smile. The simple things. So wonderful. Head back to Nanyoa for cup of coffee #2 along with Gallo Pinto and some fried plantains. Yum. My friend Mike owns the dive shop in town, Costa Rica Dive and Surf. He took a half day from work and so did Taylor, so we all headed up to Gil's house. Gil is from North Carolina, a dive instructor working for Mikey. He has one day off, and we totally invaded his peaceful home atop one of the highest mountains around Dominical. In our truck was Mike, his girlfriend Alicia, Taylor, Brittany, Me and 3 dogs: Mickey a huge rottweiler, Lulu another big rotty, and then little miniature Mowgli. Unexpected visitors, The Goodmans, showed up too. The parents, their 3 insane boys until 12 years old, and one of the boys friends. The pool was mayhem and the dogs were running around like lunatics - so Taylor and I took refuge in the kitchen and started cooking. After the Goodman army rolled out everyone relaxed and enjoyed the silence. We all vowed not to have children for a long, long time. We ate and chatted and laughed, a lot. Headed back down the mountain and into town and got ready for ROCA VERDE!!! The Saturday night disco...my favorite. It would be especially fun tonight because everyone was at the beach for Semana Santa. Well, when we got back to the bar there was a guy who approached Taylor with a confused and somewhat frustrated look on her face. It was Frederico, her employee that had been away on a surf trip. He came home a few days early....and his room was filled with bathingsuits, towels and backpacks. Ha. We all laughed off the situation and moved our stuff up into Taylors room - even though he insisted we stay in his bed. Ha. Right... We pregamed at Taylors, Que Nivel, with shots of tequila. It went like this: glass of water, shot of tequila alongside a shot of orange juice. This process happened about 5 times and then we were out the door, into a cab, and on our way for the DISCO. Everyone posted up at the bar but Jamie and I beelined for the dance floor. We didn't leave the floor for 3 hours, except for the occasional bathroom break. At 3am when we hopped a cab home we both looked like we had just gotten out of a swimming pool. Completely saturated with sweat. Shit eating grins from ear to ear. We instantly went to sleep, and we slept hard. Woke up the next morning: coffee @ Nanyoas, long swim in the ocean, back to Nanyoas for food. Taylor had business to take care of at the bar, but Jamie and I decided to spend easter with Mike and his girlfriend, so we hitchhiked up to their great cabina in the hills headed to San Isidro. We were tired and hungover, but Mikey mentioned WATERFALL and we both perked up. A decent, somewhat scary adventure and then we arrived. The most beautiful views I've ever seen in Costa Rica, and I forgot my g'damn camera! shit shit shit! Well, we were at the TOP of the Nauyaca waterfall...a waterfall I have frequented several times on horse tours, but we came in from the opposite side - and from a few hundred feet above. We trekked down the side of the mountain to the base of the smaller waterfall and swam in the refreshing, cold water. Left the waterfall and had some dinner at a great Mirador further up the mountain. I was so cold that I was craving a sweater. What a good day. What good people. I love Costa Rica.

Spent the night @ Que Nivel and hopped the 5:45am bus back to Oeste this morning. Hung around the house, napped, putzed and cleaned. Only a few days left in paradise, so I'm soaking it all up. Pura Vida.

Casa de Adam

Casa de Adam:

Shawn and I are living at Adam's house. He lives less than a mile from the beach, and only a minute from Soda Mary. Also at the house are Adam's parents (Les and Mama)...their house, which is three doors down, won't be ready for another few months. Plus Newman and Hank, the two dogs. The house is wonderful, and as I mentioned before, AIR CONDITIONED!!! Woohooo! We have an entertainment system, surround sound, hammocks out back and cold beers in the fridge. We've been feasting, laughing, talking trash, reminiscing, and eating. Adam's hospitality is above and beyond, and Shawn & I are enjoying every moment.

Yesterday afternoon, after having a morning session at the secret spot and a brief nap, we paddled out front here in Oeste for a phenomenal session. Waves were solid overhead and breaking a mile out. I love this wave...it's like a skate park, with peaks all over, so there's enough waves for everyone. Got some waves all the way to the beach...my legs hurt from standing for so long!! Getting in at the end of the session was interesting. The sun was setting and the high tide was high high high, causing a 7 foot backwashin' beachbreak. It reminded me of North Carolina...how the sand drops off, so you can't touch, but you can't paddle in because the water is sucking back into a huge closeout which breaks on the sand. I just waited and waited, timing it just right and getting in unscathed. We headed back to Adam's Bed & Breakfast and I cooked up some fish tacos. MmMm were they good. We had some laughs and then passed out.

Had a rough night. I've been a bit ill lately, and it kept me up throughout the night. Waking up at 530am for surf, I was a bit cranky and groggy, but nothing that a Bialetti Americano couldn't fix! Stretched a bit and then we headed down to the beach. Surf was a tad bit smaller then it was yesterday, but it was still overhead and pretty goddamn good! I had some fantastic fun waves and then we all headed back to Adam's for some homemade breakfast burritos and fried plantains!

Resting up now then heading into Jaco to hit up the ATM (I'm moneyless, so Shawn said he'd lend me some moooolah), going to stop at the Pharmacy, have lunch, then head back into town for a surf.

Pura Vida.

Esterillos Oeste is the Place to Be

Esterillos Oeste is the Place to Be:

Ozzie is 27 years old. His father is from Germany, his mother from Colombia. He spent his youth in Northern California. When his parents split his father moved to Austin, Texas and his mother to Atenas, Costa Rica. Over the years he split his time between the two. An amazing person, with an amazing life story and a zillion travel stories. He has the wisdom of an old man, and an articulate, magical way of speaking. Hell of a surfer as well. He has a crazy, curly fro -- almost sideshow Bob-esque. Ozzie lives his life out of 4 bags...simplicity is key. He has a degree in art, loves to paint on old wood in house paint, and utilize lots of pens and sandpaper in the process. He's moving to Australia for school, work and waves in a few weeks...but before he does that he will be headed to New York City for two weeks to check out some art galleries, some shows, and eat some good food.

Pat is in her 50's. She has a pixie haircut, and never, NEVER is without a smile. Every day is the best day of Pat's life. She opted for an early retirement from her job in a court house, but her social schedule in Esterillo's keeps her busy most days. She only started surfing about a year ago, but she has a passion for it that is only surpassed by her excitement and lifelong love of horses. In September of 08 she surfed 23 days in a row. She has a tattoo of a Macaw on her right leg, symbolic of her new life in Costa Rica. (Esterillos has a prominent and growing population of the beautiful birds). I call her Pat the Paparrazi because she ALWAYS has her camera, and she is ALWAYS taking photos.

Pat, Ozzie and I have amazing chemistry. The conversation is constantly flowing. We are an odd combination at first glance, but we are a great group. When Ozzie and Pat arrived in Dominical, it brought a whole new dynamic into the quiet, simple, asleep-at-730pm household of Bill and I. We were having three full meals a day, fantastic dinners -- coffee with conversation in the morning, music music music, vietnamese iced coffees with some conversation in the afternoon, lunch, exploring, talking, music, talking, reading, visiting John and Mary for some conversation, and then dinner...followed by star-gazing, chamomile tea, and conversation in the rocking chairs on Bill's porch. I talked more, thought more, gained more, and discovered more in those 3 days than I have the past 3 months. Wonderful time, wonderful people. Would do it again in a heartbeat.

Friday morning, we go for a surf and then head back to Bill's to pack up. Shawn arrived mid-morning to pick us up, and we decided to stick around Dominical for a bit, hit up a late-afternoon surf at La Punta, and then head back to Esterillos. The boys paddle out and I decide to hang on the beach. I've been feeling FUNKY, funky lately, and figured that with the huge swell we have coming in the next week that I could use a bit of rest. Pat and I sat 5 feet from our fully-packed rental car, and in a span of 2 minutes the car was robbed. They stole Ozzies backpack, Pat's backpack and my bag. Ozzie had a few shirts in his bag, his 2weekold ipod and his camera. He was a tad bummed, but he said - well, it was just some material things. Life goes on. Pat had everything a woman would need for a 4 day trip - a hairdryer, her makeup, a hot mama dress, a few of your favorite outfits and two bathingsuits. Thank GOD she had her bag with her camera and all her money in it tied around her shoulder. My bag had: my $380 ipod, my watch, my debit card, cash, my DAILY PLANNER that has my LIFE in it, my journal, a dress, 5 bars of wax, and some other odds and ends that I care not to think about. I was pissed. For the second year in a row I was robbed on my last day in Dominical...another ipod headed to the pawn shop. LA DRONE, that is "theif" in spanish. A word that I have become accustomed to saying and hearing in Costa Rica. Damnit. I shoulda known better. Given my company though, I was only able to be upset for about an hour. Ozzie shook it off in about 30 seconds, Pat was upset for a few minutes because her favorite dress was in her backpack, and therefore I felt ridiculous crying like a little baby. We went to Soda Nanyoa, loaded up on Batidos (smoothies) for the road, and we were off. An hour later we were pulling into Esterillos and ran into the WHOLE crew at Azul eating dinner. Les, his beautiful wife, Adam, Maria, and Legend Mike. We ate, laughed, told stories, and hugged it out. I felt like I was coming home to my family. It was nice to catch up and trash talk with my good friends, and it was nice to finally meet Les's better half, Adams' mama. Shawn and I are so lucky to have them, especially because Adam is letting us stay at his beautiful, AIR CONDITIONED!!!!! house in Esterillos. He slept on the couch last night and let Shawn and I have his bedroom...his big, comfy bed....a REAL MATTRESS!! BAH!!! And Newman, his dog...the best dog in Costa Rica, man oh man, we lucked out.

Woke up at 5am this morning to have coffee with the family: Mama, Les, and Adam. We loaded the boards up and headed down to the soda mary secret spot. Well, the reef was firing. Breaking CLEAR ACROSS THE CHANNEL. What channel? No channel!! It was pretty goddamn serious, and I was pretty goddamn scared - there was lots of swell out there in that endless ocean. It's the biggest swell that Costa has seen in the past year. To my surprise, I actually had a dozen waves. Nothing fancy, just dropping in and going like hell, but I got some. Got worked on the paddle-out, hard, several times. But all in all, I still have all my limps and not scrapes or bruises. Shawn didn't get out unscathed. His leash hogtied him and he was drug across the bottom on the inside, getting a nice cut on his leg, a bump on his head, and some leash-burn around his ankles. Supposed to stay this big for another day and then start to dwindle a tad as the week goes on. After the session we headed back to Adam's for breakfast where we feasted on Les's French Toast, Adam's bacon and some fresh pineapple. We had an assortment of syrup, my two favorite being VERMONT Maple Syrup with VANILLA (real vanilla beans inside!) and a Blueberry Syrup that was just mmmmmmm delicious. All of that and it is only 9am. HA. Going to get in a surf session out front this evening. Woohooo.

Only have 8 days left in Costa Rica, but I plan on them being action packed and full of laughter. On the 21st we are heading up to Atenas to stay at Ozzie's place and hang at his mothers bar-restaurant. For those of you who don't know, Atenas is in the mountains between Esterillos and San Jose. Breathtaking views, clean-crisp air and green galore. Oz is going to throw us a big going-away party at the restaurant, then we will crash at his place and leave for the airport the next day. I look forward to meeting up with Oz when he makes his trip to the NYC, and I'm glad now to have a friend (as well as a couch) in Australia.

I'm missing Dominical for sure, but it's nice to be back with the fam in Esterillos. Pura Vida.

wine buzz.

so last night i was a tad bit buzzed.

after an uneventful surf in town, we came back to the house. billy napped- i read and cleaned the house, played guitar a bit. ive been a writing machine but as far as writing MUSIC for these words ive been stumped. hopefully christian and sven have something for me when i get home.

as soon as billz woke up he began moving rocks, surprise surprise. lately that has been all that he does...sleep and then collect, move, or rearrange rocks. if i wasnt cooking him food-reminding him to eat- and making him tea, he would simply forget! ps: this is how billy takes his tea: 3 heaping TABLEspoons of sugar, a shot of milk, and oh yea- a teabag, but he only lets it steep for about 30 seconds. ha. sugar water. so...bill moved rocks and i made him tea. callen showed up around 430, just in time to move some rocks and eat some dinner. by 430 i had already drank 2 glasses of wine while i was prepping for the nights dinner. root1: a cabernet sauvigoun from chile. rated chiles number 1 wine, AND it was onlz 14 bucks. anyways, i was slicing and dicing and drinking. listening to music and enjoying my solo time in the kitchen. i made the boys garden salads and i made myself a beet and blue cheese salad with homemade balsamic vinagrette. when i asked the boys if they wanted the beet salad they both went EWWWW....they dont exactly have adventursome palettes. for dinner was linguini with homemade sauce: garlic, tomatoes, red peppers, red onions, fresh basil and kalmata olives. mmmm. drank some more wine with dinner, and a bit more for dessert.

the boys and i walked down to john and marys. they had ice cream and i had wine. john, mary and i talked about good food, good beer, good wine and our favorite chocolate. the boys, who live on tang and boxed mac and cheese, just stared at us with foreign eyes. ha. i fell asleep at 8pm, only to wake up at 130 and not fall back to sleep until some time around 4am. i woke up stressed about returning home - mentally going over this summers schedule: waitressing, cleaning houses, performing, yoga, pilates, the gym, beach time, family time, fishing and recording my 2nd album. when i finished stressing over that, i began to worry about the next nights dinner. an asian veggie stir fry with rice would be great, but i dont think that bill likes soy sauce, cabbage, or anything asian for that matter. maybe id just steam HIS veggies, add butter, and cook him some chicken? bah -- its 3am. its costa rican folklore that believes 3am is the hour of the witches. well, apparently im superstitous, because from 3am until 359am every sound that i heard was eerie and unusual. surely a sign of witchcraft! when the clock struck 4 the witches were gone and i would finally sleep in peace....


ozzie arrives today in dominical, and pat arrives tomorrow. im so excited, i love them both and i need a dose of esterillos. woohoo!!

bah blog catchup....

next morning (march 4th) bill, franklin and i go surfing at 8am. mmm still hurting pretty bad but the point is uncrowded and the waves are clean. we foolow up the surf session with a trip to soda nanyoa, obviously! i opted out of eating, but did have the following: water (lots of it), pina leche, cafe con leche, and orange juice. mmm hydration. the rest of the day-after-my-22nd-birthday was filled with naps, reading, naps and frequent dips in john and marys pool.that evening john, mary, bill and I headed to jeff and kris and callens´house for callen and my birthday dinner. we ate salad, grilled chicken and homemade mac and cheese. we drank CHAMPAGNE!! for dessert was brownies, cherry pie and moraberry pie all homemade by kris, as well as some fantastic chocolate covered strawberries made by mary. mmmm. wonderful from start to finish. cass - a friend of kris whom has become a friend of mine, made callen and i earch a le´i from fresh plumeria she picked from her garden. john and mary gave me a gorgeous turqouise bracelet and my parents left me cash...my FAVORITE!! by 9pm, bill was asleep at the table, so we said our goodbyes so that i could put bill to bed.

march 5th: we wake up and surf the point - just bill and i. there are fish EVERYWHERE out there, as big as my 9 foot board, and im definitely a bit freaked -- resting my legs and arms atop my board. the rest of my day is spent with reading, naps and yoga - which now brings me to kris and drinking wine and sitting in the hammock, reminiscing over the past two days....


MARCH 6th:
I have 16 days left in my paradise. SIXTEEN DAYS!!!!!! BAH! This truly is not long enough but atleast it will be getting warmer in jersey. ill be returning to scraple, vietnamese food, the community center, my friends and my family. i have new motivation to work nonstop this summer - allowing me atleast 6 months here next year. as for my days left...tomorrow will be my last day in dominical. party at john and marys in the afternoon and a reggae concert in quepos at night. sunday morning legend mike and oz are picking me up and we´re headed to PAVONES for a few days of swell. after that, back to esterillos for a few more days of costa rican bliss!!

March 7th:
why is getting to the internet so difficult?? i manage to get there about every other day, but only for a few minutes at a time, never long enough to type and post a blog. my number one priority next year is to buy a car down here, which means that my number one goal when i get back to the states is to learn how to drive a stick shift. can anybody help me out with that one??

yesterday was a bust. no water at bills house so he spent all day working on the house. i swam in john and marys pool and read. read read read read and read somemore. RISE AND SHINE by anne quindlen. im glad that i had this book, because this day wasnt really on of my highlights in CR. which brings me to the fact that you CANNOT make plans in costa rica. pavones is off. so yesterday i UNPACKED my pavones bag and resettled myself back into bills house. today, im in the back of john and marys car on our way to UVITA for the farmers market. since i WILL be staying in dominical a bit longer, i need to buy some food. i bought homemade asian miso dressing, 3 loaves of FANTASTIC, AUTHENTIC french bread, basil, lettuce, crisp string beans, yummy little tomatoes and goat cheese!! BAH!! ALL OF MY FAVORITE THINGS that you CANNOT get in COSTA RICA!!! It was also half flea market, so I bought myself some books! woohooo for books: david sedaris, dress your family in cordoruy and denim, tom robbins, fierce invalids home from hot climates, TC BOYLE, the road to wellville and a lonely planet spanish phrasebook -- which callen says is horrible and people would laugh at you in CR if you spoke like that. GREAT...

MARCH 8th:
SO, yesterday john and mary had a huge catered party for all of the ticos involved in building their house. it was super fun and the families had a great time!! finished RISE AND SHINE yesterday, and it was phenomenal. woohoo. i think that david sedaris i will start today. bill and callen went ´rocking hunting´today...still working on bills rock wall out front, i did yoga and ate some of the goodies i got yesterday at the market. i only have one loaf of bread left. ha. my friend ozzie is coming to visit from esterillos to dominical, so that should be great, and the waves will be picking up into the 6 foot range by tomorrow!!! pura vida!

birthday madness

*i have DAYS worth of blogs written in my notebook, but right now bill and callen are breathing down my neck at the internet cafe, so this is all you get...the day of....


Right now it is two days after my birthday. The sun is setting as I sit in a hammock sipping some red wine and hanging out with kris. She needs to make a few work phone calls so im taking a few minutes to tell you about my past few birthday days….

I woke up and got out of bed. It was 630 am and my 22nd birthday. Bill made me bacon and eggs for breakfast and I sliced up some pineapple and avocado to accompany. I sipped on some French press coffee from san vito costa rica. After breakfast I walked down to say hello to john and mary and to have my ‘morning chat’ with mary. I walked in and they instantly burst into song ‘happy birthday to you…’. It was so sweet but made me feel instantly homesick. I had some cranberry juice with crushed ice, as far as mary is concerned crushed ice is the ONLY way, and chatted for a bit before heading back up the hill. Usually we start the day with a morning surf, but this particular day billy, as well as everyone else, had to go and pay their taxes. SO I grabbed my yoga mat, my ipod, my book and a change of clothes and I was dropped off at callens house. The boys, callen and franklin, played video games while I layed in the hammock and read ‘what is the what’. This lasted for a few hours, and then kris, callens mom, came home from work early to hang out. We chatted, sipped iced tea, and snacked. She made me her world famous chocolate brownies and we discussed my party plans for that evening.

At 5pm kris dropped me off in dominical @ tailors bar (que nivel). Taylor and I then hopped into her car, brownies in tow, and headed to her home in lagunas. What a breathtaking view she has – and a kickass house. Her roommate, a fellow jersey girl who shares my birthday, was there and we began the celebration. Music, brownies, and vodka. Woohooo. We showered and dressed and around 8pm we headed back to que nivel in town. Well, everyone came out for my birthday. Javi, Debbie, bob, the dive shop crew, the bicycle mafia, callen, franklin…everyone. The whole town. I danced and drank and laughed. I stuck with vodka for the evening, occasional shots of tequila, but after every drink I would consume a full glass of water. TOO MUCH FUN. Woohooo 22.

Birthday Blog.

Today is my birthday. I don't feel any different, any older - but it's true...I am 365 days older than I was one year ago.

The journey from 21 to 22 has been an interesting one. Exciting and intense, and there has been much that I've learned about life and of myself this past year...

1. A simple life is a good life...it's as simple as that!! To quote Notorious BIG "mo' money...mo' problems".

2. The combination of eating healthy and regular exercise is amazing. Having this control over your mind and fitness is so rewarding -- and has left me feeling amazing inside AND out. Really, all we have in life is our health, so I have made it my #1 concern this year to give my health a ton of love and attention. You ARE what you PUT in your body...mentally and physically.

3. Reading is FUN! Aside from Harry Potter and books by Chuck Palhinuk - the only time I would read would be for my "assigned reading" in school. This year, I have become a feign, and I've been delighted and consumed with almost every book I've picked up. Biographies, classics, fiction, nonfiction...I've read it all.

Which brings me to number 4......

4. My love for the LIBRARY! Knowledge TRULY is power. There is no such thing as bad knowledge, or having too much of it. The library supplies me with an endless source of novels, cookbooks, reference books, magazines, music, movies, documentaries, travel books....EVERYTHING that you could want to read. My free library card was the best investment I've made in years.

5. Perhaps my greatest discovery of ALL of my years has been YOGA. Why it took me 22 years to get into it I will never know...but I'm so thankful that it found me. Yoga, aside from leaving me lean and limber has brought me peace of mind that I have never been able to attain otherwise. It is a whole body - whole mind healer, and I can take it with me everywhere I go.

So hell, PURA VIDA. Feliz Cumpelanos to me!!!!!!!

the PLAGUE.

the plague.
i was dying for a few days there, but now things are starting to look up.
i only coughed for 2 hours last night!

for two days i ate nothing, did nothing (yes, this includes SURFING, NO SURFING!), coughed like crazy, drank a ton of water juice and tea, and slept. lots and lots and lots of sleeping.

lara left yesterday and i went back to live at bills house. caught a ride with henry of dominical surf adventure to the bottom of bills hill, and then WALKED UP in the hot hot heat with my longboard and my bookbag. well, that was more activity than i'd had all week so i napped as soon as i got to bills. the boys (callen and franklin) showed up, and i went back to their house so that i could sleep in the hammock. mmm sooo nice. the boys made pancakes, i ate one and then slept in the hammock for about 2 hours. when i havent been sleeping, i have been reading WHAT IS THE WHAT. it's reallyyyyy good. i will write more once i finish the book. very good. i love anything about africa. and this is a quality book. QUAL.I.TY for sure.

last night bill and i had a small salad, steamed broccoli and spag. he definitely misses dad, and LP. i thought that he wouldnt be soo keen on me coming back to live at the house, that he would want some peace and quiet, but he was glad to see me return and have someone to hang with. so last night over dinner we told funny stories about paul callahan, and reminisced about the 'good ol days' when that crazy man was with us. ha. dad -- we are sorry that you are back in the freezing cold states. hahaha.

this morning bill and i surfed the point. just him and i, about chest high. it was great. a perfect day for me, cause any bigger and i think that i would still be too weak to surf. this sickness really kicked my ass.

right now bill is in town paying his electric bill (it sounds like something relatively easy, but i assure you that something like paying a bill in costa rica could take all day), so i have a few minutes on the internet. hopefully going to get back into my yoga routine and healthy days will follow.

TOMORROW, march 3rd, is my birthday. my 22nd birthday. and for the second year in a row, i will be celebrating in costa rica, solo. i am in the process of writing a birthday blog that ill hopefully get in to post tomorrow. my friend brittany and i are sharing a bday party at QUE NIVEL in tomorrow, and then callen and i are sharing a bday party on wednesday night at his house. kris is making a big dinner for everyone. woohooo, let the good times roll.

missing everyone in the states, but i sure as hell am glad that i am NOT celebrating my 22nd birthday in the snow.

pura vida.

xo cailin

HOMBRE GRANDE

I am sick. Sick sick sick. Hacking cough, congestion in my head, nose and chest, and total delirium. I have been slamming tea, water, vitamin c, tons of fruit, and chicken soup. I bought this kickass medicine in town for my cough, which works wonders, but unfortunately leaves me feeling exhausted, dizzy, confused, and to put it bluntly...I just feel fucked up. Like I´m high or wasted or something. Bah. So after the discovery that this medicine makes me wacky, I now just save it for the evening and try to just suffer through during the day.

Callen and Franklin made me Hombre Grande tea yesterday. Hombre Grande (BIG MAN) is a tree that grows in costa rica. The bark is chewed on and made into tea for healing just about everything from headaches to stomaches to cancer. With that said, it is THE MOST DISGUSTING thing that you will EVER taste. Your body rejects it, wanting to throw it back up the second it goes down. Unforunately, Hombre Grande doesn´t seem to be doing the trick, so today the boys are hunting and gathering some wild ginger and lemongrass to make me some kind of local healing tea with lemon and honey as well. Hopefully this will cure me. I cannot take much more of this. When I´m sick all I want is my couch, a movie, and some peace and quiet. I´m not going to get any of that while living in Costa Rica, with Lara, at Tortilla Flats.

Shawn left a few days ago, and Dad and Pablito left today. Lara is only in town for 2 more days so I´m going to stay with her until she leaves. Then I´ll be back at Bills? I believe. Who knows, in Costa Rica you cannot make plans.

Hung out with my friend Taylor yesterday who owns the bar QUE NIVEL in town. When she heard it was my birthday coming up this Tuesday...I´ll be 22!!!....she said that we MUST have a party. My friend Brittany, a jersey girl who lives here in town, has a bday on march 5th, so we are having a joint birthday fiesta sponsored by Que Nivel. I cant wait! Live band, cake, and dancing!

Gotta go now...walking to the top of the hill to hit up the bank and buy some cough drops, vicks vapo rub, water, oj, and more vitamin c.

pura vida.

the wedding singer.

im a wedding singer.
ha.

my friend taylor, whom owns the bar QUE NIVEL here in dominical, asked me if i was available to play for a wedding party this week. i said okay. and it turned out to be amazing. i had met half the people(of the 35 total) in attendance of the wedding on the horseback riding Nauyaca waterfalls tour the day before. Good people...funny and nice and fans of alcohol - whats not to like? anyways, we couldnt track down a PA system or even an amp, so i sat barefoot on the bar and just played my guitar and sang for an hour. it was totally awesome, and i made a 100 bucks. woohooo. pura vida.

today shawn, dad, callen, franklin, and billy went spearfishing today. i took the board out, and lara took a kayak out. her friend crystal was our moral support via the beach. we had a TON of fun, got too much sun, laughed til we cried and the boys caught a bunch of fish and oysters and conchs. woohooo. we are having a big margarita, fish taco fiesta tonight.

mmm costa rica. i love you.

xo cailin

Kula-Secco

Kula-Seco.
It literally translates into DRY ASS.
In Costa Rica, someone saying you have a kula secco is an insult.
In the United States, if someone says you have a fat ass its an insult.
Ha...how very different the cultures are.
I'm proud to say that I don't have a Kula Seco.



Yesterday Mom, Dad, Me, Lara and Lara's friend Crystal all went on the Don Lulu's horsebackriding tour to Nauyaca Waterfalls. I did this last year and it was amazing. This year was even better. Our group of five broke off from the big group and were with Eddie, one of the guides. I laughed til my face hurt, and ran on my horse until I thought that my fat ass was broken. We were fed breakfast and lunch, and half way through the day we hiked down to the Nauyaca falls. It is the biggest waterfall that I have ever seen. I jumped off it. I climbed UP the waterfall and then jumped off. My legs continued to tremble throughout the day. It was terrifying. Amazing, but so scary. I closed my eyes and it felt like a decade before I hit the water. We all had a blast, and Lara got some AMAZING photos. I cannot wait to post them...but due to the crappy connection here it will have to wait until I get back to Esterillos.

Shawn is arriving today. This evening. And leaves on Tuesday. Mom leaves tomorrow, and Dad's moving into town. I cannot believe that Paul and Dad have already been here for almost a month, and that they are leaving soon. Bah. I never want to leave Costa Rica. Well...atleast not anytime soon....

Heres a photo from when Suzanne was visiting and we were at the waterfall in Dominicalito. The one I jumped off of was 4 times this size. BAH.

Maracatu Music Mayhem

Lara Pappas is in Dominical. Look out. I found her sitting out front of Tortilla Flats drinking a beer yesterday around 3pm. I met Lara last year during my time in Dominical. She was staying in town for one month, studying spanish at the school in town. She is doing her residency now in California...a pediatric oncologist. Serious shit. Anyways, she swam around with my mom while I surfed, then I waved goodbye to the crew and headed back to Lara's place. She has a friend in town for the first week, a surgeon, Crystal. We showered up and then headed to Tortilla's for a beer. Met up with some old friends from town who I haven't seen since I've gotten back (I've been a hermit up on Bill's hill and haven't gone out once). We caught up, told some good surf stories, and then the girls and I headed to MARACATU for Open Jam Night. I played for about an hour and a half. There were 10 djembes, and a ton of musicians in the house. It was a great time to hear songs that I've been playing for so long sound completely different than they normally do. We played some fooseball, I had two more beers, and was asleep by midnight. Got up at 6am and headed down to the beach...perfect timing -- the crew had just arrived. We had an awesome surf session, ate breakfast at Soda Nanyoa (obviously...where ELSE would we eat!?) and then came back to Bill's. Did some yoga, hung out by the pool, and have been glued to my book (The pillars of the earth) since we got back. We are packing up the car now to head in for our sunset session. Woohooo. Pura Vida.

a few posts...

This is a blog I wrote the other day, but we didn't have the computer in town:
My mom is in Costa Rica. We arrived back at Bill's after a few hours of phenomenal surf, and there was mom...walking out of John and Mary's house next door. I had no idea. None. I almost fell over. BAH. Apparently she is here for 10 days..which is great, because now I can't get in trouble for not updating my blog enough or for not sending her enough emails. Ha. Because now she will be HERE, in COSTA RICA. WTF?! Ha. It's awesome. Poor shawnie. Wish he was here with us, but he will be here soon enough. March 13th my dear!

Anyways...been surfing a TON lately. The waves have gotten much better, and dominical has been firing. So much fun.

Just finished a world-domination Gin-Rummy game with Franklin. I only spoke in spanish, all night, and I actually make sense. I'm gettin good!! WoohooO!! Anyways, he beat me by 15 points....15 damn points. 600 to 615. Motherfucker. After a big reunion dinner (which was after a super-long surf session) with John, Mary, Kris, Jeff, Callen, Franklin, Paulie, Dad, and Me (mom was asleep), we've all just been hanging around. I'm a bit depressed about my loss to franklin, so I'm typing my blog up on dad's computer. We are listening to Jose Gonzalez. Paul is finishing a book a lent him, Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, which is one of my TOP ALL TIME FAVORITE BOOKS. Callen is beside him reading Tucker Max's autobiography, which is the most appalling, disgusting, and disturbing bits of "writing" that I have EVER encountered, and Franklin just ran out the door to join the tico construction workers who live next door for coverage of the futbol game. They all started whooting and hollering, and franklin was out the door in a flash. Ha.Gotta go now, we are waking up at 5am for surf. Woohooo.



Here's one that I started in my head yesterday in the surf: It was croweded beyond belief, with 80% of the people not knowing what they are doing. The few who kindof had a grasp had ZERO wave etiquette. I was dropped-in on more times than I'd care to recall, and was almost seriously hurt twice. So here it is....

Cailin's SmartAss (but ONE HUNDRED PERCENT SERIOUS) Guide To Surfing:

1. Paddling for a wave is like crossing the street, you need to LOOK...BOTH WAYS, before paddling for the wave.

2. Surfing is like a sport (more of a lifestyle than a sport, but this is a whole other blog in itself). If you played basketball, and you weren't very good, they wouldn't put you out on the court at game time. Practice makes perfect, and until you practice practice practice you need to stay on the sidelines (or in the case of surfing, surf down the beach or at a whole other beach completely).

3. If you don't know what you are doing, you are dangerous. You are dangerous to yourself, to every other person out in the water, as well as for to the person who is going to have to swim out and save your ass when you're hurt or drowning. Just repeat this mantra: If you don't know what you are doing, you are dangerous.

4. There are all sorts of breaks. Beach break, reef breaks, point breaks, "girly-breaks", etc. There is nothing wrong with riding a small, mushy wave when you are beginning. It's the best thing to learn in. Do not move on to bigger, stronger, heavier waves until you really, I mean really know what you are doing. Again, an unexperienced surfer in an advanced surfing spot is dangerous. Dangerous. DANGEROUS.

5. It's not okay to get off your board, with it dangling from the leash 10 feet behind you, and swim out to the break. Unacceptable.

6. If you forget rule #1 and you didn't look both ways, the person already riding the wave will either whistle, shout, or do something to indiciate to you "Hey fucker, you didn't look both ways, this is MY wave, you are about to drop in, so don't even think about it". SO, if you hear someone whistle, they aren't trying to encourage you into the wave. Most people in the water are softies, goddamnit I know I am, so usually if you drop in on them they will smile and be like "well....its okay". But some day you will get somebody who does mind, who isn't all roses and teddy bears, and you will get a board up your ass or worse. So...I'm further reinforcing rule number one.

7. Last is the best bit of advice I can give to ANY surfer...beginner or advanced. Matt Vecere told me when I was 14 and making my first trip out to the surf capital of the US, San Clemente, for a surf trip. I cannot stress this enough...

EVERYONE IS WATCHING YOU.

Yes, everyone in the water is watching you. Your FIRST WAVE is the most important wave of the session...because everyone is watching you, and judging your skill level. If you have a shitty first wave, guess what -- surfers will have taken note, and your chances of getting another one are slim to none. If you have a good wave, you earn respect and your spot in the lineup. So on your first wave, before you paddle, a) make sure that you are in position, b) make sure that you are definitely going to catch the wave, and c) dont mess it up.

With all that said...surfing is supposed to be FUN. So have fun. The "guidelines" above are only so that everyone in the water can have fun, and not get hurt or burned. Pura Vida.




Valentine's Day:

Today is VDAY. It's been a while since my last blog, and an even longer time since I posted the blogs I've typed above. We are only in town for a short while, and usually I would get out of the water early to have some internet time - but the waves have been good good good, and I usually have to be drug out of the water for dinner. Damn. I've been on. Surfing has never felt so good, so natural, and so effortless. So enjoyable. The water is amazing. Refreshing. Beautiful. I'm so thankful for the ocean. MmMm, I just want to eat it all up. Me Gusta Costa Rica. It's been really great having Mom here too...we've been having a quality time. We have been doing dawn-patrol sessions, and when we get back I head down to have a cup of coffee and some fruit with John, Mary and Mom (john and mary own the big big house next door, where mom and dad are renting their little cabina). When I'm not surfing, out fishing, doing yoga or hanging with Mom I have been reading Ken Follett's THE PILLARS OF THE EARTH. And GODDAMN...its PHENOMENAL. I can't put it down, and I dream about it at night. My naps have been replaced with this 10 pound book. YOGA has been treating me really well lately also. I had a few 'sessions' with Callen, and its really crazy how teaching a 'class' can really change the overall effect. It's been really awesome. I'm so glad to share something I'm so passionate about with someone who is really into it. Franklin couldn't get into it, and when I ask Paul he just gives me a funny look. The past two days I've been yoga-ing solo (callen and franklin are getting ready for school, and we have two new guests staying at bills house). These past two days I have had the BEST two yoga sessions that ive EVER HAD. My whole body and mind, down to the core, just feel....sublime. I fell like I owe a big thanks to BONOBO for that. And really, I guess I owe Ozzie a big thanks. He turned me onto the band Bonobo. It really helps me relax into yoga and clear my mind, which was something I had been struggling with.

Had a refreshing surf session at 6am today. After that the boys went spearfishing. I was in charge of the bug bags (these are the bags with buoys that they put the pesca/langostas/ostras in). I wasn't a very good bugbag girl though because there were some waves rolling through our secret spot so I was busy surfing. Ha. We didn't come up with our usual catch because the water was really cloudy but thanks to Callen and Franklin we got a bag full of oysters, 2 lobsters and a parrotfish. Dad is in the kitchen right now cooking up some Seafood Soup (of course!). He is boiling the two lobsters and then is going to use the meat from them and the fish in the soup. The oysters will be an appetizer. What can I say....the man can do soup. That's for sure. We aren't going to have the soup until tomorrow I believe....it tastes better the day after.

Just had one (of the two) mindblowing, humbling, feel-good-all-over yoga sessions. Sipping some green tea, and typing away. I was so peaceful I fell asleep for a few minutes in the corpse position. Ha. Anyways, resting up for a bit and then heading in for an evening surf session. My friend Lara Pappas, whom I met LAST year in Costa Rica, will be arriving in Dominical around 6 tonight. I think we may meet up for a few drinks, but nothing too late because guess what...surf tomorrow morning!! HA. I love the routine. It's a keeper.

Pura Vida.

La Ola Del Dio es MIO

We woke up at 5am for an early morning surf.
The swell has been firing lately.
Overhead, fast, heavy, fun beachbreak.
This morning I took off on the bomb set. And made it.
Solid 8 foot (paulie and franklin said 8 to 10, so ill downplay and say 8).
I took off deep, pulled in, and fired across the wave, hearing the intensity of the wave inches behind me.

I love surfing. I want to surf all day every day.

Pura Vida.

ps...MOM IS HERE: i almost fell over when i saw her yesterday. so did dad.what a surprise!! christ almighty.

ESTERILLOS en DOMINICAL

So, I´m very very excited because my esterillos crew is HERE, in DOMINICAL!! Suzanne drove down yesterday with Pat, her friend Brian, Larry, and John. And shortly after arrived Jeni and Fabrizio. We hung at the beach for a bit, had a beer or two as the sunset, and then I took Jeni with me back to Billy´s house, while the rest found a place in town. Jeni joined LP, Dad, Billy and I for dad´s famous Lobster Soup which we had with some really fantastic red wine, good garlic bread, and an avocado and tomatoe salad with homemade balsamic vinagrette. Before dinner we snacked on some of my hummus with carrots and some manchego cheese. BAH: heaven. After that we showered up and LP, Jeni and I headed back into Dominical to meet up with the rest of the Esterillos crew. We went to the Rum Bar to see the Tropi'Cowgirls play. Two women, in their 40s-50s...one on guitar, wearing a miniskirt and con´s, and on playing the fiddle. Saw them play a few times last year, and even shared the stage with them a few times. They are great...talented and wonderful entertainers. There I ran into the fiddle'players husband, whom looks like jerry garcia. He invited me and the crew to a huge FULL MOON PARTY in Uvita tonight (monday)...so tonight we are gonna load up the car, and I´m even gonna drag Dad and Billy along.

Today we woke up, Jeni and Dad went snorkeling and Billy and I paddled around. Then we had some breakfast, went for a swim, and headed back into town to meet up with the crew. Right now everyones sitting around the pool at the SunDancer, snacking on some pineapple, mango and watermelon, waiting for the next great adventure....which I believe will be the waterfall in Dominicalito.....

Pura Vida.

Comida y Mas....

Split pea soup. It's all I've been thinking about for the past week. A can of Campell's green pea soup, with asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, peas, and spinach added... plus some cayenne pepper, ground flaxseed, and some good sea salt. MmMm. Don't know why it's stuck in my mind, and stomach, but they certainly don't have Campell's Green Pea in the Supermercado here.

Food. Comida. We have been puttin down some food at the Casa de Guermillo (that's spanish for "bill"), most of which has been provided by Callen, Dad, and Franklin - our fabulous tico friend, whom we now consider family. Him and Callen have been best friends since the first grade. They have killed things together, surfed together, gotten into trouble together, and beaten the crap out of eachother for many moons now. Franklin has been teaching me some words (halabra's) in spanish (espanol) pertaining to the ocean (mar). Here's some of my new vocabulary:
arresife: reef
ostras: oysters
hilo de horo: jellyfish
cambute: conch
pescador: fisherman

Here are some words and phrases that I have learned to say TO the boys:

NO mas chistes! : No more jokes!
SE AMBLE: Be Nice!
Madure! : Grow up!

And something I've learned to say to make fun of myself for missing the wave of the day is Puta Pendaja which is Cissy Bitch. Hahaha.

Last night we ate a meal fit for a king (rey). It was by far, hands down, the best meal that I've EVER had in Costa Rica and it definitely goes to the top of the list as one of the best meals I've ever had in my 21 years. BAH. DONE - TO - PERFECTION. Started with oysters that were steamed then sauteed with garlic and onions, placed on a thin wheat cracker as appetizers. We had lobster tails, sauteed parrot fish and grouper, curry rice, fried plantains, and fresh tomato slices. Washed it all down with some muy muy perfecto red wine. It was simply the most perfect meal. And the company was just as wonderful. Franklin is starting to feel more comfortable speaking a tad bit of english (we are trying to get him to say something aside from "fuck, motherfucker" which he learned from Dad one night when he drank one-too-many gin and tonics. nice dad...and him and lil paul just wrestle around like two prepubescet teans calling eachother motherfuckers), and we are all still having a grand ol' time butchering the hell out of the beautiful spanish language. Anyways, in true Paul Callahan fashion, he boiled all the lobster heads and carcasses to make a lobster soup which we will have for dinner tonight. We (paul, frankie, callen and i) planned to go to the disco at Roca Verde last night - and I don't think that the huge feast we had worked in our favor. We figured that we would mix it up a bit, maybe stay up later than 730, have a beer or two. Ha. So much for that. I fell asleep by 730, and the boys got ready and then fell asleep around 10pm. So much for a fiesta night...

Woke up this morning and did yoga, then made some coffee for the boys. Figured we should start off the day with another big feast considering there are only a few days when we don't have to leave for surf by 6am. SO, I made scrambled eggs (huevos), bacon (tocineta), rice and beans with chorizo sausage (gallo pinto con chorizo), fried plantains (platanos), and toast.

The boys are loading up the truck now to head down for another kill-fest. I'm not going to go today -- the sun is HOT. Hot hot hot. Super-scorcher. And I don't feel like floating around the rocks on my surfboard melting away as warm shark bait. Started doing the Fluid Yoga for Surfers II DVD the other day, so I think I'll just stay at the house, clean and do some yoga. MmMmM. Maybe have a brownie as a special treat (thanks to Kris, Callen's mom)! Brownie's make me happy. I think I may wash it down with an Iced Vietnamese Coffee. HA! Goddamn, life's good. By the way Shawnie...to celebrate my belated birthday when we get back to the States, I want scrapple for breakfast, vietnamese for lunch (iced coffee, green papaya salad), and then a big venison feast for dinner at Mom and Dad's! WOOHOOOO.

BAH. I do think about other things aside from food....hmmm...I think....

Suzanne and Pat are coming to visit soon (my fabulous friends from Esterillos). Today I think. Maybe tomorrow? Not so sure, everyones on Tico Time here. I'm kinda hoping it's just the two of them, that way they can stay at Billy's house with us, but if there are more they will have to stay in town. No matter what, we will have a good time. I'm thinking about taking them on this great horseback riding tour we did last year up to the Nayuca Waterfalls, taking them snorkeling, taking them to SODA NANYOA (of COURSE) and having Callen take us all on a tour/trek of his property (they have an amazing jungle of a backyard, waterfalls included). I miss Suzi!! Loved Soda Mary, but it was nice once I discovered a fellow female friend to hang out with. I'm going to stay with her when I get back to Esterillos. Woohooo.

The boys just left. Dad was yelling his new favorite spanish phrase "El pescado del dia es MIO" ("the fish of the day is mine"). He also uses this phrase when he is bragging about his surfing, which is rather constant "La ola del dia es MIO" ("The wave of the day is mine!"). OH man, he's always good for a laugh.

On that note, I'm going to start my cleaning, yogaing, and brownie-eating! Hopefully I will get into town later to post this. Pura Vida.

ALSO, big thanks to Atenas' OZZIE for hooking me up with some fabbbbuuulous new tunes: Bonobo, Bonnie Prince Billy, Kings of Convenience, The Cinematic Orchestra, DJ Shadow, Erin McKeown, Fujiya and Miyagi, Kalyanji Anandji, The Octopus Project, Ravi Shankar, Ray Barbee and for filling me in with a bunch of Thievery Corporation tunes. BAH. Wonderful. Eargasmic. I love music as much as I love food, which is as much as I love surfing... Which is pretty damn serious...

catch the trade winds

Billy is a quiet man. A simple man. He keeps to himself, eats humble meals, likes to surf solo. He cant sit still, always putzing around in the garden, fixing a car, or building a shelf. Well…we have come in and turned his world upside down. There are people sleeping in every room, on every floor – on every couch and blowup mattress. We are having feasts every evening…feeding atleast 8 people. Everywhere we go is like an expedition. When we are at the house, music is serenading from the stereo, the boys are watching movies, people are in the rocking chairs reading, and someone is always in the kitchen fixing themselves something to eat or drink. Its a wild world that we now force Bill to live in, simple simple Bill, but I think that hes enjoying the mayhem. He hasnt said much, but hes always smiling and letting out the occasional chuckle. We all are happy as clams. What a beautiful life it is.

So as I promised, here is some tidbits that I got from Laird Hamilton´s book that I really enjoyed. He understands the meaning of a full, beautiful life. So perhaps we could all try to follow his lead…

The key to happiness is maximizing each day. If youre unhappy, Live Harder.

Natures genius is everywhere, and though it might sound obvious, all of us could do a better job of appreciating it.

Our days are meant to be fun. Once you lose that thread, youve lost the essence of the whole deal.

If you cultivate something in your mind, you give it a life. Its that simple.

Karma: if youre stressed, youll get stressed. If youre satisfied youll be given satisfaction.

And he also added in this quote…

TWENTY YEARS FROM NOW YOU WILL BE MORE DISAPPOINTED BY THE THINGS YOU DIDN’T DO THAN BY THE ONES YOU DID DO. SO THROW OFF THE BOWLINES. SAIL AWAY FROM THE SAFEHARBOR. CATCH THE TRADE WINDS IN YOUR SAILS. EXPLORE. DREAM. DISCOVER. –mark twain

Pura Vida everyone. Go exploring.

ps...went fishing today. the boys caught 9 lobsters, a handful of oysters, and some big parrot fish. mmmm.

MmMm Surf. Sun. Killing things.

Getting to the internet has been a chore.
Been surfing some awesome awesome waves at la punta.
Bah. Sooo good. My days are spent so well here. Every second.
Yoga. Espresso. Surf. Eat. Surf. Nap. Kill things. Big dinner with the crew. Movie. Bed. And reading in between everything.

Just read Laird Hamiltons book the other day. It's kinda cheesy and somewhat repetitive, but the man has some wisdom. I wrote down my favorites, which I'll share with you when I (remember) have my notebook.

Missing everybody, home - crew - family - friends - and esterillos.

xo pura vida.

Thank God for FOOD.

Thank god for food, otherwise I'd lose my mind...



There is nothing that tears my world apart like a shitty internet connection. I know how a crack addict feels now when he hasn't gotten high in a while, because that is the irritable, desperate feeling that comes over me when i cant get to the internet, or WORSE, i HAVE the internet but its slower than a slug. I spent 2 hours, and over 30 minutes this morning to check one email. ONE email, I didn't even get to reply. And the Skype here doesn't work, even though they advertise it. I love love love simplicity, but I simply cannot go without the internet. I'm a feign, foaming at the mouth. BAH. I want to call my boyfriend, I want to post my photos to facebook, I want to blog every day about all of my adventures, I want to check the swell, and I want to keep in touch!!! Is that SO much to ask?? To upload 5 photos onto facebook today took me almost 15 minutes, 15 WHOLE minutes. That's practically a decade in the internet-world.

Anyways, not to harp on the downside, lets look at the brightside: a delicious oyster feast for dinner!!! In linguini with oil and garlic, and some yummy garlic bread. With the intensity that crap-ass internet connections drag me down, food has the ability to bring me up that much higher.So thank god for my Dad's equal love of eating and his desire to have massive meals every evening. Monunmental feasts. Cocktails too! We've been hitting his famous gin and tonics pretty hard lately, but tonight I'm going to make some homemade margaritas. MmMmM. Food. It makes me so happy. SO happy.

On that note, gotta go - headed to the store for some oranges and limes to make my magnificent, mouth-watering margaritas.

ciao.

bahhhhh

This has been my day: wake up at 5am, yoga til 6am, then a Bialetti of course. By then the rest of the house begins moving around and drinking some drip coffee. We pile into the car, head for a surf, surf for about two hours, then everyone goes to Soda Nanyoa for breakfast (I opt not to eat breakfast, I use that time to go to the internet). The internet is super slow, so I have usually gotten out about one email by the time that everyone is done breakfast...and then they wait around, pacing around me, for about 15 minutes before I finish off my second email. Ha. Then we hop in the car, come home, and get ready to kill things. Dad bought a speargun today, as opposed to the hawaiian sling he had been using, and what a difference it made. Callen had been smoking him in their "world domination fish-offs", but today Dad got the biggest and the first, winning the competition (for those of you who aren't familiar with the callahan fishing rules its based on the FIRST, BIGGEST and MOST). After we kill things, we head back to the house - have a nap, snack, read, listen to music, swim in the pool...whatever. Then we rally for an evening surf session, heading home once the sun sets for some homecooked dinner. Watch a movie then go to bed. I've been missing the movie, instead reading a page or two before passing out (around 730, 8pm). Thus far we have had two big fish frys and one pasta night. Today Franklin caught a ton more 'ostras' (oysters) so tomorrow we are going to slice up the steam oysters and put them into a oil and garlic pasta linguini. MmMmMm. Franklin is a GOD to me, because in my life, I've decided that costa rican oysters, steamed and with a touch of butter and salt is my favorite seafood in the whole world. I told him that I love them, so today he loaded up. I don't participate in "killing things", but I do paddle my board out there to be a part of the crew, and I drag the 'bug bags' (these are the mesh bags that our catch is loaded into) around I offer encouragement. hahaha. I also get a kickass tan while I'm out there.

Today when we got back from killing things, we all went for a nice swim in the pool (john and mary's pool...their house is next door, they aren't here, and they are friends of the family). It was so refreshing...today is freaking HOT HOT HOT. Tonight we are going to fry the fish in PANKO (japanese) breadcrumbs, and serve em up with some coconut steamed rice and sauteed veggies. I've definitely been saving a lot of money since I've been here - no rent (staying at billys), no breakfast (need to go to the internet, and my ride doesn't understand my desire to stay connected via the world wide web), no lunch (i sleep thru it) and dinner is provided by Dad, Callen, and Franklin (well, Paulie did catch one little fish today...).

It's 4pm and Dad is steaming the OSTRAS so the whole house smells like the bottom of the ocean. But damn are they delicious.

Shawn is a wonderful boyfriend and a very understanding, sympathetic man - SO, I am staying in Costa Rica now until March 22nd. Looks like I'll be celebrating my birthday here once again. Once again, without family or close friends. But I'm excited to be staying. Shawnie will come down for his spring break, we will surf some epic waves, then I'll be flying home with him. Back to reality. Need to find a job - so PS...anybody know of any freelance graphic design jobs, or KICK ASS waitressing jobs, like going to make money hand over fist, then LET ME KNOW. Cause lord knows that I am desperate for some mooooolah. Gracias Shawnie! I love you!!

So, that's it for now. I'm typing from Dad's computer, with zero-internet access at Billys house. I'm going to bribe Paulie to drive me into town later so that I can get on the internet and post this. Don't these people here understand that the internet is like AIR for me? I NEED it. Ha. Ciao!!!

Spanish word of the day: "hilo de horo" (eel-o day oar-o) which means Jellyfish...those fuckers....



today is tuesday, and paulie didnt get me in to use the internet last night. everyones breathing down my neck, so i gotta go. sorry to everyone i am losing touch with. the internet isnt as easily accessible as it was in esterillos. xo cailin