Join me in Mexico at Baja Zen next year to become a GOLDEN BOO!!
Kim, owner and mastermind behind the beautiful retreat space, BAJA ZEN.
This training is going to be 300hours (with 200hour Yoga Alliance TTC), which will last 4 weeks. Classes will be 6 days a week, with Sundays off. There is accomodation on the property, or your welcome to stay elsewhere and commute. The training will have your traditional 'teacher training' background, but will be infused with a lot of alternative, creative ways to go deeper and understand on a more intricate level.
Why study with GBY?
Golden Buddha Yoga presents a wholehearted approach to learning yoga.. Our offerings are creative and fun yet the integrity of ancient yoga teachings are preserved. We are a collective of teachers who share the intention of applying the whole of the yoga system as a blueprint for living. Because we three are made up of differing qualities and life experiences, our approach to this shared intention are equally varying. Our well-versed dynamic guarantees that we will teach you the gift of yoga in all its magnificent facets. We promise to give you the necessary tools and support so you can apply all of the teachings to your life with grace and integrity. As the saying goes, There are many doors to the same house. We want to show you as many as possible.
We love what we live, that’s why we teach it. We have learned that love and inspiration are the best tools for teaching. We want you to fall in love with they yoga system as we have.
Together we will explore the the heart of our practices through the principles and foundations of Anatomy, Philosophy, Ancient Yogic texts, Hatha, Vinyasa, Pranayama, Meditation…...
Why 300 Hours?
With an added 100 hours we will take time to dive deeper into our creative processes through art projects and other mind opening adventures. We will explore ways in which we can hone in our our listening and observation skills. Using daily rituals, we will tap into our individual source of inspiration and so not only is it a learning experience, our teacher training is a life changing experience and will bring you closer to your most authentic self.
Why abroad?
Removed from your surroundings and comfort zone, your habits and with minimal distractions you are able to revel in the new information and knowledge. Enjoy the unwavering support of fellow teachers and students. Experience not only the teacher training but the incredible surroundings of Baja, Mexico. In a beautiful, expansive environment; our spirits have a chance to receive the teachings with a clear mind and open heart.
By taking ourselves abroad, we can relax into the spirit of the system. Being comfortably away allows us to create a new neutral from which we can learn. We are essentially practicing pratyahara, limiting our senses to support a greater goal - in this case, the quest for knowledge and self-transformation. We can learn the tools and the teachings from the ground up and create a strong foundation that will be easier to sustain once we all return home.
Venturing from home to study for a few weeks allows this act to be incredibly personal, and therefore deeply special. You can be whomever you want to be, whomever you truly are, without the pressures of the social milieu from which you’ve come. It is so valuable in this present world to thoughtfully slow down, remove ourselves, pause, observe, recallibrate, and then move forward.
Why intensive?
Participating in an intensive training allows us to deepen our dedication towards our practice with minimal distractions. With day to day integration of the knowledge we learn, it becomes a tangible part of you, that you are certain carry with you always. We understand that you are busy, and getting away can be a challenge but our teachings are offered in a focused direction and pleasantly intensive way so that your yoga immersion is a great pleasure and exciting exploration!
And this is a basic outline for the day (which obiously will change here and there...)
This is the conversation that we were having moments before I hopped off of the boat and into the water with this 25' Whale Shark. I decided that it was more whale than shark and off I was!! I swam way faster than anyone else on the boat so it was just me and this big, peaceful creature of the sea. I couldn't stop giggling because I was so excited and simultaneously incredibly nervous, swallowing water as my smile let in water. This was the most magical day on the water that I've ever had....and I have spent MANY a day on the sea. There were dozens of dolphins and two humpback whales that were inches from our boat, giving us a show - rolling and flapping and flipping and singing. My heart was skipping a beat and I was paralyzed with joy.
A big thanks to our main man Ira, who not only showed us the most amazing time and educated us about environmental conservation, but he also joined the local band at lunch and sang us one of his original songs!! Ira has lived in Baja for the past 21 years, and he was a wealth of information.
I decided that I’d had enough of everyone in this town just smiling at one another and tossing a wave in the air – we should all know each others names, have some conversations and get to know the people that we are sharing this intimate surf break and town with. SO, I invited everyone over for a bonfire and some beers. It was a great time and there was wonderful chemistry amongst the whole eclectic group. Scott played guitar and sang which was just amazing. Some people write beautiful lyrics, some people are extraordinary guitarist and some people have a voice that takes your breath away – well, Scott has all three. Jamie and I have become really close with him and his girlfriend Alex, sharing meals, music and laughing in the lineup. Anyways, there were still about a dozen people sitting around the bonfire when I retired for bed just after midnight, and at 6:30am when I woke the fire was still dwindling out front. Sipped some coffee and had another day of amazing surf. The vibe in the water this morning was especially special – the chemistry from the night before at the bonfire carried through to the lineup. Made some zucchini and onion curry over rice for breakfast and then made some dinner plans with Alex and Scott…it’s their last night L Just hanging at the house now, in the hammock…just being in the moment.
Heaven is expensive. Go ahead, laugh…but it’s true. People are always saying “Oh man, Mexico is so cheap…Costa is so expensive”…well, I say bullshit. The only way that Mexico is wallet friendly is if you are camping and cooking your own food. Lagarto, you told me about all of these little taco stands that have tacos 3x $1….they don’t exist anymore - atleast not within a 20mile radius of Heaven. Now, I’m not complaining, but – well, I’m complaining. And it’s not just me, I’ve heard this complaint from just about everyone under the sun here. The only person who has it wired is Bill. He drives his truck with a camper on top down to Mex and camps under a palapa for $5 a night. He cooks every single one of his meals, except for Tuesday nights when he goes out for Chile Rellanos which are $5. But for the average bear who isn’t driving down a camper for a few months, Mex is burnin’ through our pockets muy rapido. For example, the cheapest place to stay in town is $55 a night. That’s crazy! With my Spanish I bargained and bargained, threw my hands in the air, kicked the sand and finally got the Shack for $30 a night because we were staying for two weeks. In Costa I had a 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom home with a pool, a huge backyard, a view of the ocean, internet, a cool breeze because we were atop the hill and a ginormous kitchen…which worked out to be $35 a night. In Costa you have the option to live dirt cheap or let the cash flow – in Heaven, I’m finding it difficult to live on my somewhat strict budget. Internet is just under $5 an hour which may not seem like much but when you are spending five bucks a day it adds up…quickly. I had two shots of tequila at the bar last night, in Mexico – the LAND OF TEQUILA…it was $8. FOUR DOLLARS A SHOT. I thought that tequila was supposed to be cheaper than water? Bent on my camera that drowned, my split lip, expensive internet and shots of tequila I rallied some of my other frugal frustrated friends and we all went in on a bottle of tequila together so we could drown our sorrows. Again, it was listed at 200pesos for a bottle, but somehow when we went to pay it was 250pesos. I guess that when they realized we wanted it that they could charge us extra…and we were so bent on being ripped off, we just paid it! G’dang I say! Scott, his girlfriend Alex, Jamie, Miles, his brother, Zoe and I all headed back to the Shack, started up a fire and started drinking tequila out of coffee cups, bowls and cleaned out yogurt containers. Two guitars were making their way around the circle and we just enjoyed some good time, inexpensive fun. Now, the crazy thing about tequila is that you keep drinking and drinking and you’re not drunk…until you’re drunk. I sipped on tequila for well over an hour, occasionally taking a bite of lime here and there. And then it was like a light switch was flicked and I had a tingly feeling all over. Boom, I was drunk. Woke up this morning feeling like a million bucks – tequila, you are too kind. Had some coffee and shook all the bad vibes away. Heaven, you are expensive – but I still love you. Next time though I’m going to Honduras or Guatemala because this girl is a baller on a budget.
I think that Mexico is mad at me…I’m not sure why, but she’s let me know. Last night while walking back from Heather’s place my camera fell out of my bag {I only discovered the hole in my bag this morning}. I didn’t realize the camera was missing or discover the hole until about 6am today. As soon as the sun rose I began my walk down the beach, scanning the sand hoping to come across it. No camera, but I did come across my new friend Leslie who said that she’d found it last night and left it at the bar up the way- It was ruined by the ocean, but maybe I could salvage the memory card. Damnit. To cheer myself up I paddled out for some waves. The first wave I take off too deep, miss the section, abandon ship with my arms over my head, and underwater my board punches me in the face. I split my lip on the outside and my teeth went through my gums on the inside of my lip. I was just praising the higher power that my teeth were still there…I thought for sure I was going to look like a 7 year old, missing my front two teeth. I was on the brink of tears when a man paddled up to me a few minutes later, a good surfer who’s been in town for a few days with his wife. He said “Are you on the pro tour?”…I started to laugh, but my lip hurt too much so I just let out a giggle and said “No.” I thought he was just being polite…’oh, poor girl with a fat lip’, I guess I’ll say something nice. HA! Then he said “Well, who are your sponsors?” Again, I let out a little laugh and said “Just me.” And as soon as I thought he said all the nicest things possible, he says “Well, the only other person that I have seen look so beautiful and graceful on a longboard is Joel Tudor”. Well, G’DAMN! Despite the fat, split lip I was grinning from ear to ear. Surely an exaggeration on his part, but it filled me up with some good stuff none-the-less. Despite the nicest compliment I’ve ever heard my face was throbbing and I was just having a hard time shaking my funky mood. Cut my session short, only two hours today. Came in for some oatmeal and decided to sit down and come up with a PLAN…you all know how much I love a plan! Sat down at the internet and began looking up flights and sending out emails. I love surfing, but my FAVORITE reason for travel is meeting new people…and heavens almighty I have met some wonderful, outta-this-world people over the past few years. I’m pretty good at staying in some form of regular contact with my many newfound friends, and I try if at all possible to visit when I can. An easy place to visit is the West Coast, and I’ve met boatloads of people over time who reside there. So I decided…California it is. Now, where to stay? Earlier this year when I was in Costa my friend Brian Bouregious was up north in Samara. He is developing land in nearby town Camaronal and invited me up to his place. Brian told me that there would be several other people coming and going over the two weeks he was there, but that I was more than welcome to stay at the casa. So, I rented a car and drove four hours north for a visit. The house was absolutely stunning and I was instantly glad for taking him up on the offer. Also at the house was his cousin Ben Bourgeious {pro surfer}, Nate Lee {professional videographer and photographer}, Travis Deitz {comedian…}, and Lenny Jones. Lenny is Volcom’s #1 rep…he has been in the surf industry for a long time and is very involved with the surf community as well as his hometown community of Encinitas. For the week I was there I was cooking three delicious square meals a day…a treat for these boys who are accustomed to PB&J’s and spaghetti on surf trips. Lenny said that whenever I wanted to visit that he had a house on the beach with a spare bedroom in Encinitas. I shot him an email this morning on facebook and now I’m going to ENCINITAS!! I leave Mexico on April 23rd and I’ll be in California until May 6th. I cannot travel on the train with my 9’ longboard, so I plan on leaving that at Lenny’s and taking the train up the coast to visit some friends and family. Hopefully I’ll be able to meet up with new friends Zeuf and Heather in Santa Cruz for another premier of Heathers’ film The Women and the Waves. All in all, excited for a new adventure and looking forward to being home in three weeks. It’s been a great year, and I know that they will only get better. And as long as I don’t have a split lip, I won’t stop smiling!
Just got back from the showing of the Women in the Waves…and it was outstanding. I shed a few tears, burst out into laughter several times, and was sitting on the edge of my seat the whole time. If you have not seen this movie, go out and buy it. Not now – right now! There were some amazing surfers in the movie that Heather created, but one that really stood out was Zeuf. Zeuf is one of the women who has been here in Heaven with the group of California women. She has a crazy head of curly hair and a huge smile. Her and I have had a good connection and we’ve been enjoying our water time together the past few days. It wasn’t until I was watching Heather’s film that I discovered she had beaten breast cancer…TWICE and is currently battling bone cancer that has spread throughout her body. Her and her husband both were interviewed in the Women in the Waves, and both talked about how fighting cancer has given her a new appreciation for life: all aspects…small, big and inbetween. She talked about how you appreciate the color of the water at sunset, or the smell of the beach. Every day is a blessing. It really hit home with me and instantly brought up thoughts of my Dad. Some people don’t understand why I travel while my Dad is sick…but what makes him happiest is me enjoying life. I drink it up, every day. And keeping this blog is my way of sharing with him {as well as my mother and all of you} how exciting life is, every second. My parents were always lovers of life, but this battle has certainly given them, and me, a whole new perspective on the beauty of life. So, not only did I think that Zeuf was a kickass woman when we initially met, but after hearing about her strength and her journey – well, she’s simply amazing. I’m really enjoying my time here in Heaven, and I feel especially lucky to have strolled in during this window of time when such awesome people were in town. The universe has a funny way of filling you up with just what you need at just that moment. Pura Vida.
Lourdes Bar & Grill has a great upstairs…all open, a few hammocks, overlooking the ocean. A perfect spot for a yoga class! SO, a few girls that I met in the water, Lourdes and I had a yoga class up in the airy loft. It was wonderful and relaxing and oh-so-necessary after my 5 hour super session earlier in the day. I came downstairs and the family that lives across the way was hanging out in the restaurant. I played some ping pong and then headed back to the families house to play some music. Miles plays guitar, and I joined in with my Martin. A few songs into our jam session, newbie in town, Scott, strolled over with his girlfriend. I’d heard he was a musician so I insisted he take my guitar and play a few tunes. Well…holy shit. Scott is somethin’ else. Picture Brett Dennan meets Mason Jennings meets Xavier Rudd – but with a unique voice and the most alive guitar playing that I’ve ever witnessed. MUY cool. After hearing him play, neither Miles nor me wanted to chime in – so we just sat in awe, listening to several of Scott’s outstanding original tunes. Headed to bed and awoke to the sound of waves – big waves…just outside my door. Made coffee and then JamD and I waited for the sun to rise so we could check out what mother nature had in store for us. Well, it was kinda messy and mixed up. We watched for two hours, waiting. Everyone that exited the water had the same thing to say, “Well, it’s just okay. Had one or two good ones but that’s about it.” Robert said it was nothing to write home about, so he cut his surf session short and sat with us. Made him some coffee, and his buddy Brad some tea with honey. It was their last day in town, and it was Brad’s property manager Beto that was going to drop them at the airport and let us tag along to stop at the ATM and the supermarket in Ixtapa. Woohooo! Beto is probably in his mid-thirties. Wife, one daughter, Mexican, and has lived in La Saladita his whole life. He speaks a tiny bit of English, but most of our conversations were just in Spanish. We dropped the men at the airport and then stopped off at Commercial, the huge supermarket. Jam and I loaded up, hit up the ATM and then were back on the road. Beto insisted we stop for lunch at POLLO FELIZ for the best chicken around. Well, I was muy feliz with my pollo at Pollo Feliz! The three of us split the Pollo Entero: a whole, huge roasted chicken. With it came a lip-smacking salsa, lettuce, pickled onions, limes and an endless supply of freshly cooked tortillas! The three of us ate until we were on the brink of exploding. Once again, I was so relieved to have worn stretchy shorts! We also had 2 beers, 2 bottles of water and one club soda. The grand total for the three of us to leave fat and happy: 150 pesos. That’s about $13. When the bill came I pulled out money to pick up the tab – afterall, Beto didn’t have to drive us all around, and he was doing us a HUGE favor {there is no supermarket or ATM within an hour of Saladita}. Beto was appalled that I had even THOUGHT of paying a dime, and he insisted on paying the tab. He said in Mexico the women NEVER pay. Never. Nunca. And that this situation was no different. All that I could do was to say thank you with a big smile and a full belly. I patted my stomach and said “Oyyy, GORDITA!” {Gorda is fat. Gordita is like saying little fatty or chubby girl}. He laughed and said in Mexico they have a saying “GORDITAS pero BONITAS” which directly translates to “Chubby girls but beautiful girls!”. They don’t want any skinny girls with flat asses around here! Haha. The whole lunch made me think of my parents: first of all because my Dad eats the shit outta chicken, it’s his favorite food – and second of all, because my Ma is a gordita too! Food coma the whole way home, and then Beto dropped us off at our front door with all of our groceries. Not much else to report. I think that tonight we are headed to Troncones to see a surf video at Present Moment, a huge yoga studio. The video they are playing is Women in Waves that was actually created by the woman Heather I’ve been mentioning in the blog. She’s been here with the group of women from California. I’m pretty excited, might even shower and slap on some earrings…
“La Punta de Mujeres” Day 3 & 4: So yesterday we left our temporary digs for our permanent residence…”The Shack”. The Shack is about 6 steps from the beach, and well quite literally, it’s a shack. There are two beds with mosquito netting, two fans and two “windows” with no screens, which we can open or close. The bathroom is outside. We have no sink inside, just a minifridge and a little burner. It’s PERFECT. It gets a great breeze because we are right on the ocean. I bargained the price down as low as the owner would go, to $30 a night. This is the cheapest place in town by far. Love it. After we moved in we went out with Bill to a place just a walk down the beach. We had chile rellanos for dinner with him and a group of his friends. A good group of people. It was Izzie’s birthday, so we all had shots of tequila. Woohooo! Woke up to a chilly morning…I’m glad that they gave us heavy covers. Put on my sweatshirt and sipped coffee outside with Miss JamD, just barely able to see the waves through the darkness. 7:15am the sun began to peek through, enough so that we could see the waves. We were waxed up and in the water a little after 7:30. Now, I’ve been asked by several people to leave this town unnamed – they’ve specifically asked me not to mention it on my blog. So, I’ll call it “La Punta de Mujeres” or for short, HEAVEN. For the 3rd day in a row I surfed with just under 20 women in the water. It’s amazing. There is a big group from California, ranging from their 30’s to 60’s, all traveling with Linda Benson. Linda is 66 years old and still shines. She paved the way for women’s surfing, among her many accomplishments was being the first female to surf Waiemea in Hawaii. All the women traveling with her are really fantastic surfers, which is great – because it’s raising the bar for everyone in the water. We are all pushing each other and encouraging one another. One of the Cali crew is Heather. A mother of two, soul surfer, smile from ear to ear. She’s wonderful. Heather is a filmmaker, and has be in and produced several films about surfing, more specifically – women’s surfing. This break has been a bit crowded with crews of people, but everyone is amazingly friendly and there is a great rotation in the water. The waves just fire through, constantly. To paddle back out takes a good 5 minutes, so it keeps the lineup flowing. My body was exhausted from the two days prior, but you wouldn’t know it by watching me. I surfed for FIVE hours today – nonstop. No breaks, no lulls…constant surfing. I was being hooted into waves by the famous Linda Benson, smiling from ear to ear as I’d pull into a perfect wave, solid overhead, and hang five for what seemed to be miles on end. We were joking and calling it “Ladies Point”, but really…this spot is Heaven. Well, my exact heaven would be a RIGHT point break as opposed to a left, and it would have a hummus + pita shack on the beach – but those minor details aside, this is as close to heaven as I’ve ever been. Another favorite of mine in the lineup is Robert. Robert is 51 years old, from California, and he has a great, smooth style. He is a 6’2” black man, and with that comes a thousand funny jokes, all made by him. Just a good guy, with a good vibe….not afraid to be surrounded in the lineup by a ton of girls who are ripping it up. Following this mornings surf was some kickass oatmeal and then some R&R in the hammocks hanging outside our house. This is so very different from Oeste, but in a way that is perfect for me right now. I’m really excited to spend some more time here and meet some more of these outstanding people. Bah, if anybody asks….I’m in HEAVEN.
Well…two beers, internet and then some chill time on the porch. Playing guitar, watching the pipas grow. Excuse me, “coco’s”. For dinner I made a big salad, rice and beans. The salad had roasted beets, goat cheese, avocado, pickled red onions and sunflower seeds. The dressing was honey & lime juice, salt and pepp. MmMmMm. Woke up at 5:30 this morning and did yoga on our porch, only light being a few little tea candles. A little after 6:30 we started on some Bialetti and by 7:30 we were sitting in the lineup…the sun still struggling to come out. I was freezing…cool water, cool breeze and no sun. Goosebumps in Mex! Bah. We shared the peak with a few other people for the first hour and then it got really crowded after that. Still managed to catch some amazing waves…fast, perfect faces, peeling forever. After about two hours we decided that we were tired enough and hungry enough to let the crowds force us out. I made scrambled eggs, rice and beans, some sliced up tomato and cabbage topped with lime juice and a dash of EVOO. Sipping on some hot black tea {Lipton’s, of course} with cream and sugar, typing this blog as I sit on my beachside porch. The waves are still firing in – well overhead, clean lines. Maybe we will rally and paddle out for a second session. Or maybe we’ll just lay in the hammocks and watch the coco’s grow….
I always miss my family – starting the minute I pull out of their driveway en route to the airport. But it’s really starting to sink in. It’s been about 4 months since I’ve seen them, and about 6 months since I’ve been settled back at home. Missing Shawnie too. Hoping that he is having a good time in Australia. We decided that it’s best to cut communication, which I’m finding rather difficult. For two years he was my best friend and confidant. I want to tell him all about my fun adventures – the perfect waves I’ve had, and the funny face plants. Several times I day I think “Bah, Shawn would love this” or “Ha – wait til I tell Shawnie!” I’m guessing this gets easier with time? Also, Jamie leaves in 10 days, but I think I need a bit more time here before heading back to the Northeast. I’m giving myself one week for things to work themselves out, and if they don’t – I’ll return to the States. Otherwise, the adventure will continue for a bit longer. As of this moment I have no ticket, no plan and no idea of what’s next. I think I like it.
Wednesday afternoon Mike {that owns Costa Rica Dive & Surf in Dominical} and his girlfriend, Alicia came to visit. We walked out to La Sirena, had a beer, swam in the pool and then cleaned up for my last dinner in Costa Rica: TSUNAMI SUSHI. It was only appropriate…it always seems to be where I have my farewell Costa dinner, and it’s perfect because I highly doubt there are sushi places where we are headed in Mexico. After sushi we went to Vago’s for some beers, and unfortunately a few tequila shots. Vago just won’t take no for an answer. JamieD was skating all over the place, in a little onesie and some flip flops – still whooping the guys asses, busting ollies and a bunch of other crazy shit. We retired home before 10pm and went right to sleep. Woke up the next morning and took Mike and Alicia to Bejuco. I was hoping for a repeat of the day before: overhead barrels, crystal clear water. It was pretty similar, just a lot faster and a lot heavier. Went back to the house to get ready for my LAST yoga class of this season.It was lovely and peaceful and all that a yoga class should be. Following the class I served up some brunch and before you knew it there was a full blown party happening at my house! Beers, pool, and more than 20 people! Though the day was filled with chaos I managed to sell my truck, get one puppy adopted in Dominical {Arena went home with Mike and Licia for a friend of theirs} and in the final hours Brett decided to adopt my little Miss Tibby! Mama Lee arrived a little after 2pm and joined in on the festivities. We hung around for a few hours, said our goodbyes and then hoped in the car with Lee and headed back to Atenas. I was definitely filled with a bit of sadness as we pulled out of town, but not to worry…I’ll be back in a few months – this family and I will pick up right where we left off in no time! Back in Atenas, Mama Lee fed us a huge delicious dinner – we started a movie, and were all asleep within 20minutes. Woke up at 4:25am, loaded up the taxi @ 4:45am and were standing in the airport by 5:30am for our 7:15 flight. My PIC and I were all smiles and so ready for our next adventure.
We board the plane and quickly realize that we are seated in FIRST CLASS. Once before this has happened to me, but we didn’t get the royal treatment, I think that they had just been out of seats. Well seconds after sitting down we are approached by the steward who asks us if we’d like a refreshment before takeoff. Of course! Café con leche, por favor! We were grinning from ear to ear, or as JamieD would say “STAGE DIVING” over this little perk…and after takeoff we almost died of excitement when they fed us fresh fruit and orange juice, using real tableware…and CLOTH NAPKINS! We had more coffee and then just when we thought it couldn’t get any better they asked “French toast or omlette?” I had the French toast, which was probably the best I’ve EVER had. It was served with delightful sausage links and warm rolls – with butter and jam. Jamie had the omlette which she was moaning and groaning over: filled with meat and spinach with melted cheese and topped with a perfect salsa…served with grilled potatoes. We were like little girls, laughing hysterical. We couldn’t stop. Two scruffy, unshowered, sleepy surfer girls…surrounded by Mexican businessmen, laughing uncontrollably. As soon as I thought that our laughing was done I took a sip of my OJ, only to have it come out my nose seconds later – prompted by more hysterical laughter from my PIC seated beside me. “Good times on the reg.” We stretched out in our huge, comfy “lazy-boy-esque” seats and napped for a while. When we went to the VIP first class bathroom, we were ecstatic with the discovery of HOT WATER. We both gave ourselves mini-facials…the first hot water that we’ve had in months. Now we are sitting in the airport in Mexico City. We have a few hours to kill before our one hour connecting flight to Ixtapa, so we are gonna chillout, have some coffee, laugh over the goodtimes, think about the adventures to come and lay in the Legs Up The Wall pose for a while – all this traveling has made us stiff! Pura Fucking Vida.
A quick and easy flight to Ixtapa, about the same sized airport as Atlantic City. Perfect. Grab our boards and my big duffel bag filled with coffee, spices, condiments and food and then we are through customs. You can’t miss Bill, he has a crazy head of curly hair—and he couldn’t miss us, two riff-raff scruffy girls hauling a ten foot double board bag through the airport. We all hit it off instantly. Loaded up Bill’s Toyota Tundra and then cruised to the big supermarket in town. Well, Bill’s got quite the setup. For $36 he is allowed to bring his truck into Mexico. He has a sweet camper on the bed of the truck and for $5 a night he can camp on the beach under a palapa that has hot water and all the amenities. Pretty sweet. Anyways, arrive at the supermarket and Bill warns us to stock up – because we won’t be coming back this way, and the two little supers that are near our town don’t have much – and by the way, they aren’t walking distance, so you probably won’t be visiting them much either. We grab all the essentials and for a little under 70 bucks each we a full cart and enough food to last us the two weeks until JamieD leaves. I was pretty impressed with the supermarket, they had a huge variety: and we even treated ourselves to goat cheese with herbs, bleu cheese, and some amazing baguettes and loaves of bread! REAL bread, delicious, you’d-think-it’s-from-the-states bread! Dear Mexico, please teach Costa Rica how to make a decent loaf of bread. We load up the truck with our essentials {rice and beans} and treasures {good wine, bread and cheese}, and then we are headed towards the beach. Bill is the BEST tour guide ever. Super informative, super helpful and has made this transition from Costa to Mex super easy. We pull up into a very small, muy tranquilo town. It’s less then half the size of Esterillos, which is pretty damn mellow. We traded in our huge house on the hills in Esterillos where we’d lay in bed sipping coffee and watch the sunrise, for a small shack literally steps from the beach in Mexico, where we can lay in bed and sip wine {or rather, Tequila} and watch the sunset. Not too bad. I’m a bit thrown off by the sunrise and sunset here: right now it is 6:30am as I lay in bed and type this blog, yet the sun has still not made it’s presence known. Pitch black. And I’ve been up since 5am! Last night the sun didn’t really go down until just before 8pm as well, which is a few hours later than Oeste. Oh, the excitement of a new place! Hopefully the bugs are more mellow here than they’ve been in Costa the past few weeks. JamieD said that she surely has more bug bites than there are people in this town – and I’m not too far behind her. In this new place we are looking forward to early nights, early mornings filled with yoga, less bugs, spending less money and surf surf surf. This is a left point break, so it looks like my backside is going to be whipped into shape. Oh, and just FYI: every freaking break in a 100 mile radius is a left point break. Whooopow!
We’ve traded one paradise for the another. Pura Vida.
Okay, Saturday morning. Alarm goes off at 5am. Hit snooze several times because there is no sun in sight. Wake up at 6am…still pitch black but figure that the sun has to be rising soon. Made coffee in my Bialetti…Adam was holding it hostage for awhile, but now it’s back. 6:30am, JamD and I are sipping coffee, wondering where the sun is. Listening to the waves, began prepping our boards: fins in, waxed up, ready to go. 7am…where in the hell is the sun? I would have been in the water for atleast an hour by now if this was Costa. Christ. What’s going on. Finally around 7:15 the sun begins to peak through and around 7:30 we paddle out to the left point break. Whoa, get worked cause I drop in too late and too deep. This wave has power. Shoulder high {not on me, on a person of average height} and then a few feet overhead on the sets. Clean and perfect and peeling and holy shit, we are in heaven. Now if only this were a RIGHT point break as opposed to a left. Oh well. Start out with only 5 people in the water…great vibe and steady exchange of waves. About two hours later team Roxy, literally team Roxy, paddle out. With them is Linda Benson – she paved the way years ago for women’s surfing. A whole crew of Cali girls…and now we are outnumbering the guys – 16 women in the water. Holy estrogen! Peak gets a little crowded, but everyone is super friendly and sharing waves. We get out of the water at 11:45…a solid four hour session. Despite the long water time we don’t have a sunburn! The water here is cool, actually a bit too chilly for me the first hour out this morning. The air is cool and sun is not nearly as fierce as Costa. Stomachs growling, we throw down some yogurt and granola and then nap…for a few hours! Bill came by for a visit so we chatted away on the front beach, steps from the beach and a beautiful breeze. Unfortunately you can only get one session in around here this time of year, but I’m not too upset – because my one session was pretty freaking fantastic, and four hours has left my body feeling whooped. Going to do some yoga, hop in the internet so I can post this blog and let my family know I’m alive, drink a beer and then head back to la casita for dinner and bed. Life is good.
