When im in costa rica, i want for nothing. well, nothing besides some waves, chicken tacos from soda nanyoa, and maybe a good book. but those 'things' that i want, i need in the states - they just disappear. a new car, better cell phone, clothes, jewelry, it all seems so small and insignificant compared to the big picture...the big picture that really becomes clear being in costa rica. surely i ache for a home in costa rica, but a humble home - with a watermelon patch, an avocado tree and 2 rocking chairs. i dont know why i cannot hold onto this ideal of peace and simplicity once i get home?
bah. costa rica - penetrate me, i want to drink you up and live you every day.
pura vida.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
day 3 in cahuita
caribbean!!!!!!!!!!!!!
woooohoooo. me gusta. me gusta. me gusta.
it was almost time for dinner last night, but i was craving an ice cold beer. craving. so thoralf, nico and i walked down to the reggae bar at the end of the street for some muy deliciouso y frio cervezas. later, we showered up and we walked around town to pick out a restaurant. we ended up going out to this place that served italian and local food. michelle and i opted for the italian pasta (sooo delicious) and the boys had local food. my dinner was 3000 colones, about 6 bucks, and i threw in an extra dollar for a tip. on the way home, michelle was falling asleep, so her and nico went home for bed. thoralf and i went to the beach bar for one more beer and some conversation. i have a hard time understanding his english because of his thick german accent, but we get by. he has some great travel stories. when he was 24 he spent a year traveling through australia. he only had enough money for a ticket and only a little bit of spending money. he got a working visa that allows you to stay for one year. he bought a car and traveled around the whole coast of australia. he took temporary jobs to make money - being a farmhand, a busdriver, even though he wasnt certified hahaha, and picked peppers for 3 weeks. he said that he hasnt eaten a pepper since. i love to her my traveling partners stories - since the 3 of them are from europe and traveling to other countries is like traveling to neighboring states, they always have a good story to tell.
this morning i slept in until 7am. thorolf went surfing, and then nico, michelle and i went out for breakfast. im glad that we waited, because the waves only got better. it didnt look that big, but the white water here is so goddamn powerful, it took me some serious time and effort to get out. once i was out, i was fine. had some nice waves and then came back to the house for a rest in the hammock.
today is nico´s birthday, so i think that we are going to drink some rum, play some fooseball, and go out to eat tonight. not sure if we are going to get waves again, but it sure would be nice. tomorrow we are going into puerto viejo for breakfast at a place that nico and michelle rave about, and then try out a new break that is 30 minutes from there. woohooo.
pura vida.
woooohoooo. me gusta. me gusta. me gusta.
it was almost time for dinner last night, but i was craving an ice cold beer. craving. so thoralf, nico and i walked down to the reggae bar at the end of the street for some muy deliciouso y frio cervezas. later, we showered up and we walked around town to pick out a restaurant. we ended up going out to this place that served italian and local food. michelle and i opted for the italian pasta (sooo delicious) and the boys had local food. my dinner was 3000 colones, about 6 bucks, and i threw in an extra dollar for a tip. on the way home, michelle was falling asleep, so her and nico went home for bed. thoralf and i went to the beach bar for one more beer and some conversation. i have a hard time understanding his english because of his thick german accent, but we get by. he has some great travel stories. when he was 24 he spent a year traveling through australia. he only had enough money for a ticket and only a little bit of spending money. he got a working visa that allows you to stay for one year. he bought a car and traveled around the whole coast of australia. he took temporary jobs to make money - being a farmhand, a busdriver, even though he wasnt certified hahaha, and picked peppers for 3 weeks. he said that he hasnt eaten a pepper since. i love to her my traveling partners stories - since the 3 of them are from europe and traveling to other countries is like traveling to neighboring states, they always have a good story to tell.
this morning i slept in until 7am. thorolf went surfing, and then nico, michelle and i went out for breakfast. im glad that we waited, because the waves only got better. it didnt look that big, but the white water here is so goddamn powerful, it took me some serious time and effort to get out. once i was out, i was fine. had some nice waves and then came back to the house for a rest in the hammock.
today is nico´s birthday, so i think that we are going to drink some rum, play some fooseball, and go out to eat tonight. not sure if we are going to get waves again, but it sure would be nice. tomorrow we are going into puerto viejo for breakfast at a place that nico and michelle rave about, and then try out a new break that is 30 minutes from there. woohooo.
pura vida.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
waves on the e.c.
the caribbean is difficult to figure out. the tide doesnt really change more than 2 feet between high and low tide, so i gather that it doesnt matter that much. it was shit when we checked it this morning. we checked the waves again after breakfast and they sucked. we loaded up the car, packed day bags, and when we pulled 50feet to the end of the street to leave town,and the waves were head high and perfect, clean. ha. crazy that it changed so quick. so we returned the car to the cabina and went for a surf right out front. it was fun, powerful and clean. surfed for about 30 minutes and then within 5 minutes it almost doubled in size/weight. heavy and fast. the sets were breaking like the day that shawn, me and adam surfed the 'secret' spot in esterillos. totally crazy and totally random. it was difficult to find a spot, there isnt one peak. but i had the 3 biggest waves out there. the locals were hooting and hollering me on. and then just as quickly as the well cleaned up, and then picked up, it turned to shit again. in the matter of minutes. but we got in a good two hours of surf so that was good. i think that my leash stretched about a foot today haha. a few i stayed in too late and couldn't cut out, so i just had to jump off my board. some powerful surf out there. also, there is a current which you should definitely pay attention too. i just took a peek at it, but it looked crappy like this morning. but who knows, going to keep my eye on it and maybe it will get perfect again before dark?
we came back to the cabina and just hung out in the hammocks and rocking chairs. we moved into a room upstairs that is beautiful and cozy. its crazy how much cooler it is on the caribbean...even the water. its only a few degrees cooler, but the water is refreshing and the air isn't sweltering. i was dozing in and out of sleep in the hammock when nico gave us a holler about empanadas. a woman stopped by the house with chicken empanadas, for 400 colones!!!! mmmm. it was so good, and it was just what i needed.
looking forward to what the east coast will continue to throw my way. and lucky us, michelle checked the swell and in a few days when we head back to esterillos, a swell will be rolling thru! woohooo. pura vida.
we came back to the cabina and just hung out in the hammocks and rocking chairs. we moved into a room upstairs that is beautiful and cozy. its crazy how much cooler it is on the caribbean...even the water. its only a few degrees cooler, but the water is refreshing and the air isn't sweltering. i was dozing in and out of sleep in the hammock when nico gave us a holler about empanadas. a woman stopped by the house with chicken empanadas, for 400 colones!!!! mmmm. it was so good, and it was just what i needed.
looking forward to what the east coast will continue to throw my way. and lucky us, michelle checked the swell and in a few days when we head back to esterillos, a swell will be rolling thru! woohooo. pura vida.
Caribbean Cahuita
Caribbean Cahuita.
Jan 12th, Cahuita, costa rica 8pm
it took us 7 hours but we made it. cahuita (ka-hweat-ah) on the east coast of costa rica, about an hour south of limon. i love my traveling partners. they are friendly and funny and witty. me gusta. they have a good sense of humor, and even joked about selling me into the slave trade. i told them that my dad used to threaten to sell me to the gypsies when i was a kid. they got a good laugh out of it, and now their story is that they are selling me to the gypsy king. im very grateful that they speak english for me, so that i understand what is going on. though once they forgot, when they were talking about checking the brakes, and i went flying into the back of michelles seat. hahahaha. they are still apologizing. what can i say, i just cant seem to understand german.
the caribbean side is green. so green. beautiful green. and it SMELLS green. but its also surprisingly industrial? it seems as though, aside from the jobs in the beach town, the only other option is logging and driving huge mac trucks.
to pass the time on our drive we listened to a book on tape. some ´horror´story from the 1930s, narrated by, surprise, an english man. interesting. and a bit odd.
the place that we are staying, cabinas mambo, is gorgeous. its 40$ for a big room with one double bed, 2 singles and a big bathroom. there are hammocks outside and its steps from the beach. so for $10 a night, we are making out really well. its 8pm now, and we are going to head out for some good, local caribbean cuisine. mmm. all in all, im feeling superstoked on my adventure. i do feel a tadbit like shit though because my traveling friends speak fluent german, english, spanish and french as well as bits of other languages, and i barely have mastered english. ha.
AFTER DINNER....
the caribbean is bad ass. AUTHENTIC. ALIVE. im in love.
getting ready for some shut eye and hopefully wake up to waves. good night. buenos noches...or in german, GUTE NACHT!
Rainy Zen.
Jan 13th, Cahuita costa rica, 7am?
woke up this morning around 5 530am. not sure because i forgot my watch @ soda mary, but thats around the time that ive been up every morning and the sun was just starting to peek through.
walked down to the beach, about a 30 sec walk to check the waves. its about head high and building. a bit gray and a bit unsure, kind of reminded of a fall jersey swell. but we are told that it will clean up by the afternoon.
did some yoga on our very zen inspired front porch. ive really been getting into a routine with the yoga and im feeling great - light and limber. as soon as i began it started to rain, which helped me to relax and focus on my breathing. mmmm.
the swiss sleep late so im just hanging solo on the front porch, listening to the rain and wishing for some cafe con leche. nowhere is open yet and unfortunately we dont have a kitchen at this cabina, so im living sans-coffee for about another hour. ciao.
Had coffee with my german friend, thoralf. it was interesting to talk about all of his crazy travels. funny guy. have a hard time understanding his english because of the heavy german accent, but we get by. his girlfriend is coming in this week, so im excited to add another girl into the mix. woohooo. pura vida.
Jan 12th, Cahuita, costa rica 8pm
it took us 7 hours but we made it. cahuita (ka-hweat-ah) on the east coast of costa rica, about an hour south of limon. i love my traveling partners. they are friendly and funny and witty. me gusta. they have a good sense of humor, and even joked about selling me into the slave trade. i told them that my dad used to threaten to sell me to the gypsies when i was a kid. they got a good laugh out of it, and now their story is that they are selling me to the gypsy king. im very grateful that they speak english for me, so that i understand what is going on. though once they forgot, when they were talking about checking the brakes, and i went flying into the back of michelles seat. hahahaha. they are still apologizing. what can i say, i just cant seem to understand german.
the caribbean side is green. so green. beautiful green. and it SMELLS green. but its also surprisingly industrial? it seems as though, aside from the jobs in the beach town, the only other option is logging and driving huge mac trucks.
to pass the time on our drive we listened to a book on tape. some ´horror´story from the 1930s, narrated by, surprise, an english man. interesting. and a bit odd.
the place that we are staying, cabinas mambo, is gorgeous. its 40$ for a big room with one double bed, 2 singles and a big bathroom. there are hammocks outside and its steps from the beach. so for $10 a night, we are making out really well. its 8pm now, and we are going to head out for some good, local caribbean cuisine. mmm. all in all, im feeling superstoked on my adventure. i do feel a tadbit like shit though because my traveling friends speak fluent german, english, spanish and french as well as bits of other languages, and i barely have mastered english. ha.
AFTER DINNER....
the caribbean is bad ass. AUTHENTIC. ALIVE. im in love.
getting ready for some shut eye and hopefully wake up to waves. good night. buenos noches...or in german, GUTE NACHT!
Rainy Zen.
Jan 13th, Cahuita costa rica, 7am?
woke up this morning around 5 530am. not sure because i forgot my watch @ soda mary, but thats around the time that ive been up every morning and the sun was just starting to peek through.
walked down to the beach, about a 30 sec walk to check the waves. its about head high and building. a bit gray and a bit unsure, kind of reminded of a fall jersey swell. but we are told that it will clean up by the afternoon.
did some yoga on our very zen inspired front porch. ive really been getting into a routine with the yoga and im feeling great - light and limber. as soon as i began it started to rain, which helped me to relax and focus on my breathing. mmmm.
the swiss sleep late so im just hanging solo on the front porch, listening to the rain and wishing for some cafe con leche. nowhere is open yet and unfortunately we dont have a kitchen at this cabina, so im living sans-coffee for about another hour. ciao.
Had coffee with my german friend, thoralf. it was interesting to talk about all of his crazy travels. funny guy. have a hard time understanding his english because of the heavy german accent, but we get by. his girlfriend is coming in this week, so im excited to add another girl into the mix. woohooo. pura vida.
posting comments
its easy. click on the comments. then you have to select a profile...it will give you a scroll down list - select name-url. you dont have to put in a url, just your name, and then type your comment. voila.
also, here is the link for costa photos. its a public link, so everyone should be able to view them.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=199988&l=900d4&id=653500240
also, here is the link for costa photos. its a public link, so everyone should be able to view them.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=199988&l=900d4&id=653500240
Monday, January 12, 2009
headed to the caribbean
Hello.
My name is Cailin Callahan.
I am 21 years old, and I'm afraid of the dark.
Ha. True story. I had to sleep in a room by myself last night and I'm not going to lie, I was totally creepin out. Damnit. I need to grow up. How am I supposed to travel the world if I am afraid of the dark. I was so thankful for 530am when the sun started to creep out. Ha.
I was super stiff when I woke up, so I did yoga for about an hour, and now I am feeling great. Had some coffee and some breakfast, and hung out with the crew. The dog that adopted me for the day is Stain (or stained or stainer). A black pitpull mix.So sweet. I was glad for the canine company.
Talked to Nico, Michelle and Thoralf (tor-af), and I'm going to head to the Caribbean coast with them for a week. There are no waves here, and without them here I will have no ride to any better breaks like Hermosa, which is about a 15 to 20 minute car drive away. SO - not sure if they have the internet where we are going, so I may or may not be able to write or blog for the next week. We are going to be staying right by Salsa Brava -- though I highly highly highly doubt we will be surfing that wave!!!!
Pura Vida!!!
xo cailin
My name is Cailin Callahan.
I am 21 years old, and I'm afraid of the dark.
Ha. True story. I had to sleep in a room by myself last night and I'm not going to lie, I was totally creepin out. Damnit. I need to grow up. How am I supposed to travel the world if I am afraid of the dark. I was so thankful for 530am when the sun started to creep out. Ha.
I was super stiff when I woke up, so I did yoga for about an hour, and now I am feeling great. Had some coffee and some breakfast, and hung out with the crew. The dog that adopted me for the day is Stain (or stained or stainer). A black pitpull mix.So sweet. I was glad for the canine company.
Talked to Nico, Michelle and Thoralf (tor-af), and I'm going to head to the Caribbean coast with them for a week. There are no waves here, and without them here I will have no ride to any better breaks like Hermosa, which is about a 15 to 20 minute car drive away. SO - not sure if they have the internet where we are going, so I may or may not be able to write or blog for the next week. We are going to be staying right by Salsa Brava -- though I highly highly highly doubt we will be surfing that wave!!!!
Pura Vida!!!
xo cailin
Sunday, January 11, 2009
4.5 Hour Hermosa Session
Hey there. Today is the 11th of January. Shawn left this morning. I'm pretty bummed, but I travel well solo, so hopefully that will start kicking in soon. Plus, with Skype I can call him every day, and even see him on the webcam!! After he left I hit up the SuperSol for some essentials (tortillas, beans, coconut cookies, milk, etc.) and then uploaded some photos onto facebook from dominical (check them out here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=199988&l=900d4&id=653500240 ).
Thoralf, Michelle, and Niko were heading into Jaco to look for a board for Thoralf, and then were going to go for a surf in Hermosa. So I hopped in the car with them. Had a fun time cruising around and then unloaded at a solid chest to head high swell at Hermosa. It was good for 20 minutes, then the wind picked up, then it glassed off, then it got bumpy. Ha. You see where I'm going with this. But the last 2 hours were really great. Everyone I was with was in and out of the water. Taking breaks and such. Not me. I surfed for almost 5 hours, going only on a bowl of frosted flakes. My back is aching, my arms are breaking. Ibprofuen is calling my name for sure. When we left we hit up the smoothie shack at the end of Hermosa. There was this Venezuelan chick, Simone, who was there selling homemade bathings. Badass. And she's a surfer - making them for specifically for surfing chicas. Michelle and I were going crazy over the bathingsuits, but of course had to money. We planned to meet her in town about 2 hours later to buy the suits. So Michelle and I cleaned up, ran some errands then headed to town. Well we looked all over Hermosa. And we couldn't find Simone. We were kindof hazy about our meeting point, and finally we ended up at a bar that was happening in Hermosa, in hopes of finding our fabulous homemade suits. No Simone, but there was a live band. So we decided to have a beer and listen to the music. The second we got a beer, they took a set break. They came back on when we were walking out the door. hahaha. Shit luck. oh well. We are hoping to run into her tomorrow.
Back at the house. Just had a fried egg on a tortilla with beans, onions, tomato and avocado. MmMm. I had a really wonderful day, and I'm totally bummed that Nico, Michelle and Thoralf are leaving for the Caribbean tomorrow. Michelle is fabulous. She speaks 4 languages and goes to school in San Jose for art. She's swiss. So is her boyfriend, Nico. But they both look Tico and speak fluent spanish. Their friend is German, and he's always busy traveling the world. A neat group. I'm tossing around the idea of going to the caribbean coast with them for a week. It's only a week, I've never been, it's cheap, and it will mix it up a bit. Who knows. I'm just trying to roll with it.
Thoralf, Michelle, and Niko were heading into Jaco to look for a board for Thoralf, and then were going to go for a surf in Hermosa. So I hopped in the car with them. Had a fun time cruising around and then unloaded at a solid chest to head high swell at Hermosa. It was good for 20 minutes, then the wind picked up, then it glassed off, then it got bumpy. Ha. You see where I'm going with this. But the last 2 hours were really great. Everyone I was with was in and out of the water. Taking breaks and such. Not me. I surfed for almost 5 hours, going only on a bowl of frosted flakes. My back is aching, my arms are breaking. Ibprofuen is calling my name for sure. When we left we hit up the smoothie shack at the end of Hermosa. There was this Venezuelan chick, Simone, who was there selling homemade bathings. Badass. And she's a surfer - making them for specifically for surfing chicas. Michelle and I were going crazy over the bathingsuits, but of course had to money. We planned to meet her in town about 2 hours later to buy the suits. So Michelle and I cleaned up, ran some errands then headed to town. Well we looked all over Hermosa. And we couldn't find Simone. We were kindof hazy about our meeting point, and finally we ended up at a bar that was happening in Hermosa, in hopes of finding our fabulous homemade suits. No Simone, but there was a live band. So we decided to have a beer and listen to the music. The second we got a beer, they took a set break. They came back on when we were walking out the door. hahaha. Shit luck. oh well. We are hoping to run into her tomorrow.
Back at the house. Just had a fried egg on a tortilla with beans, onions, tomato and avocado. MmMm. I had a really wonderful day, and I'm totally bummed that Nico, Michelle and Thoralf are leaving for the Caribbean tomorrow. Michelle is fabulous. She speaks 4 languages and goes to school in San Jose for art. She's swiss. So is her boyfriend, Nico. But they both look Tico and speak fluent spanish. Their friend is German, and he's always busy traveling the world. A neat group. I'm tossing around the idea of going to the caribbean coast with them for a week. It's only a week, I've never been, it's cheap, and it will mix it up a bit. Who knows. I'm just trying to roll with it.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
And the winner is....
...ESTERILLOS!!!
Bah. But don't think that I didn't change my mind 40 friggin times before I finally decided on esterillos. We were half way here, driving down a shitty dirt road, and I turned to shawn and said "babe, maybe I should have stayed in dominical?". hahaha. bah. but im happy with my choice. a few more weeks in esterillos will do me good. shawn is happy because he knows that the boys here will look out for me, and im happy because ive become good friends with the messed up, mayhem, soda mary family.
we surfed some crappy hermosa when we got into town, but after that ride i was thankful to get myself into some water. showered up and now we are getting ready to head down to the Full Moon Party at the bar down the street. $2 burgers, $1 fish tacos and 1.5$ beers. mmmm.
blogs will be back, full force and better than ever. now that im here i will be posting some dominical photos as well. so keep checking back for updates.
PURA VIDA.
Bah. But don't think that I didn't change my mind 40 friggin times before I finally decided on esterillos. We were half way here, driving down a shitty dirt road, and I turned to shawn and said "babe, maybe I should have stayed in dominical?". hahaha. bah. but im happy with my choice. a few more weeks in esterillos will do me good. shawn is happy because he knows that the boys here will look out for me, and im happy because ive become good friends with the messed up, mayhem, soda mary family.
we surfed some crappy hermosa when we got into town, but after that ride i was thankful to get myself into some water. showered up and now we are getting ready to head down to the Full Moon Party at the bar down the street. $2 burgers, $1 fish tacos and 1.5$ beers. mmmm.
blogs will be back, full force and better than ever. now that im here i will be posting some dominical photos as well. so keep checking back for updates.
PURA VIDA.
la parcela and decisions, decisions, decisions
last night shawn, bill and i ate at la parcela for shawns last dinner in dominical. la parcela was bills favorite restaurant. its on a cliff, overlooking la punta, and its very beautiful. they were always busy, especially on the weekends. well on friday night, prime dinner time, we were the only table there. and i think one of the only for the night. their prices doubled. for the 3 of us to eat a very humble humble dinner cost 50 bucks....almost 3 times what the other places in town cost. now i know why it was so quiet. it was nice though, having the place to ourselves -- and the view, which was lit up by the full moon. saw some guys with flashlights walking around on the reef, looking for lobsters!!
this morning we woke up around 530. i made breakfast...scrambled eggs with onions, sauteed plantains, fresh pineapple, toast, and banana leches. mmmmm. so good. went for a tour through the mountains -- looking at all of the beautiful properties and views in billys neighborhood. shawnie and i both started schemeing for a life in paradise as opposed to the rat race in the states. hahaha. wishful thinking. bring money.
shawn has to leave in 2 hours for esterillos. so i have 2 hours to decide...
dominical
billys house, or
esterillos
hahaha. and i still have no idea. bah. its driving me crazy. im sure that i will decide about 2 minutes before its time for him to leave.
gotta go. going to get a coconut from the fruit guy, and then a hummus and avocado pita from CHAPYS!!!!
this morning we woke up around 530. i made breakfast...scrambled eggs with onions, sauteed plantains, fresh pineapple, toast, and banana leches. mmmmm. so good. went for a tour through the mountains -- looking at all of the beautiful properties and views in billys neighborhood. shawnie and i both started schemeing for a life in paradise as opposed to the rat race in the states. hahaha. wishful thinking. bring money.
shawn has to leave in 2 hours for esterillos. so i have 2 hours to decide...
dominical
billys house, or
esterillos
hahaha. and i still have no idea. bah. its driving me crazy. im sure that i will decide about 2 minutes before its time for him to leave.
gotta go. going to get a coconut from the fruit guy, and then a hummus and avocado pita from CHAPYS!!!!
Friday, January 9, 2009
necesito un casa
i need a place. shawn and i are in dominical today. ran into 2 people that i knew last year, and they were still tweaking out from the night before. definitely trying to find a place on my own. still trying to figure it all out.
tide is low so the waves are closing out. the waves do seem to be looking up though which is good.
saw my buddy mike who owns costa rica dive and surf. they were just getting the business started last year when i was here, and this year its booming. im glad for him - he lives and breathes scuba.
town is different from what i remember. i dont know if the town and people have changed, or that im just looking at it from a different angle. who knows. cant wait for the waves to pick up.
shawn and billy speared fish yesterday!!!! wooohooo!!! my men, the providers. shawn caught the first, biggest and most. parrotfish. i took pictures - ill post them another day. crazy looking fish. we ate them for dinner.
going to head back to billys soon. write more later.
xo cailin
tide is low so the waves are closing out. the waves do seem to be looking up though which is good.
saw my buddy mike who owns costa rica dive and surf. they were just getting the business started last year when i was here, and this year its booming. im glad for him - he lives and breathes scuba.
town is different from what i remember. i dont know if the town and people have changed, or that im just looking at it from a different angle. who knows. cant wait for the waves to pick up.
shawn and billy speared fish yesterday!!!! wooohooo!!! my men, the providers. shawn caught the first, biggest and most. parrotfish. i took pictures - ill post them another day. crazy looking fish. we ate them for dinner.
going to head back to billys soon. write more later.
xo cailin
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
settling in
san martin , dominical, costa rica
jan 6th 5pm
shawn and billy get along like two peas in a pod - both simple, quiet men. ive been keeping to myself, reading and writing, while they pal around the property, talking about building things, fixing things, making things, planting things, surfing and simplicity. simplicity is certainly a way to sum up costa rican life - especially billys. and its something, that comes very naturally when you are here. im completely content to wake with the sun and retire after it sets. no tv, no radio, but just books and conversations. im feeling a bit anxious without the inernet, but that will pass in about a week...i hope. we spent the early evening sitting out back watching the monkeys- i made a video of it that i will post this week. soon we will have some dinner, then sit in rocking chairs out front sipping te until its time to retire to bed.
the book im reading is ´best friends´ by martha moody. definitely a female read, but fabulous none the less. its not sappy but sharp and funny, a perfect depiction of the female friendship. im really enjoying it. clare LOVES sallys adjectives! adores them! and thats how i feel about certain odd features that my best friends have.
kill day 2009
billys house, dominical, jan 7th 5pm
kill day 2009. thats what billy and shawn dubbed today, over our banana pancake breakfast. because the waves are horrible and the tides not helping they were going to, as my dad says, kill em and eat em. well two attempts by noon...spearfishing with a snorkel and then fishing off rocks, we had nothing but sunburns. they decided on fishing off surfboards around 3 pm. that failed as well...so tonight over dinner they began to scheme tomorrows attack.
i did pilates this afternoon. well i tried. i got through yoga and i felt great, energized. but pilates was kicking my ass and it was hot out, and i realized that i just am not motivated enough to kick my ass all alone - i need to go to the pilates class. so...pilates is out. im definitely getting my buddha belly back. i guess all of the avocadoes and coconut cookies are catching up to me.
ive been stressing for the past 3 days about what im going to do once shawn leaves. billys place is beautiful, breathtaking, peaceful and FREE. but im at his mercy because its secluded. i cant do what i want when i want. so today i decided...no more worrying myself to the point of ulcers - yes, ulcers, thats how much of a worrywort i am. i decided im going to rent myself a little place at the end of town...the quiet end of town. live alone. surf every day, play music every day, write every day, visit the internet everyday, give surf lessons and start taking a few yoga classes in town. i feel good about it. i felt shallow before because i was missing the internet - but i realized that the internet is my connection to all of you - my friends, family, and hey...even a few interested readers. traveling alone im never alone, but i sometimes get lonely. so living in dominical is whats going to happen. boom. i made my decision.
so for a few more days the blog will be here and there - but soon ill be back in action.
love you and miss you all.
xo
pura vida.
ps...had dinner at soda nanyoa tonight. had their chicken soup--served witha side of rice and an egg in the soup...so fucking good. bah. i had to curse. its that amazing. phenomenal.
jan 6th 5pm
shawn and billy get along like two peas in a pod - both simple, quiet men. ive been keeping to myself, reading and writing, while they pal around the property, talking about building things, fixing things, making things, planting things, surfing and simplicity. simplicity is certainly a way to sum up costa rican life - especially billys. and its something, that comes
the book im reading is ´best friends´ by martha moody. definitely a female read, but fabulous none the less. its not sappy but sharp and funny, a perfect depiction of the female friendship. im really enjoying it. clare LOVES sallys adjectives! adores them! and thats how i feel about certain odd features that my best friends have.
kill day 2009
billys house, dominical, jan 7th 5pm
kill day 2009. thats what billy and shawn dubbed today, over our banana pancake breakfast. because the waves are horrible and the tides not helping they were going to, as my dad says, kill em and eat em. well two attempts by noon...spearfishing with a snorkel and then fishing off rocks, we had nothing but sunburns. they decided on fishing off surfboards around 3 pm. that failed as well...so tonight over dinner they began to scheme tomorrows attack.
i did pilates this afternoon. well i tried. i got through yoga and i felt great, energized. but pilates was kicking my ass and it was hot out, and i realized that i just am not motivated enough to kick my ass all alone - i need to go to the pilates class. so...pilates is out. im definitely getting my buddha belly back. i guess all of the avocadoes and coconut cookies are catching up to me.
ive been stressing for the past 3 days about what im going to do once shawn leaves. billys place is beautiful, breathtaking, peaceful and FREE. but im at his mercy because its secluded. i cant do what i want when i want. so today i decided...no more worrying myself to the point of ulcers - yes, ulcers, thats how much of a worrywort i am. i decided im going to rent myself a little place at the end of town...the quiet end of town. live alone. surf every day, play music every day, write every day, visit the internet everyday, give surf lessons and start taking a few yoga classes in town. i feel good about it. i felt shallow before because i was missing the internet - but i realized that the internet is my connection to all of you - my friends, family, and hey...even a few interested readers. traveling alone im never alone, but i sometimes get lonely. so living in dominical is whats going to happen. boom. i made my decision.
so for a few more days the blog will be here and there - but soon ill be back in action.
love you and miss you all.
xo
pura vida.
ps...had dinner at soda nanyoa tonight. had their chicken soup--served witha side of rice and an egg in the soup...so fucking good. bah. i had to curse. its that amazing. phenomenal.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
dominical
i believe that today is the 6th of january. we are in dominical, arrived yesterday after driving 2 hours on a bumpy, dirt road. what an adventure. we stopped in town to my favorite, soda nanyoa, for some chicken tacos. the town was packed. PACKED. we left and headed to billys. he was putzing around the house - he´s in a constant state of putzing around the house. we ooooohed-and ahhhhhed at the beautiful house and view, and settled into our room. we are in the room that sits on the cliff, overlooking the ocean. gorgeous. you could tell that billy was happy to have some company, because the usually-quiet bill was a chatty kathy! im stoked to be at his house, it is gorgeous and wondeful, but there is no internet and it´s about a 20min drive into town. not sure how town is going to be either this year because its so crowded. im trying to figure out where im going to live once shawnie leaves .
i was asleep by 730pm. i usually am up until atleast 8! we woke up at 5, had some coffee and some bananas then headed into dominical for a surf. we got skunked. it was high tide, but the waves were closing out. 2 feet, and onshore winds. im hoping, hoping, hoping that it gets better...soon. oh yeah -- forget to tell you that shawn got whacked in the head by his board yesterday morning at la lecheria. a pretty nasty gash that probably could have used a few stiches. we taped it shut, and then this morning cleaned it and superglued it.
i know i sound like a crazy lady for missing the internet - but when you are traveling alone, it is the one thing that keeps you connected. so in the mean time, blogs will probably be far and few between -- but ill be writing in my journal, and dating the entries, so i can blog them later.
missin you all!!
i was asleep by 730pm. i usually am up until atleast 8! we woke up at 5, had some coffee and some bananas then headed into dominical for a surf. we got skunked. it was high tide, but the waves were closing out. 2 feet, and onshore winds. im hoping, hoping, hoping that it gets better...soon. oh yeah -- forget to tell you that shawn got whacked in the head by his board yesterday morning at la lecheria. a pretty nasty gash that probably could have used a few stiches. we taped it shut, and then this morning cleaned it and superglued it.
i know i sound like a crazy lady for missing the internet - but when you are traveling alone, it is the one thing that keeps you connected. so in the mean time, blogs will probably be far and few between -- but ill be writing in my journal, and dating the entries, so i can blog them later.
missin you all!!
Monday, January 5, 2009
Photos!!
Check out my public album with photos from Costa here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=199988&l=900d4&id=653500240
Heading down to Dominical now. Packing up our things from the Soda Mary and saying a teary goodbye. I'm really really going to miss it here. It has become family. I know that I will stay in touch with these boys, and I know that I will be back.
Gotta go. Won't be able to blog as often in Dominical - but I will be writing down entries and then posting them whenever I get to a computer.
xo PURA VIDA, Cailin
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=199988&l=900d4&id=653500240
Heading down to Dominical now. Packing up our things from the Soda Mary and saying a teary goodbye. I'm really really going to miss it here. It has become family. I know that I will stay in touch with these boys, and I know that I will be back.
Gotta go. Won't be able to blog as often in Dominical - but I will be writing down entries and then posting them whenever I get to a computer.
xo PURA VIDA, Cailin
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Buckled Boards
Buckled Boards
Esterillos, Costa Rica 4pm, jan 4th:
This morning we made the 20 minute walk to La Lecheria as the sun rose. It was big. The wave was about 300 yards out, but still, from the beach you could tell that these waves were no joke. We paddled out through the channel - a very long paddle through the channel. The waves were anywhere from 6-8' (with 8 to 10' faces) and the bombing sets that rolled through were about 8-10', some with 12 foot faces. I had some big waves today, and some very late takeoffs. I didn't fall once. Not once. I stuck every drop in and was screaming across the face of every wave. You never knew if someone survived or not until them came shooting over the back of the wave - because people were disappearing behind a wall of water. Surfing with us today was Cam, Shawn, Ben, Adam, Shannon, one local guy, and Fred on a kayak. Cam buckled his longboard on the first wave and had to get out of the water. Shannon buckled his longboard on his 3rd wave...he had to get out. We all took turns hooting and hollering eachother into these fabulous waves, and oooooing and ahhhhhhing as we watched people get creamed. I had to break into my "death paddle" twice. The death paddle is when I muster every bit of strength that is in my body, every bit from every part of my being, and paddle like hell. Paddling for my life -- because there is a set covering the horizon and coming for me. I couldn't paddle this fast if I tried, only when the 'death paddle' is truly needed. The boys laughed when they heard about my death paddle, but when a huge set came out the back and I was 70 yards past everyone as they got clobbered, the laughing ended. Ha. Ha. Ha muthafuckas.
A few hours later, once we had beaten our bodies to oblivion, we got out of the water and walked down the beach - stumbling into Margaritas to reminesce over our awesome waves, and (their) disasterous wipeouts. Margarita's is totally cool. It is a womans house (margarita) and you just post up in her back yard at this little table she has on the porch, and she brings you out coffee and juice. You don't get to order here - there is no menu. You get what she is cooking, for 1500 colones ( a whopping 3 dollars, bevs and all). We got a heaping pile of gallo de pinto (rice and beans), scrambled eggs, and fried plantains. MmMmM and for only 3 bucks. Authentic.
Got back and have had no desire to do anything. None of us want to go for another surf. We don't want to swim, or dance or play! haha. We did play a very intense round of Dominoes ( i lost damnit), but the stress of it wore us all out so we took naps. Adam, Ben, Shawn and I are heading to Jaco in a bit for some sushi @ TSNAMI SUSHI - supposedly the BEST, not just in town, but in all of Costa Rica. I looked it up online and a ton of travelers have given it rave reviews on their blogs and on travel sites.
The swell is supposed to pick up a little more tomorrow, so I'm looking forward to another surf at La Lecheria before heading to Dominical. PS: It's called Lecheria because the little house that sits out front of the break, the only house around, used to be a dairy farm.
I will post some pictures from Soda Mary, and a couple from our SODA MARY SOCIAL (Hootenany) last night. (computers acting up now, ill have to upload later) Shannon on violin and guitar, me on guitar and vocals, and mike - fabulous mike - on harmonicas. We had too much fun and put on a show for many people from ESterillos. I even sold 5 cds, and made some money in the love bucket!!
Esterillos, Costa Rica 4pm, jan 4th:
This morning we made the 20 minute walk to La Lecheria as the sun rose. It was big. The wave was about 300 yards out, but still, from the beach you could tell that these waves were no joke. We paddled out through the channel - a very long paddle through the channel. The waves were anywhere from 6-8' (with 8 to 10' faces) and the bombing sets that rolled through were about 8-10', some with 12 foot faces. I had some big waves today, and some very late takeoffs. I didn't fall once. Not once. I stuck every drop in and was screaming across the face of every wave. You never knew if someone survived or not until them came shooting over the back of the wave - because people were disappearing behind a wall of water. Surfing with us today was Cam, Shawn, Ben, Adam, Shannon, one local guy, and Fred on a kayak. Cam buckled his longboard on the first wave and had to get out of the water. Shannon buckled his longboard on his 3rd wave...he had to get out. We all took turns hooting and hollering eachother into these fabulous waves, and oooooing and ahhhhhhing as we watched people get creamed. I had to break into my "death paddle" twice. The death paddle is when I muster every bit of strength that is in my body, every bit from every part of my being, and paddle like hell. Paddling for my life -- because there is a set covering the horizon and coming for me. I couldn't paddle this fast if I tried, only when the 'death paddle' is truly needed. The boys laughed when they heard about my death paddle, but when a huge set came out the back and I was 70 yards past everyone as they got clobbered, the laughing ended. Ha. Ha. Ha muthafuckas.
A few hours later, once we had beaten our bodies to oblivion, we got out of the water and walked down the beach - stumbling into Margaritas to reminesce over our awesome waves, and (their) disasterous wipeouts. Margarita's is totally cool. It is a womans house (margarita) and you just post up in her back yard at this little table she has on the porch, and she brings you out coffee and juice. You don't get to order here - there is no menu. You get what she is cooking, for 1500 colones ( a whopping 3 dollars, bevs and all). We got a heaping pile of gallo de pinto (rice and beans), scrambled eggs, and fried plantains. MmMmM and for only 3 bucks. Authentic.
Got back and have had no desire to do anything. None of us want to go for another surf. We don't want to swim, or dance or play! haha. We did play a very intense round of Dominoes ( i lost damnit), but the stress of it wore us all out so we took naps. Adam, Ben, Shawn and I are heading to Jaco in a bit for some sushi @ TSNAMI SUSHI - supposedly the BEST, not just in town, but in all of Costa Rica. I looked it up online and a ton of travelers have given it rave reviews on their blogs and on travel sites.
The swell is supposed to pick up a little more tomorrow, so I'm looking forward to another surf at La Lecheria before heading to Dominical. PS: It's called Lecheria because the little house that sits out front of the break, the only house around, used to be a dairy farm.
I will post some pictures from Soda Mary, and a couple from our SODA MARY SOCIAL (Hootenany) last night. (computers acting up now, ill have to upload later) Shannon on violin and guitar, me on guitar and vocals, and mike - fabulous mike - on harmonicas. We had too much fun and put on a show for many people from ESterillos. I even sold 5 cds, and made some money in the love bucket!!
Early AM Update
Today is Sunday, our last day in Esterillos, we leave tomorrow for Dominical. It's 5:15am and I am half way through my cup of coffee (americano...obviously!) The swell finally started pumping last night -- got in some great surf before dinner, right out front here in Esterillos. Solid head high, with bigger sets. It was breaking about 250 yards out, 300 yards out, all the way to the beach. For a longboarder it was awesome. It would vary from a bit mushy, to fast and steep, depending upon where you were on the reef. Sets were only coming through about every 20 minutes, but thats okay, because that's how long it took you to paddle back out into the lineup. Came home for grub and then the Soda Mary Social, or Hootenany. So much fun, I will write more later and post pictures. Getting ready to head to La Lecheria as soon as day breaks. It's also known as the "secret spot", a left point break that fires over the reef - a 20 minute walk away. Cam is walking there now, in the pitch black morning, to check it. He suffers from extreme-surf-stoke. haha.
Gotta go stretch. Ciao.
Gotta go stretch. Ciao.
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