Working for the City

Well, I started last monday and so far, it is safe to say that I love it! I know it is only the first week but it has been awsome so far. Its crazy to say this, but I actually enjoy and look forward to coming to work. I never know what the day's challenges will be and I like that. We have a much bigger environment here than I did at the last job and I have tons of fun toys to play with. Its like being in mission control.

Everything else has been going ok. Im STILL waiting on the engine to get back to me from the repair shop and it is taking forever. They had to order another part so that delayed us another week. Im hoping and praying that it will be finished this week or sometime early next week. I would really like to get my boat out there before the dead of winter really sets in on us. I spent the night on her again saturday and I loved it. I worked on unclogging the anchor locker drain on sunday and finally drained the 3 some odd gallons of water that had been sitting around in there, darn leaves. I have been building a list of projects I need to start tackling and its a little daunting but exciting at the same time. Mostly just little repair jobs here and there. Its coming along, slowly but surely.

Well, there hasnt been too much surf to speak of around here lately. The water is getting chillier but as we keep getting some warm days, it warms right back up around 68 and then takes a crazy dive on the next cold front. It has been a little wierd this winter here in Texas as so far, it has been very mild, but we will see. Everyone can be quick to blame global warming and what have you, but Texas weather is always a little wierd. Its mild now but come January, we will all be saying "global warming whattttt?????". I need to hurry and get my but out there into some surf before it gets tooo cold as I only have a 3/2. I cant wait to try it out though, my older brother's friend just gave it too me for nothing! Its a pretty new o'neil so we will have to see how it does. Ok well, I have some issues I need to research so Im outa here!

Im home again

Well, I just got back from Mexico. I had a great time there and logged around 70+ more hours on Mexican busses. I blasted south to Punta Mita again where I was to hang out and see some friends and deliver some shoes that I had promised to buy for a friend there. I stayed the night in Debo's place, which, btw, if you ever visit Punta de Mita, I highly recomend you stop into Debo's and grab yourself one of her famous burgers or some awsome breakfast.

I had a good time there in Mita and I got to surf 2 days. I didnt drag my bored along for this quick little trip so I just rented an 8'0". Yes yes I know, but I had a damn blast on that log and it was the perfect size for the waves those 2 days. We had around stomach high and super long and clean lines. I got some great rides and just had a blast. I met a great couple from Canada and they were cool as hell.

My last day in Mita, I met a guy who had been sailing all around from the Bahamas. He took me out to show me his 40' ketch rig and I really enjoyed that. I havent had the chance to check out anything bigger than 36' and especially a ketch. A ketch is a boat that has 2 masts, the aft (back) one being shorter. There was a lot of rigging on that thing, but overall it didnt look too terribly complicated. He was a cool guy and a good surfer and we traded information back and forth, from surf spots to boating/sailing tips. He really inspired me.

Well, like I said, Im back and ready or action. Tomarrow I begin a new chapter in my life as a career man....for now. That should be some dull reading for a while, so Ill have to come up with some witty stuff or just start surfing and sailing as much as I can. I think we would all rather read about that stuff much much more than what I did during my 8-5.

Almost Done

Well, as it stands, I have about 4 more days of work owed to Jackson Hewitt, and then I'm out! I have around 5 days off before I start my new job, so I havent decided just yet where I will go. Im trying to watch the swell models and make my best guess as to where I can head off for a couple of days and score some good surf. South/Central Texas should be getting good for a couple of days around monday or tuesday, but north to central east coast Florida is going to be going off possibly better and longer. Damn decisions. I wouldnt mind driving to Florida for some good quality surf, but my surf buddy just bailed. He has a lot of doctor appointments for his back this upcoming week, so Ill be flying solo. Thats cool. I just dont know the Florida breaks like I know Texas, so I might just stick around here. I also Have the possibility of heading into Mexico for a couple of days to try and score.

So what has been happening in the blogosphere?? Is everyone throwing in the towel like Wiff? I hope not, cause I secretly know Wiff will be back. Haha, yeaaa... I have been thinking of working on an article about the stabbing for Drift Magazine but I havent fully decided yet. For thos of you that remember, I was lined up to do some writing for them about my trip but then backed off about exposing some spots that I traveled to and saw. Thats that elite-ist asshole in me.

The boat is still coming along. It has all new rigging now and the motor is in the shop so its a matter of days Im guessing. I need to hurry and get some insurance on that thing, so I can go sailing with no worries. I might go and do that today, but I think the office is closed. Damn. I have decided to relax a little about my poor boat. I talked with some great people at the recent ALS walk after party for our beloved Wes Ellsworth and they told me that as my first boat, my primary concern is learning how to handle her and learning all the aspects of sailing. They told me not to go crazy on new electronics and all that gear and just learn how she sails. If I decide to start heading way offshore then yes, I need to learn charting and spend some cash on some good electronics, but until then, I have the entire Galveston bay and Clear Lake to explore.

Ok, well, Im headed off to work. I know, I know, its the day before T-day, but o well. I gotta finish up so I can go surfing next week!

Back Back and Ready for ACTION

Well Im back from the cruise. We had a great time and I would take one again, however like I sa before, its not really my style.

We consumed just wayyyyyy toooo much alcohol. My final tab for 7 days was 600 dollars and well, Im hurting. Im pretty sure I wont be able to drink like that again for a long time, I just constantly pushed it. The reasoning behind it was my celebration of my death of my current self. Things are changing very very much on the personal front, and well, I got hired today at my new job. Ill be the 9-5 guy for a while so I can get my experience and certifications to move on and recover easier from long long surf trips. The money is very very decent for my level of experience (37K start) and they are willing to pay for my certs with Microsoft and well lets just say, those are not cheap. Its time for a temporary change. Waking up early. Working out. No more partying (at least weekday partying). Im watching all my friends grad from college, get married, move away for good jobs and it seems Im one of the last sticking to my guns. This is my gateway and only way to step it up to the next level and Im ready to sacrifice a little while to make it happen.

Anyways, Ill try and start posting regularly again. I have been slacking and Im trying to stop that. I have been working hard on the boat and all my parts for the engine just made it in today so hopefully that will be fixed in the next week or 2. All my rigging and everything is about to be ordered in a day or so, so brand new rigging is going to rock! She should be nice and ready to take out hopefully by the middle of next month. Ill keep everyone posted on my new career as a sailing surfing traveling maniac!

Leaving on Sunday

Im leaving on sunday for my cruise. Yessss! We are headed out for 7 days to Grand Caymen, Jamaica, and Cozumel. Cruises arnt really my style of travel, but it will be fun. I think the plan is just to drink as much as possible. The fun news is, a huge front is coming down from the NE, and its looking like some bigggggg seas we will be crossing. This should be fun!

http://polar.ncep.noaa.gov/waves/latest_run/wna_ecg.anim.gif

yeaaa......

My Bday!

Not much has been going on, just working and trying to get that new job. My birthday was monday, and Im now.....23. Umm, yea.

Ill write more later, been super busy!

Not much to say

Well, I dont have a whole lot to say here, just wanted to poke back in. I guess I gotta start keeping up with this thing again because that was my goal, to try and post as much as possible. Not too much has been going on. The boat is getting there, slowly. Im watching the weather like a hawk and just waiting for any sign of swell on our horizons. Its not coming.....

I might be making a job change. Yes.. Im thinking about tossing in the cards on my current job. The travel and all the time off are not worth it anymore with all of the crap I have to deal with and the wear-n-tear I do "non-reimbursed by the way" Im doing to my vehicle. So, Im exploring another option at the moment, and if it works out then I will post about it. It will pretty much signal the end of my traveling for now..... but.... it will provide the funding for that "UP AND VANISH" move that my current job cannot provide the cheese for. It will provide more working cash for the boat, and it will get me in on the cutting edge of IT work, which, is a true passion of mine. It will give me the means to get certified in all of the things I want so when I vanish, I can come back to something instead of nothing. Dont worry my few readers, Im not abondoning my dreams by any means. Im exploring another route to them. If anything, Im still on my path of living day to day, one day at a time, and trying to explore every option that comes my way. Im not a chronic job hopper, I prefer some stability. Yet, this opportunity is my newest sense of adventure for the moment. Im still living my dream, just in different contexts.

Another weekend on the boat

This is her, a 1983 Catalina 25. Yes, I know the sail is up, Im airing it out!

So, I spent another weekend down in Seabrook, Tx working on my boat. I didn't get much done this weekend but I did finish cleaning the starbord quarterberth. All thats left now is the head/sink and the Vberth in the bow. I really need to get to work on the wood on the outside but at the moment, Im trying to just get her ready to sail.

We had a bit of an issue with the outboard this weekend so hopefully we will be throwing it in the shop and letting those guys take a stab at it. At this point, Im just ready to hit the water.

Guatemala 2007

This is a small video I made of my Guatemala footage I had. Enjoy

The trip pictures are up!

This is a picture of Lago Atitlan in Guatemala from up on the highway leading down into Panajachel.

Well, they are up folks. You can see them at

www.flickr.com/photos/astraltx

They go from pages 1 through 7 and I will post some here on my blog as well. I keep hearing from people that I should write a book about this last surf trip and my new upcoming project, the Catalina. I have been thinking hard about it, and it sounds like a damn good idea. I love to write and writing a book would mean a lot to me. To know that people would actually be reading about my adventures thrills me and excites me. It pushes me to go out and do more! The next series of trips are going to be pushing things to the limit again. For next year Im considering the following...

1) Drive my RAV4 all the way to Panama and back.

2) Take buses/hitchhike/bum rides all the way to Panama and back for the ultimate backpacking experience.

3) Possible slight detour from surfing and head to Syria with my best friend Rami for a month or more. Once there, we will hit the buses and goto Lebanon and Jordan and possibly in Saudi Arabia.

Who knows. The possibilities are endless! Im really banking on number 1 and 2 though, I would love to see all of Central America.

Ahhhhhhhhhhh.... the wonderlust.

The surf here has been nothing to even mention or talk about. Its been flat as hell after hurricane Dean, which sucked anyways. My older brother's friend gave me a brandnew quicksilver 3/2 and I cant wait to get out in the lineup this winter in a new, good suit. Hopefully, I wont freeze my ass off this year.

And the Fun Begins!

Well, I'm already learning the fun stuff of being a boat owner. Today I had a guy I know come over and check out my rigging as I know absolutely nothing about it. He said it was satisfactory but I need to replace all of the rope and work on some of the rope guides. Then we pulled the outboard off to start the process of getting all of the algae and barnacles off of it to clear the water intake and prop. Yay, fun stuff.

The boat needs some serious cosmetic touch up inside the cabin. Mostly, a major cleaning and then refinishing all of the wood on the outside and touchup the inside. The wood inside is still in great shape, just needs to be cleaned. I have to work on a small leak coming from somewhere on the starboard side windows/hatch. It still remains a mystery. Today we plugged in the shore power and checked out the boats electrical system and it seems intact and working. We got all lights and fans running and what seemed to be a small charge moving on the deep cycle but Im not sure.

I cannot begin to explain the level of excitement from all of this. Its amazing looking at her in the water and just going, damn, thats mine, and I'm going to sail her like no other. I cant wait to get it fully ready to liveaboard. Im hoping to make that transition by the end of september if the money holds out. Ohh, Ill try and get some pictures soon. She's a 1983 Catalina 25. Shes 25' in length, beam of 8ft, draws 4ft, and has a fixed keel. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!
Also, I have all the pictures from Mexico and Guatemala ready to be posted, so Ill start getting them into Flickr sometime this week and Ill post the link. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!! Im excited!!!!!

Approved

I checked out the boat saturday. She is awsome! Im going to have to reaaaaally spend some time cleaning her and working on it, but I already cant wait. Im extreamly excited about this and I think it will give me some direction in all these last months I have with no work. Im already compiling a huge list of projects I need to do, all mostly just labor not much cash.

So today I went to my bank and BLAM, they approved me for the $4,000 I asked for no problem. The guy lowered the price to help me out a little to $3,000 so that gives me an extra 1K to have in case of emergency needs for the boat. I will hang on to it for a while and eventually just roll it back into the loan payment if I dont need it after a few months of work. Im super excited and ready to begin working on her. Now I just need to get the title signed, get it registered and all that mess. Ahhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Im pumped!

Back From Surfing

Well, I just got back from a decent session down in SurfSide Texas, aka HillBilly City. I don't know what it is about hurricane swell but it brings out everyone who owns a damn board. I swear yesterday in the water some guy next to me was talking to his buddy about his board and he called the fin a "SKEG"! I almost threw up all over the place. Damn hillbillys on surfboards.

Anyways hahaa, I had some good rides. I wish I would have had my fish on me, but she is still under the knife in my garage to repair the nice rail damage I did with my shin in Mexico. So my rides were quick and to the point but it was still a little fun although frustrating at times for sure.

Not much has been going on, just working on some projects still with a friend. Last weekend I went to Mississippi to visit my older brother and some of my family and we had a blast. Free beers in Casinos are the greatest. A ton of drama has been going down between me and my ex in Mexico and basically well,,,, it just sucks to be separated from the person you love. So, that all has to come to an end because basically our circumstances just dont allow for it right now. Such a sad realization.

Well, I decided right now to spill the beans on project "New Apt/Exploration". This weekend Im headed back down to the coast to check out a 25' Catalina. Thats a sailboat for those who dont know. Shes pretty nice but small. It just happens to have the perfect price tag for living on it and learning the arts of sailing. It sleeps 3-4 people, has a bathroom(no shower), and a full kitchen with a table and benches. The guy is asking $3500 for it, and I think Im a go. I have been checking all the marinas in the area and getting everything lined up to live aboard and try that out for a while. Yes it will be hot. Yes it will be hard. Yes it might not work out too well. But, Im determined to make this happen. This is the first step to one day criss crossing the world looking for surf. I'd rather spend under 5k and find out if I like it or not than 20K. See what I mean? So thats been my primary concern for the past couple of days, and I will let you all know how it goes when I get back this weekend.

An Excerpt from My Journal

This is an excerpt from my journal from when I was in Mex. Its about the freedom of the road, and I wrote this at 2am when I couldn't sleep one night. Its a little... "off" but I thought it was pretty interesting when I read it the next day.

"The hunt for these damned elusive forms of energy. It almost seems insane at times, even to me. The joy though, especially of traveling, of living in the now, it's indescribable. Every day I just wake up, check the map, and we decide where to go. The freedom is just awesome. I have now seen the power of a vehicle and really how insignificant borders are. They are imaginary lines full of imaginary bureaucratic bullshit, designed to scare you and keep you out. But once you cross those lines, a whole new world opens up.

I could have driven around the world if I had wanted to, and had the time and money. You just hit the road, clear the border, and there is that much weight gone. You blast some Tome Petty, just roll with it, and take the next border as you get there. I guess border crossings are kind of like daily issues, but without the great reward for clearing it. Live in the "now", roll with the punches, its almost all illusionary. Drop the windows, put your foot down, crank the stereo. We just hit Guatemala. What's next? Honduras, Belize, El Salvador? Fuck... wherever I want. You can choose. Who knows what you will find there.

Roads are incredible things. They can open an entire world of fates, possibilities, and events, just by leading you somewhere. I truly believe that roads can be powerful tools and even healing objects when used correctly. Some people say that maps steer us in the the direction we need to go without getting lost, or as least as possible. Fuck that. They can do that when you use these poorly understood objects for such a mundane task. I look at a map and I see possibilities. I see hope. I see the unknown. Maps can help you escape reality. They can force you to live in the "now". Don't plan. Roll with it. Go left, right, straight, hell its your choice. If it doesn't work out then turn around and go back. Kinda sounds like life doesn't it??"


The night I wrote all of that, I had a lot on my mind. I was feeling good. I was feeling ready to conquer the world with my car and newfound freedom. My curiosity is so intense, its hard to quell it. I wish I would have driven into El Salvador and scored some good right hand point breaks. There is always next year, plus... who knows whats on the horizon hehehehehe.

Back in the Mix

Yeapp..... I'm pretty much fully back in the mix. I'm working again (not much, but working is working) and just trying to sort some stuff out for next year. Where to go?????? So many choices, I think I'll let my savings account decide next year. Im getting ready to sign up for some fall classes again but I have no idea what Im going to take.

My buddy Chris and I have been working non stop on a program that we really hope to sell to the small business market. We also hope that we can sell tech support services through this software and try and make a little more cash on the side with that. I really hope this works out. I would love to give out the details, but NO WAY! Its just toooo awsome!

Well, Im here at work right now, and there is about to be a supposed 6 hour meeting about pretty much nothing. This should be about as exciting as brain surgery so Im really looking forward to this hahaa.

Ill try and post more this month, I have some stories I want to relate from Mexico.

Im back

Well, first I just want to say Im sorry for everyone who still reads this piece of shit. Yea I know I hardly updated while I was in Mex but I was on a mission to keep an accurate diary this year and rewriting what I had just written seemed a little redundant to me. Also, trying to find or make the effort to walk to an internet cafe EVERYDAY or whatever to blog was just stupid. So, I want to say Im sorry.

Yea, so I got back on the first. I have been slowly trying to readjust to being here and its been hard as hell I can say that. Im trying to not drive like Im in Mexico. Im trying to fight the urge to pull over and grab a beer for the road to fight that traffic hahaha. Im trying to get used to hearing english everywhere I go, and change my thinking back to english. Im trying to get used to not surfing, exploring, or waking up to something new everyday.

Why is it such a crime to always want these things? Living dynamically as I have been for the past 2.5 months has been a life changing experience and one that I will never forget. I have been humbled in many ways and countless times on this trip. I wake daily now and no longer see my map. I no longer see options for my day. Now I see things I have to do. I see that routine filling in. I see no waves on my horizon.

I chased waves all over Mexico this summer. I scored great and I got skunked too on astronomical levels. That's the balance of this great activity that we surfers seek. One must pay the toll to keep riding. My tolls included many skunks. Getting stabbed. Living in a tent for 2.5 months. Crapping in things that could barely be called toilets. Somehow avoiding both Malaria and Dengue (I still dont know how). Getting sick countless times including food poisoning on the drive back home. Now Im back here, wondering what to do next.

On my last day in Mexico in Punta de Mita I did something I had set out to do but almost didnt. I drove out that afternoon and explored the Cabo Corrientes. What I found out there was simply amazing, and I drove merely 1/3 of it. I found little settlements of farmers and ranchers. I found towns where who knows when the last gringo came through. I found a beach that breaks good on NW swells that has a jetty and an all rock bottom. Has it ever been surfed? I doubt it. I found countless backcountry dirt roads for exploring for the patient. I found a little ranch where I bought some Raicilla, Mexican/Jalisco moonshine in an old dirty water bottle. I was glad I drove out there. It was long (6 hours) and hard but well worth it. There are still parts of Mexico on the coast that are untouched and this is one of them. Its absolutely beautiful, and for all those future land developers reading this, good luck, its all ejido and backcountry. You wont be able to get the infrastructure there for years, hell the road isnt even in barely passable condition in parts. So, just leave it be.

Im trying to decide what course to take lately. Im going to take some more classes this fall, thats a neverending mission. Just a few at a time, Ill finish eventually right? I need to start chunking back cash NOW to try and get a jump on the trip coming up next summer. Its looking like I may have 4 months off so thats going to be a little expensive on my end. Who knows where I will go. I have been thinking of many things. Drive to Panama? Australia? Bali/Indo? Im not sure what it will be but it will be good, thats for sure. Ill try to get back on this blogging thing. Sorry, my heart just isnt here right now.

I miss you Leslie

The phantom swell

Well our swell here in Mita has been taking the phantom route. First she decided to show her head almost 3 days late and it got good but not too lined up. Hrmm.... Joe and I got a boat to The Cove yesterday morning and it was big but not working that well. It was a solid 6 - 8ft with some bigger set waves coming through, but like I said, not that good. The first 5 minutes we were out there I had another brush with disaster. Im paddling toward this major set wave to try and get under it before it unloads on my head and I see this guy trying to take off on it. My first thought was "wow, this dude has some balls, thats a major drop and she is already looking like a closeout". I see him struggling and Im waiting to see which direction he will go so I can paddle out of the way when the wave starts pitching. He makes eye contact with me just as he eats it coming down the lip. I try and duck dive as hard as I can and just before I go underwater I see his board coming straight at me. I decide to not go too deep and I kick the tail of my board to angle her nose up and block my face. Good move..... kinda. It worked but the wave was so big it picked up me right as his board hit me in the head. I get flipped backwards and my own board is ripped from my hands by the force of the wave and I feel a leash wrapping around me. I became seriously entangled in his leash with both of our boards being wrapped up too. So here I am in the rinse cycle, now being dragged and hit with random boards and I cant make the surface. I really, seriously thought that I was going to drown but I did my best to stay calm and not fight the entanglement. I came out of the mess and immediatly saw another wave bearing down on us and got the fuck out of that disaster. He was apologizing profusely but I said it was all cool, I was just scared more than anything.

So that little incident set the stage for the rest of my session and I could not for the life of me make myself calm down and relax and just enjoy the waves. I took only one ride and it wasnt even worth writing home about. I got caught inside on a major clean up set and the second wave of that set decided that duckdiving a serious overhead wave as it slammed on me was not going to work. Yes... backwards through the rinse cycle again and that one had me coming up gasping. That was it for me. I paddled back out and sat there. I waited for the boat to come and just couldnt get my shit together. I had a lot on my mind as well and that didnt help either. So for the next 45 minutes, I sat there, like a fucking kook, dodging waves, and trying to rationalize some things in my head. I hate that crap. Sometimes surfing can get me to clear my head of all my problems and then other times it does nothing but make me think even harder about them.

Well Mita has been being nice to us again this year. Not surf wise but just meeting some cool people and all that mess. I think we have been invited to more free dinners and boat trips than I can recall. Im not ready to go home. My time is coming. We need to hit the road this monday or tuesday and Im not looking forward to it at all. I love Mexico. I love being on the road. I love surfing. Dammit...... what does it take??

Manzanillo

Well... after 2 weeks or something, we had to let poor Ticla go. Yes, we relenquished the hold on her waves and we decided to share. Of course I´m kidding.....

Ticla was amazing and we had a blast there. Too many beers, waves, tacos, and hamburgers to remember everything in order but I can say... I had a blast.

I want to give MAD PROPS to TACO JIM, hailing from LA... for eating 43 TICLA TACOS in 32 minutes!!!!!!! You will forever be remembered our linebacker friend!

Well, we have just 2 more weeks of this great trip and I´m sad to see it coming to and end. Its now or never, time to step it up. These last 2 weeks will not go down in any other way than spectacular. Yes.......... that´s the plan. PV and all those wonderful other waves in between.... here we come

in La Ticla

Well, I havent written in a long long while. Hell Im not even sure when was the last time I wrote. We are in La Ticla now and the waves have just been solid head to a couple of feet over head for the past 5 days or so. This left here is just fun and reeeeeeling without too much of a price for when you eat it. Only thing sketchy is the entrance and exit from the water, many many rocks and my feet are paying the price already.

Well, we had a blast up in Coleta de Campos and we stayed maybe a bit too long but that place was just addicting. The local family that owned the rest. we were staying in pretty much adopted us and when it was time to leave, phone numbers and promises of return were exchanged. We headed out past Maurata and Huihui (i think thats how it is spelled) because not much seemed to be happening and we got some stearn travel warnings for (wah wah). Evidently its pretty heavy there right now with the narcos and such so we just blazed on through.

Now in Ticla, we have us a solid Texas stronghold. There are a bunch of guys from Texas and we have been holding down the fort at our campsite hahahaa. Numerous nights of crazy partying, going dancing in the town dances and just general madness have been taking place. We have been hearing that the nickname for this place is Texla hahahahaha! We are camping with a guy who has been down here surfing in Mex at Ticla and Nexpa since the late 70s and even saw Petacalco breaking a few times before they built the dam. We are going to hang out a few more days here and then we will figure out what we are doing. Im trying to arrange a meetup with a cool guy from Cali out at my secret left point someone showed me last summer. We will see how that works out. Well..... until next time

CORY, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, you ready for the cruise when we get back?????????? I hope so, and you better start practising your drinking, your going to need it.

Skunked in Zihuat

Well we found the Ranch a day or 2 ago.... been 20+ people since we found it. The a frames just to the right of it have been providing but today they got us. Super bad current and peaks everywhere that I could not for the life of me get lined up in. So paddling in, I had a talk with God and asked him why he has been skunking us so much. I prayed for a better session somewhere else. Then I stepped on a sting ray in the rocks. Thats a pain like no other hahahaha, and thank God the guys at El Burro Burracho (where we arw camping) knew to grab some plants off the beach and boil them. Pain and the fever gone in 45 minutes or so!

Yea we have checked everything in the area. Playa Linda sucks lol.

Troncones beach break produced a little right for me the other day and then yesterday it decided that it had enuogh of me sneaking into rights so it pounded the liiving hell out of me!

Saladita has been 20+ people and small since we arrived. Yea I have decided this place has tons of potential but is juust too DANG close to an airport for its own good. Take the American guys we ran across in Ixtapa 3 days agao (just after I posted my last post). We asked them about the ranch and all they would say is (you were close, try harder). Ok.... fuckk you dude, its not a secret spot by any means, and your sugar bottom flew in here and got a rental jeep and crap. I drove my sugar bottom off to get here, got stabbed in the arm in Tapachula, and got robbed again in Zipolite. I have earned my right to be at the Ranch! I wasnt asking about the best secret in mexico, i was asking about the ranch. What assssholes!!!

Anyways, yea... even to us its just funny. We just laugh and keep driving at this point. I REFUSE to believe that Mexico is a closeout from Puerto E to Guatemala. We just have some type of stars aligned against us or something. Maybe this is Gods grand design at a lesson from hell, Im not sure. Im sure of one thing, Im going to find some surf, some good surf, and Im going to surf my brains out. Its time for this trip to really commence. I knew I should have continued on to El Salvador when I was only 40km from the border!!!! but seriously, thanks for the tips guys. tomarrow we head for nexpa on a dying swell. Its more of a stopping point or something for us. Until next time, I can promise you that despite the lack of waves we are having a blast, and believe me., we are doing our fare share of keeping the Mexican breweries in biz