Mexico vs. College

Some old friends recently sent me an article detailing the top party schools in the nation.  Our alma matter Southern Illinois University didn't appear anywhere on it which stung a bit considering that we were ranked among the top party schools in a Playboy article during my second senior year.  SIU's faculty and the town of Carbondale set out to change this after our class left in '92 doing enough damage to the party image that we're now an afterthought in these unofficial rankings.  It got me thinking though, this trip were on is a lot like going back to school.  Only instead of learning in a class room we're learning in the ocean and on the street.  Plus, you can crack open a brew at anytime of the day be it 1045A after you've surfed for 3+ hours or 3P when you're heading down to the pool.  There is a lot of down time which was true of the college experience as well.  The snap back to reality in this comparison is obviously the kids.  This also makes the comparison seem to buckle a little under examination, but hey it's pretty close.

There's been a lot going on in the six weeks since this blog was last updated.  Surfing here has been off the chain.  We've seen consistent swell as expected and had stretches of 5, 6 and 7 consecutive days where we've surfed head high point break perfection.  Our surfing has gotten considerably better as a result.  Ability to paddle into, read and surf waves has greatly improved for both of us.  We've done some video with the GoPro which we haven't been able to share due to HD video being nearly impossible to upload on our wifi connection. Hopefully, we'll be able to get some up soon.  This week has been a bit of a downer since the swell has been small forcing us to find other activities like "thing finder" from Pipi Longstocking which Melissa is currently reading to Jordan.  It's given us plenty of time to rest and lick our wounds that inevitably pop up when you surf for too many consecutive days.

Thing Finder from the Tide Pools:

Jordan started kindergarten this week in the pueblo.  We headed over to the school last Sunday for an all school cleanup.  The class rooms are inside but still open to the elements which leaves it quite messy after a couple months of inactivity.  While the school is small with few resources, it really cleaned up nicely after a couple hours.  Monday was the first official day and Jordan predictably was upset to be left in a strange environment.  He'll adapt with time and by the end of October I'm sure it will be tough for him to leave all the new friends he'll make.  For all of you paying for private school in the states for your kids this is costing us roughly $15 for the two months he'll attend.

Jordan at the Gates:

Slater has become the unofficial mayor of Troncones.  When we walk through the streets he is recognized for his shock blonde hair and blue eyes which makes him stand out.  He clearly embraces this as he freely says "hola" and waves at people that smile at him walking down the road to the store.  Most of the people seem to connect with him leading me to believe he might have a future in Mexican politics.  For now he'll just have to retain the title of unofficial mayor.

The Mayor Having Ice Cream:

We're moving on to leg 2 of the "Not Currently Employed" tour on October 30th when we'll fly to Managua, Nicaragua.  Our original plan was to head to Costa Rica next but after examining the surf breaks, crowds and costs Nicaragua trumped that plan.  We'll stay at Hacienda Iguana which lies north of the Costa Rica boarder about an hour and a half.  It is probably more remote than where we are right now with the nearest town 30 minutes away.  There are two exceptional surf breaks on the property which is a gated community.   Colorado's which is one of the best barreling river mouth breaks in San Juan Del Sur and Panga Drops which is a consistent horse shoe reef that fires with amazing consistency.  There are a dozen or so more breaks in the area so we'll be at no loss for surf.  We'll be pulling in on Halloween to our new digs which will be a lot of fun.  We'll check back in way before then.....

Gator Don't Play....

We've had a pretty good run of surf the last week after Hurricane Erick moved out of the swell window.  La Saldita produced some really fun overhead waves last week and this week.  The larger swell this week saw some fun rides and also made for a lot of work paddling with the current ripping down the point.  The dying swell had more south in it than we've seen in previous swells which also made the point a little soft at times, but when the right set waves came it still produced a nice wall that worked all the way into the inside.

Due to some early morning chop the last couple of days we've opted for other activities with the boys choosing the usual play time on the beach coupled with trips to the skate park.  This morning after our surf check produced nothing but blown out conditions our friend Pedro suggested a different activity for the morning.  "Let's go feed Campeon" was the suggestion.  Campeon (champion in Spanish) is the name of the local crocodile in Tronconces who makes his home in the mangroves on the south end of town.

As we left Saladita, we stopped at a chicken butcher who obliged us with a bag full of frozen chicken scraps to entice Campeon.  We then drove the short distance back to Troncones to grab Jordan and Slater heading to the mangrove.  We walked back into the densely forested area where the exposed roots of the mangrove waterway produced a small opening.  Then like the urban legend of Bloody Mary, Pedro let out three loud shouts "CAMPEON! CAMPEON! CAMPEON!" trying to summon him.  Another round of loud shouts for Campeon still didn't produce him.  I asked if I could try and gave two of the loudest shouts for Campeon I could muster.  Wondering if the champion was more urban legend at this point also, Pedro let out three more summonsing shouts.  Right after this, the water started to stir and like a National Geographic video Campeon's beady eyes broke the surface of the water and started moving towards us.

He slowly pulled his 7+ foot body from the black water to survey what we wanted.  Pedro immediately threw him several chunks of chicken at him which he quickly snapped up a mere 10-12 feet away from us.  When we had given him the bulk of what we had another smaller crock swam up beside him to see what was going on and to cash in on the chicken lunch that was being thrown to the champion.  In hind sight, bringing the kids on this alternate surf activity is certainly not going to win either of us a Nobel Prize for parenting, but they got a pretty big kick out of standing 12 feet away from Campeon and his buddy as they dined on the chicken.  Going to the zoo after an experience like this would be less than satisfying to say the least.

The Champion:

 

With the Contender:

 

You Know You Live In Mexico When....

• You have to dance around a scorpion as you complete your shower to avoid being stung.
• The local ice cream shop has a tequlia flavor that is not named that just becasue they added some agave syrup into the mix.
• You see a 10 year old driving a 1999 VW Jetta GLS with a manual 5 speed transmission only to find out later while talking to his father that he is actually 13.

Castles Made of Sand

It's crazy to think that we're pretty deep into week 4 in Troncones.  We've fallen into a great routine which goes something like this:

7A - Wake up and have breakfast with the boys.

9A - Head out to surf

12N - Return for lunch

2P - Slater nap or afternoon adventure

4P - Pool or Skate Park

5P - Crack a beer

530P - Cook dinner

630P - Beach or skate park - depending on  what the afternoon adventure or 4P was

730P - Shut it down for the night and watch a DVD since we don't have a TV feed

This has been pretty standard issue until last week when tropical  storm Cosme decided to whip up some messy surf and weather for us.  it didn't really do anything more than throw us off our routine.  Down here though that can really put you in a different frame of mind.  After 5 consecutive days of no surf both Melissa and I were a little agitated.  It's pretty difficult to manage Jordan and Slater for an entire 12 hour day with limited resources even with both of us on deck.  There isn't a park or local friends we can just drop by to see or play with.  There aren't any mommy play groups or Scooter's Jungles to visit on a rainy day.  There just what we have here at the place for the boys and anything we might be able to come up with creatively.  Thankfully, things seem to be back to normal the last few days with some fun surf sessions in La Saladita.

Cosme Messing Up The Routine:

 

One of the cooler things we've been experiencing is the exposure to different wild life.  You kind of forget that this far south in Mexico is a rain forest and during rainy season there's a lot of wild life kicking around.  Large Iguanas are almost a daily sighting, bat watching in the evening as day turns to dusk, snakes, crabs, moths that are as large as your fist and bugs of all sorts buzz around.  There are also tarantulas and scorpions which I have yet to see, but pretty confident that will happen before the end of our stay here.  Jordan and I rescued a large moth and set him off flying from our deck only to witness him a second later being snatched out of the air by a large bird for breakfast.  Jordan was pretty blow away as was I.

Parrots at Dinner:

Wild life is not only in the brush down here.  I was driving back with Melissa from our morning surf session about a week and a half ago and we got stuck behind a van towing a cage that was moving rather slow.   As I got up closer, I said to her "Is that a Bengal Tiger in that cage?".  Sure enough, it was.  The van towing it had a loud speaker on it and was decorated in circus advertisement print.  They were driving the Bengal Tiger through the towns basically as an outdoor ad for the circus.  Many of you reading this might be from the ad industry and let me tell you no advertising I have ever seen on TV, Radio or online can top this.  Kids were running down the street to get a look, people were coming out of their houses and it was just generally causing quite a stir.  Safety issues aside, it was pretty crazy to stand a couple of feet from an animal that could eat me for lunch with my 5 year old and snap photos.  This is stuff you just can't make up and for sure will never see this in Santa Monica.

Circus Advertising at Your Doorstep:

 

We're looking forward to the 4th tomorrow although we'll miss our family and friends back at home.  We're grilling up with Russell and new friends in Troncones to celebrate our Independence Day after we get a surf in.  Cheers to you all and have a safe and sane 4th of July.

Tropical Storm Cosme

The last few days have seen some high winds, rain squalls and big chunky surf from Cosme which has been spinning off the coast of Mexico.  It's left plenty of down time to learn how to edit video.  Here's the first effort from a culmination of clips during the first two weeks in Troncones:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOaoEu5uNGk&feature=youtu.be

If you have instagram that is where you'll find us for more of a daily look at life in Mexico.  I'm at: checkedout4now

Surfing In Mexico

When I was in high school my old man inaccurately prophesized that rock music would destroy my life.  Little did he know it would actually be surfing that would turn out to be my downfall .  Since I was a kid back in grade school, I always wanted to surf.  Our family trips to Ocean Isle in North Carolina fueled this desire to start surfing which always seemed painfully out of reach growing up in Chicago.  It wasn't until I moved to Portland and was able to try it for the first time in 1996.  At that point I was 26.  After trying it, I took several trips to try my hand again and again visiting Hawaii, Costa Rica and San Diego.  I'd go for week long trips to try to learn more about a sport I had obsessed about since i was a kid.  I even made several trips to Westport on the coast of Washington State when I lived in Seattle to try to better my skill set in the frigid 48 degree water.  None of it really clicked until i got to LA in 2003 to start my new job which I gladly accepted with the idea that it would get me in the water more consistently.

I met Melissa almost immediately when I got to LA and we would spend our weekends driving to Trestles, C Street or North County searching out where the best conditions might be on any given Saturday or Sunday.   We both eventually developed a pretty solid intermediate skill set and when the kids arrived that came to a grinding halt.  One of the big motivators for this trip of course was to surf consistently and get good before our bodies are too shot to push the limits of what we're capable of.  That is precisely what we've been doing the last two weeks averaging 4 surf sessions a week.  We'd be lucky to get this many in one month back in LA where our days were clogged with play dates, work, traffic, shopping, television and whatever else we could pile into a 24 hour day.

We've been logging the majority of our water time at La Saladita which is a short 15 minute drive.  it's a long left point break that has been referred to by some  as a reverse Malibu.  It's true to some extent with one big exception....  There aren't 200 of your closest friends clogging the line up on a solid head high south swell day.  We've had a lot of fun surfing this wave with Russell and Pedro who both have this spot dialed in after logging many sessions here.  It's a nice take off that spins down the line for up to 250-300 yards when it connects.  While not a top to bottom race track of a wave, it's a hell of a lot of fun allowing for you to work on any variety of skills from top turns to cut backs.  The crowd is always friendly and we find ourselves chatting up many travelers from California, Texas and Colorado in addition to the locals when were out there.

Last Friday we decided to head further north to The Ranch which is a bit further out of reach.  It's 45 minutes down a road that is currently experiencing heavy construction which exits into a small village where you follow a dirt road through the brush down to the point.  It has a very secluded feel with a small shack that serves up some fantastic tacos and huevos rancheros for a post session refueling.  That's about the only thing on the beach other than surfers.  When we arrived on Friday, south swell lines were pouring in with consistant sets in the 7 to 8 foot range.  When these waves hit they would rifle down the point with a lot of speed.  Both Melissa and I had some difficulty paddling into the waves with strong offshore winds and Melissa choice to ride a shorter board which she hadn't dusted off in years.  We each only had a few waves this day, but I did manage to catch one set wave that upon take off looked to be a solid foot or two overhead.  The wave freight trained out in front of me allowing me to ride it well over 300 yards to the inside carving multiple turns as I worked my way into the bay.  I probably didn't ride the wave as well as I would have liked, but it felt pretty darn good knowing we were finding what we came here for.

There are other spots we're interested in checking out down here over the next several months that require overnight trips like Nexpa.  It'll also require us to get our skills up to par since it's a dredging, barreling river mouth set up.  You'll again note the lack of photos.  We're working on getting the GoPro set up and any shots of us surfing at this point would likely be more comical than anything.   Maybe once we get things tightened up a little we'll share some.

 

Getting them started young:

 

 

 

We Finally Scored a Car....

We experienced some serious sticker shock as we shopped rental car companies for a compact car to get us into town and out to a couple of the point breaks that we moved here to surf.  Dollar, Enterprise and Thrifty all had great weekly rates all hovering around $250 a month.  Insurance for them was another $1,000 per month.  All I can say after speaking with several of these companies is that rental car insurance is the biggest scam on the face of the planet.

So we did the only logical thing one might do in this case to save a few bucks.  We took a referral from our property manager Russell to a local guy named Gustavo who stores cars for people that reside down here part time and also rents them to visitors like us.  I emailed him and talked to him briefly on the phone about pricing before arranging to meet him.  Unfortunately, when we chatted he only had a Suburban for rent which is way more of a vehicle than what we actually needed, but it was still far less expensive than what the traditional rental car companies wanted. for even a compact car.  I was about to find out why.

We met Gustavo in the parking lot of Commercial (a local mega grocery store in Ixtapa) and he was friendly, but a fast talking all business type of guy.  We walked over to a well road tested Suburban that probably is a mid 90's model.  He produced a half typed half had written document that looked less than legally binding and started walking me through the particulars before signing it.  He didn't ask me for a passport or ID, he didn't do a walk around to show me any irregularities or dents in the vehicle, there was no credit card required for the rental which all seemed unusual, but hey it's Mexico.  I shook his hand, signed his agreement and gave him $5,000 pesos ($415 US) upfront then it was a done deal.

After Gustavo left we did a huge shopping trip at Commercial and then started loading the kids and our haul into our new rig.  When I described this vehicle as "road tested" earlier I was being generous about its overall vibe.  Here is a quick assessment of the car after driving it for one day:

·         221,000+ miles on this bad boy.

·         Multiple seat belts missing or disabled.

·         Both sides of the rear quarter panels have been side swiped at one point or another.

·         Driver side electric mirror inoperable, but if I lean down low enough in the driver's seat it's still functional.

·         Rack on top rusted out and completely useless for strapping up surfboards.

·         Radio works but only plays Mexican music which is difficult to drive to.

All told it runs fairly solid despite the cosmetic issues and best of all the air conditioning works.  We're mobile and couldn't be more stoked.  Ranch here we come!

It looks safer than it actually is: