Costa Rica!

Crossing into Costa Rica was the longest boarder encounter yet. I met a couple of Irish guys while standing in line. I felt bad when I would ask them to repeat things due to the thick accent. They were 2 months into a yearlong adventure to circumnavigate the globe. After passing through the boarder I gave them a ride to Liberia, a town about 50 miles from the boarder. We talked about their travel plans and how in Europe it is much more normal for people to take year long vacations from work; compared to the U.S. After getting 50,000 colons ( like $65 dollars) out of the atm in Liberia we set out for Mcdonalds where they met their friends. I have to admit the burgers tasted amazing. Tacos, salsas and lime had left me craving a burger. After dinner I said goodbye and set out towards the Nicoya Penninsula. The next day I set out for some caves in a national park but after an hour and half drive I started getting hungry and decided to turn back. One of the dirt roads i turned down was dead ended by a swift river. So i got out and started looking around before i noticed that there were about 7 or 8 monkeys in the trees. My first time seeing monkeys in the WILD! ahaha I felt like an idiot running around in excitement trying to snap of as many pictures as i could of the monkeys as they laughed at the silly human down on the ground. After filling up the memory card I decided to keep going and try to see Arenal Volcano. Rain and clouds prevented me from seeing the majestic mountain, but I still went on a hike through the cloud forest. I started walking through the jungle/forest right at dusk so the inside the canopy it was barely lit. Headed to fortuna, giving the hiking trail attendant a ride back to his house. Costa Rica is def. on my top five list. It outlives the hype that it gets thus far.

Nicaragua

I decided I wanted to drive through El Salvador and Honduras as quickly as possible. I was not going to pass through the northern part of honduras so I decided against seeing Tikal. NIcaragua is awesome. The first thing I noticed about Nicaragua is the schools. They have schools everywhere. I stayed the night in San Juan del Sur. An awesome little surf town that has a great beach. The food was awesome and next day I ventured around the surrounding areas in search of other beaches. After being defeated by the mud from the nights rain, I turned around and gave a ride to some lady that was trying to head into town. We chatted and she told me about the town. She didn't really like living there because there were too many people. I was surprised. There was only about 10,000 people on population sign. San Juan is a cheaper version of Costa Rica.

Crossing into Guatemala

As drove the last part of Mexico, I drove through several small mountain towns with people dressed in traditional clothing and fetching water from wells. It was a side of Mexico that I had not seen yet. Turns out I was driving on a rally track before I got pulled over and told to wait. After receiving a quick lecture about importing my car through mexico, I got my passport stamped and was allowed to cross into Guatemala. Guatemala is a lot like Mexico, but the people seem to be a lot poorer. While driving through the hills in Guatemala I came across a couple of ghosts in broad daylight. They wore white button ups and black ties. The missionaries from texas stuck out like sore thumbs in the little rural town. I stopped and talked to them for a couple minutes before continuing on my way. Guatemala City is a lot like Mexico City. Dirty and smells. I had woken up around 5 to get an early start on driving and an to leave the city while it was sleeping more or less. There are absolutely no road signs and after asking 5 or 6 people who gave me ineffective directions I decided to set out in search of wifi for help. Finally around 9:30 I made it out of Guatemala City.

Mexico City

TOPE: the four letter demon. There are over 18,000 speed bumps in Mexico City alone. pretty sure I've hit about half at this point. Besides the topes, I actually like driving in Mexico City it's an adventure every time you get in the car. I scared Dad pretty good last night while I was driving, we both had to smooth out our skirts and brush that one off. Think of driving in Mexico city as a huge game of chicken. The painted lane dividers mean nothing (they may as well be graffitti on the pavement for all the attention they get) stoplights are taken seriously ( except when there is no one going the other way, then you just drive right through the red light) The only problem with a massive game of chicken is that there is no win win. If you both stay your course theres a crash and everybody loses. It was def. awesome to

DRIVING WITH DAD

MIles Travelled since i left placerville: 4,134

Finally made it to the mainland. My dads waving arms greeted me as I drove off of the ferry in topolobambo. We caught up over some tacos and then drove to Mazatlan. The following day was my dads birthday and sad to say we spent the majority of it driving. But we ended up meeting an old friend of his in Guadalajara and they reminisced for hours. We ended the night sharing a couple brews out at a nice bar.

All kinds of fun

sailboats and light shows

Hanging with the Fam

Picked up my Mom and uncle Jeff from the Airport yesterday. On the way home we participated in some speleology. Saw lots of bats and mushroom-like honey bee hives. I have to note that all three of us turn into full blown nerds when wifi is available. Whatever the medium, computer or phone we were all engaged into the outer world.

Today i watched the sunrise Jeff before sprawling out on the couch for another nap. Once we were all up we got the kayaks out and went on a short excursion before jumping ship and exploring with the snorkels and kick boards. We even found a way to bring the phone down underwater with us. :) After a lunchbreak Jeff and I went out with the kakak and paddled up the coast a ways and beached. Under the watchful eye of a policeman and his secuirity guard friend we secured a mast and sail to our kayak. The way back was relaxing, to say the least, there's def a unique feeling of satisfaction to see your creation in action. That night brought on some of the most fun of the trip thus far. I started messing around with my camera while trying to take pictures of stars and found the exposure settings. One demonstration with the glow stick and it was on! After a little practice the three of us could light up any design anything and everything; And we did. From bicycles to crocodiles, we played ghosts in our own still dramas.

Spending some time in San Jose

I wanna own a dingy just like this, wouldn't hurt my feelings if it was just a little smaller.
Set piling up

Eddie the donkey. He's my friend. But i would be lying if i said his face didn't kind of freak me out, almost deathlike... hmm

trying to fall asleep and i can still feel the leash on my left ankle. I can feel the sun's burn over my whole body. every time i turn over my arms they remind me of the intense workout enduredtoday. Maybe I can't fall asleep because i keep replaying the events of today. My first real day surfing. Only caught two waves. stood up on both of them but it was over way too early. Can't wait for tomorrow.

I met richard at the costa azul surf shop. He recognized my vintage '79 ellington surfboard and came over and started talking to me while i was in the car. not exactly sure how he spotted it, since it was tucked inside of my care between the folded down seats. He was super stoked about it. I later found out that Richard is from hawaii and teaches surfing in HI, Cabo, and SoCal. He is easily one of the most laid back guys I've ever met, just really into surfing and all that it has offered him. At first glance i would have guessed 28, but a slightly thinning head of surf length hair and the instant recognition of my vintage surfboard put him back a little farther. He wanted me to take a lesson with him the following day and after letting me taste the waves with his longboard i agreed to shell out the dough and do it. Haha, he introduced me to his friends as the northern cali boy who talks like a lumberjack. ha that's a first.

Hanging out by LB

Been doing a lot of drawing at the grandparents house, also kayaking and exploring the roads. Went to balandra bay the other day. That was pretty cool. Super shallow bay with virtually no people.

Upon heading into Los Barriles from my grandpas house, I came upon some guys who were kiteboarding on the north beach of los barriles.... Soooo sick. I would probably put kiteboarding at the top of the list of things I want to learn. Its applicable to lots of aspects of boarding, I could do it in the water, snow or dirt :) After talking to the guys I found out that they have a school that starts in nov. So I will have to wait to do it, but I will def. have to check into this. Saw a lot of different age groups doing it.