Just missed the Hurricane

Well we are back in contact with the ´real world´. That small Caribbean island is a trip. They have not seen many changes for the last 50 years, until recently. They are restoring buildings at a rapid pace (nothing is actually rapid there, but it´s fast for them). It's beautiful in a decrepit sort of way. The buildings were gorgeous, when they didn't look like they were in a war zone. Walking around was so strange because it looked like the most dangerous neighborhood in the world. Our internal instincts were saying.. this is everything you were taught to avoid. But this was probably the safest country we'll visit during our trip. The people aren't even allowed to talk to us. Most of the time we felt completely invisible. Except for those few hustlers who risked talking to us to try to make a buck.

The old cars really added to the feeling like we were in a movie. People were waiting in lines everywhere we looked, and the rest were sitting in their doorways or balconies watching the world go by. It was just a strange place. The cocktails were good, but the food was terrible! I just couldn't eat another ham and cheese sandwich or canned vegetables. Sometimes they ran out so it wasn't an option. But they always had rum and cigars available. The fact that we were both sick (colds) probably didn't make the ham sandwiches go down any easier, but the rum seemed to help =)

Now we're in Jaco, Costa Rica (you have to scroll down the map to see the updated locations - hint Google: fix this!). It´s great to be back in a country that has food choices, which Costa Rica isn't known for. We just had fish tacos with an all-you-can-eat salad bar. Oh my GOD! This was heaven! We plan to hang around for a bit, and we really need more Spanish classes!

Swimming with Whale Sharks

Swimming with whale sharks this morning off of Isla Holbox, Mexico was amazing!! These animals are so large, yet peaceful and gentle. That's Melissa next to the biggest shark of the day. It was bigger than our boat, about 20 feet. It was also the slowest shark and it let us swim along side it for a while.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whale_sharks

Mariachis - Mexico City

Here's a little video of the Mariachis band that we hired for a song in Plaza Garibaldi, Mexico City. Sorry that these posts are out of order.

San Simon - Zunil, Guatemala

The strangest sight so far on our trip. This is a Mayan saint in Guatemala, recreated with a plastic mannequin. He had a smoking cigar in his mouth. This effigy is moved to a different house in the town of Zunil each year. People pray to San Simon and offer him rum, cigars, cigarettes and more. It was so strange to see. The Mayans are also mostly Catholic, so this is particularly strange. Many Mayan towns in Guatemala have an effigy of San Simon, but he sometimes is referred to by different names.

From the link on wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Guatemala


"Roman Catholicism combined with the indigenous Maya religion to form the unique syncretic religion which prevailed throughout the country and still does in the rural regions. Beginning from negligible roots prior to 1960, however, Protestant Pentecostalism has grown to become the predominant religion of Guatemala City and other urban centers and down to mid-sized towns.

The unique religion is reflected in the local saint, Maximón, who is associated with the subterranean force of masculine fertility and prostitution. Always depicted in black, he wears a black hat and sits on a chair, often with a cigar placed in his mouth and a gun in his hand, with offerings of tobacco, alcohol, and Coca-cola at his feet. The locals know him as San Simon of Guatemala."

We all agreed (Melissa and I went there with four new friends), that this was extremely strange, yet worth the trek all over this small indigenous town. We'll give more details on Guatemala soon.

Barra de la Cruz

After about 2 weeks in Puerto Escondido, we finally decided to move on. The Spanish classes were great and so was the surf. We will miss it. But I think we will be back again.

Luckily our next stop was also amazing. Unfortunately we only had time for 1 night in Barra de la Cruz. It's a great surf spot, which I don't think I'm supposed to mention by name in my blog because people are trying to keep it a secret. But it's no secret. This is a great wave, which draws a lot of surfers from around the world. I was lucky enough to get a session in the afternoon with only 3 guys out. It was a little windy, but the wave was still amazing. Click on the video below.

The people of Barra really made this place special. They are all so nice and friendly. After leaving our Spanish classes, we were eager to try it out. The people of Barra were very willing to speak with us and give us tips on improving our Spanish.

Mike surfing Barra badly!

Puerto Escondido Surf Video

Here's a short video of Playa Zicatela in Puerto Escondido. It's not Mike. He did paddle out here on a smaller day, but it was still a bit too big for him. Maybe next year, after a year of surfing Ocean Beach in San Francisco he might be ready to tackle these waves.

Puerto Escondido

Well we finally made it to the coast. It is really hot here in Puerto Escondido and humid too. I’ve finally had a chance to get into the water for some surf. Unfortunately, it has been a while (4 weeks) since I last surfed because of packing up, visiting family in Boston, my bike trip with Dan, and our two weeks traveling around Mexico. So when I first arrived I felt pretty rusty. When I saw how huge the waves are here, I was pretty intimidated. Luckily there are a few other spots nearby that are much smaller (La Punta and the main beach away from the main break). The main break in Puerto Escondido is in the middle/north end of Playa Zicatela. The wave breaks like the world famous Bonzai Pipeline on the North Shore of Hawaii. It is a huge barreling wave that breaks with amazing force in sallow water, just off shore. It is a common occurrence to see broken surfboards.

I don’t think I will be surfing the main break unless it gets a lot smaller. The other spots are really good too, so I’m enjoying my time in the water.

Melissa and I enrolled in Spanish classes here. It’s been keeping us pretty busy. I generally get up at 7am (sunrise) and go for a surf. Then we eat breakfast, do some homework/review, drink coffee and then walk to school. We’re taking 4 hours per day. Combined with the heat and humidity, this really fries our brains. After our classes we go out for lunch by the beach and then we go for a swim in the ocean or the pool at our hotel. It’s a pretty mellow existence, but it actually feels like a lot of work. But I think everything here feels like a lot of work because it’s so hot. When we walk to class, we are literally dripping in sweat. Just standing around we lose about a pound an hour just sweating. You either have to be in water or in front of a fan to be comfortable. But don’t get us wrong we like it here, despite the heat and mosquitoes.

The bet is over… we both had our first bout of sickness. Mike had a little stomach issue that lasted one day, and the next day I (Melissa here now) got a crazy fever. My body aches were torture. My left hip hurt so bad that I couldn’t lay on that side for three days. Thankfully Mike suggested I take an antibiotic and it must have helped because I was fine the next day. No other issues, just pain and a fever.

We’re planning to take two days off this week and head out to Chacahua. It’s a remote fishing village on the coast north of Puerto Escondido. We have to take a boat to get there. It will be very relaxing, with not to much to do but watch the birds and the sea. It will be a little vacation within our trip.

Hope everyone is doing well. Keep the comments coming, we loving hearing from you all.