just have to say....

Today we crossed the border into Panama. It is Jimmy, Peattie, and Manburban who are completely at awe. That´s right, the Manburban is a living thing. Tim knows what we are talking about. We are hanging out in the lobby of a cheap hotel in Changuinola right now talking about how from the get go of this adventure there has only been a few constant variables that we could always rely on. Ourselves and our machine. Take risks and be spontaneous people, that´s it for now.

We just went Rasta!

The hour long ferry ride that took us and the Man from the Nicoya Peninsula to Punta Arenas was spectacular. Despite a few garbage flotillas we were happy to be afloat with a fully stocked snack shack and some jammin tunes. We found ourselves climbing the mountains of Costa Rica, gaining altitude towards or next destination, San Jose. After a brief pit stop at McDonalds (only the forth time) we made it to the capital city. There was a chill in the air and it all made sense once we realized that we had elevated to 6,000 ft.. The search for a place to spend the night was super fun. We turned into the Marriott and was greeted by a nice, good looking receptionist. I put on my best charm, which is hard to do when you have a puffy beard accompanied with massive neck hair. Anyways, she didn't bite and the room was quoted at $170 for a night, so I didn't bite back. We were thrown around a bit and redirected to many other hotels until we found our savior, Randolph. He said, "I take you to good, cheap place." We were happy to hear that. He hoped in the Man and off we went to our glorious hostel. After thirty minutes of being parked directly in front of the hostel some drunk guy eyed the Manburban and thought he would try his hand in theft. With a screwdriver in hand he actually tried to pry the door open, just like the bears in Yosemite do. I wish I could of seen this. The front desk guys ran out there and scared him off. They even called the police for us but they never showed. The next day (12/10) we left the city and headed towards the Caribbean. There have been about three or four memorable drives on the trip so far. This was one of them. Starting high in the mountains and descending through clouds, rain, sunshine, and lush forest. A waterfall would come out of nowhere and splash onto the the side of the road and rivers would flow with mild energy as we crossed over them on high bridges. We hit Puerto Limon first. There were large cruise ships and many container ships shuffling about. They had a Pizza Hut, which seems to be the deciding factor on whether or not you have made it in this country. This was the first time I have seen the Caribbean since I was a little kid. I think it was a family vacation to Florida and my dad took me out in the water where the warm little waves scared me. Soon we had met our destination. The town of Puerto Viejo. It is great here. Our friend Jason said, "Be ready for the rasta." and he was right. The Caribbean is different then the Pacific side. He has brought us into his home with his family. Today we went to a secret spot down the road from his house. We had to leave the Manburban parked in the sand and trot by foot about 20min. through rain forest until we popped out on a sandy patch of beach. The coastline was so beautiful. The best way to describe it is simply by saying, there is a little strip of beach and on one side there is water and on the other there is a wall. A giant green wall. The wave was pretty wild, it would jack up really quick and bend around the reef. I got the best wipeout of my trip today at this spot. Took off late and had a little free fall, landed and made it to the bottom of the wave where my body was standing completely upright and my legs close together (not good). Then, since i couldn't bend my knees in time and find my balance the wave overpowered me and suck me right in. The spot is not very deep and yet i wasn't hitting the bottom and had no idea where up was. Finally I rose to the surface, just in time to hear Jimmy say, "Look out!" The next wave cracked on my head and the restart button on the washing machine was flicked back on. But there were plenty of other great rides today and we were all high fiving our way out of the water. After that the secret spot was empty, just the way it had been when we arrived.

-Ya Man!

Mal Pais, not that bad.....

Accepting that it would be in our favor to continue our journey south from the little surf town of Playa Gigantes in Nicaragua opened the door once again to the unknown. It was only about an hour drive south until we approached the border. Costa Rica was right there in our sights and it is times like this when you realize once again how far you have really gone. There is usually two stops at every border. The first is where you check out of the country you have just visited. I was excited to see a duty free shop at the first stop. They sell candy, booze, music and usually some random popular kids toy. My eyes lit up when I saw a sign that read, "5 x $32" in front of a huge rack of Nicaraguan rum. The stuff is called Flor De Cana, and it is delicious. Here in Costa Rica it is something like $15 for one bottle, so I stsand by my purchase of 5 for $32. At the border we ran into a friend from Nicaragua and his family. His name is Jayson and he has lived in Costa Rica for the past seven years or so on the carribean side. He said, "Stick with me guys and we will get out of here asap." He was right. We booked it through the border and before we knew it we were driving through the tropical countryside of Costa Rica. We had a little caravan, two suburbans making their way towards Liberia, Costa Rica. It is hard for me to put into the words the excitement I felt when I gazed out onto the horizon of the road and could clearly make out the magnificent image of what appeared to be two, golden arches. I think a single tear ran from my sunburnt eye, McDonalds was here. Though I was forced to swallow my infatuation when Jayson said that there was a Pizza Hut around the corner and he thought it would be nice if we all sat down and had dinner together. The man I am, I agreed and put my foolish California cravings behind me. That night we shacked up at the Best Western and cracked a bottle of rum with our new friends. We got up the next morning and had a great hotel breakfast and then jumped on the road. As we made our way in the general direction of south on highway 21 through the Nicoya Peninsula the Manburban was flying high, happy and free. Until I got pulled over for apparently speeding. Turns out the speed limit is pretty lame driving through the peninsula. At times it is 60km then it will jump to either 80km or 40km. The cop showed me his radar gun where my speed was marked at 86km/hr. Now that's not very fast where I'm from, but I'm not exactly home right now. We talked and I attempted to bribe him with cigarettes or special magazines (they were given to us by our friends who said that if you get pulled over just lay them out on the dashboard and the cops will take heavy interest). So he didn't smoke and his cheeks got a little rosy when he saw the mags. It turns out he was just a nice, honest cop and he told me to just watch the signs and keep the speed down. The rest of the road to Mal Pais was a lot of fun. Partially paved and most of it not with steep inclines and tight corners the road was definitely fit for the Man. We arrived to a scene of what can be described as a tight knit surfers get-away. There are low rate places for the backpacker and nicer, isolated hotels for the big spenders. There is a village with shops and restaurants which is connected entirely by one main road running north and south along the ocean. The surf scene is slightly more crowded due to it's popularity and just the fact that it is Costa Rica. It is mainly beachbreaks that line the shores and right now there is good swell so the waves are pretty fun. What I like the most is looking back onto shore from the water. The thick forest runs right up to the sand. Somewhere in the trees and palm there are hotels and restaurants but you cannot see them when you are surfing. I'm looking forward to meeting up with my friend Lacy here. She works at a nicer hotel further up the road in Santa Theresa. We used to work at the Islands restaurant in Mission Valley together back in the day. While we continue to explore and wander down new paths there is business to be attended to at the same time. It is time to start putting the Manburban up for sale. The town here is littered with surfers and land owners so our hopes are to attrack someone with the need of a strong rig like the Man. So as I return to the vehicle that has done so well and gotten us here all the way from Pacific Beach, San Diego, I'm going to wipe off the dust from the windows and in big, bold lettering write, "SE VENDE." I think I will be able to hold it together but there are some memorable moments that connect you to something and that cannot be entirely described because it is you that experienced them. Tim carved his name into the steering wheel, that better not bring down the value. Just kidding, we are going to do the same. Well all right, time to get going.

-what will i learn today?

66km at 13mph, You do the math

Our second visit to Leon was slightly crazier than the first. This time we had a full car steaming back to the city. It was Jimmy, Peattie, Georgie, Longneck, and Jimmy South all amped up to celebrate at any expense. We made the first toast upon arrival, everyone saluting to Jimmy South's first drink in two years! I was shocked and so was the bartender as our party grew in popularity and volume. The next day was our core group heading out for lunch at a nearby local hostel and learning that there would be a once-in-a-lifetime rooster fight tonight. It was one of those episodes where we all just met with eyes perked with excitment, but brows slanted with doubts. So we did it. The back of a truck where eight of us anxiously sat awaiting what could be a great cultural tradition or maybe what would mark my new passion for animal rights was moving quicker and furhter away from everything we had once been familiar with. Entering through a back lot into a simple, rustic setup, you could see the ring. So that's where they fight? Almost 100 Nicaraguans had gathered to lay down their hard earned money with the hopes that a shining rooster will be their ticket to another meal. After a good hour or two I was nothing but a blank stare, brought down from excitment to not sure what to make out of the brutal scene of rooster vs. rooster. The grand finale was five roosters in the same ring at once. As soon as that was over I and others were ready to break out of that place and not take one glance back. This will mark the end of my love affair with the city of Leon, for now. Jimmy and I said goodbye to our new friends and to Georgie, who we will definitely continue to be in touch with as the weeks, months and years reveal. Coming to a fork in the road as we headed south towards Managua, we took the left. Just like Frost mentioned, "It has made all the difference," because the left took us down the old road to Managua. It was a 66km road that seemed it was only used by cattle and devastated by potholes. It came clear that it was the road less travelled. It led us to Managua and directly to a Subway where we both devoured our comfort food. A few hours later we navigated our way through the city and towards the coast where the dirt roads begin. I like to think that the Manburban is at his happiest when we are flying free down the dirty, pebble filled roads, shooting up clouds of smoke behind us. So here we are, Playa Gigantes. South of Popoyo and north of San Juan Del Sur and plenty of incredibly fun surf breaks. We are hanging with good people from San Francisco, Colorado, and other parts of the world that have found the same place we have. I have a few surfboard repairs tomorrow and then it is party night here at the hostel, weeh! Friday we are looking to enter Costa Rica and to take a moment to acknowledge the epic presence of a new country and to wave goodbye to another.

-still going

Chancleta

With the promise of waves in the future we bailed our Bigfoot hostel life in Leon and drove NW to a area where we were told there would be waves and a place to stay. After driving 2hrs and getting lost or turned around and asking for directions numerous times we found exactly what we were looking for. Hotel Chancleta, a place that suits the needs of all travellers. There are rooms here for those with the fat wallet and dorms for those with a flabby piece of leather that use to serve as a wallet. As we pulled into the wide open green pasture that sits on a hill overlooking the surf we knew we had found something special. The surf was looking so fun and instead of getting accustomed with our new surroundings on land we figured that doing the same in the ocean was just as significant. The waves were clean, offshore, 3-4 ft and peeling quick down the line. It was the perfect Thanksgiving day celebration. To add to it we were invited by the owner and his family to join them and other guests to a dinner that would resemble a Nicaraguan day of giving thanks. It was phenomenal. Two great big turkeys, mashed potatos, mac n´cheese, peas(!), stuffing, bread and a icecream dessert. We occupied a long narrow table that sat around 25 of us. After dinner it was all about the Nica rum and wine that hovered around the table. We made new friends and added a new memory to our holiday traditions. I am glad to say that my gringo skin still manages to get burned. Even though we have been surviving and adapting well to the Central America sun, there is still a lot of California boy alive in me. After luch today we will head back for Leon just for the night. We will be bringing along with us two new bed jumping buddies from Florida. These guys are pretty funny, they take pictures of one another while they try to jump as high as possible on their bed and make a funny pose while in the air. After you get the shot you submit it to a website called bedjumping.com. We were laughing so hard when they first told us about it. Tomorrow when we wake up it is back on the road heading south. We might be pushing for Costa Rica in a few days or so. We will see. But for now I can say that we have found a highly revisitable spot for future surf trips.

-chile (thats what they call white people here)

This place rocks!

Greetings my fellow cyber mates. We are coming to you from the city of Leon, Nicaragua. It was not the longest drive here from our little surf village of El Tunco in El Salvador, but surely it provided a very entertaining ride. Crossing into Honduras was fairly easy with your common paperwork and fees and mumbo jumbo. The Manburban got spotted by the police [which it tends to do] about half a mile into the new country and we did our best to cope with the corrupt nature of every single law enforcement official in Central America. It appears that it is a law down here to have a fire estinguisher, road triangles, and reflector stickers on your car at all times. Ehh.....That is just unecessary and poor financial management. So after all the chit chat and blank stares this guy pulls Jimmy out of the car and looks at him and says, "20 dolares." Well if that's all ya wanted in the first place then speak up hombre! Anyways this was the theme all throughout Honduras. We got signaled to the side of the road probably around six times. We decided to stop attempting to speak with them in spanish and act completely dumbfounded by the language. We would only reply in english and provide the impresion that we had no money and were just driving through the country. It actually worked, and it was comedy! We would pull away after being signaled over just totally laughing and commenting on how well each one of us acted like we don't have a clue about what's going on. Spent a night in Chuloteca, Honduras. The only good thing about that was I got my clothes washed for the third time on the trip, we ordered Pizza Hut [heaven], Georgie died her hair, and we watched A Few Good Men. Next day, booked it to the Nicaraguan border, fooled a few more police, the Manburban started making a funny noise, and then got to a beach town called Las Penitas where we stayed in a hostel for the night. With no swell we decided to head into Leon and see if we could get the Man some work done on him and we would just cruise around Leon. Well it turns out we needed new brake pads so that is happening. We are stoked about Leon! This place is very rad. It is a colonial style city with big village squares and weathered churches. We are staying at a hostel called The Bigfoot Hostel. Check it out, it is sick! So there is plenty to do here and lots of people to mingle with. Last night we got together with everyone in the hostel and we stormed some bar down the street. There seems to be good domestic beer everywhere we go and usually it's always just a buck for a tall frosty brew. Today we get the Man back from the mechanics, might do some sight seeing, and then tomorrow we might slide down a volcano on a sled. They keep a chart at the hostel of who has the highest speed record going down the volcano. Right now it is 82km /hr. but Jimmy and I feel we can conquer a new volcano sliding record. We might have to shave first though, you know, the whole aerodynamic thing. Nevermind! Not shaving. Well folks, that's all for now. Our future hopefully contains more swell, Popoyo, winning the lottery, and a very merry thanksgiving.

-San Miquelito

The Buzz

Apparently Honduras has noticed a slight decline in its profit margin of exporting goods to neighboring countries. To fix that they all sat down and said, "Maybe we should clean up that little mess down at the border." There has been nothing new in the news about the situation so we are convinced that our passage to the south has once again been given the thumbs up and tomorrow we take to course. 6am wake-up call, coffee at Dale Dale, bank, fuel, snacks, and we are off with intentions of reaching Leon, Nicaragua in one day.

-May the force be with us.....and to you as well