touche ocean, touche

we have been surfing every evening and i would like to think i am doing alright for it being my first five times out. the waves are about thigh to waist high. so last night i'm going about my business being all proud of myself cause i no longer think i am going to die, when i stick my hand in the water to paddle and i feel a patch of sea lice- baby jellyfish- no big deal, but then it wraps completely around my hand. OUCH! i just got stung by a freaking jellyfish.

me and only me..... jeff has been surfing all month never got one, i don't think he has ever been stung.... let me tell you it hurts--- yes mom i'm ok now--- but i do have little welts on my hand, that bastard! oh and i got hit in the arm by the board and i have a big bruise, and one one my hip just from laying on the stupid thing.... and i'm dumb enough to go out again tonight



we get home tomorrow! which i kinda bittersweet... the last few days have been about ninety degrees and gorgeous

but just for fun things i won't miss
totally messed up roads
sand flees, mosquitoes, and everything else that bites
scheduled power outages
weird tasting hard water
the humidity
internet cafes
supers
cartoon maps that don't have any useful info
everything being closed on sundays
our last 'land lady' she was nuts.... but she double booked so we are in another house tonight, not nearly as crazy
and all sorts of other stuff

i love you and i approve this message....

there is a new modern church around here that has all these awesome signs with snappy sayings, one like the title, my other favorites:
happy hour every sunday 10 am
you know that love thy neighbor thing, i meant that
and beat the xmas rush come this sunday
all are signed -god. pretty hilarious!

not a whole lot happening, been surfing a bit jeff is over dealing with the crowds so the two of us have been surfing in the tiny little waves out front of our house.

the lady that owns our house is totally weird and likes to tell you what to do. she chain smokes and so the entire place reeks of smoke.....


we found our friends the canadians again---- guess what? they got engaged!


i think we are ready to come home now-

redemption!

lucky you! two entries in one day!

headed back to the coast yesterday and are now in playa grande, outside tamarindo. nice to be back on the beach and our 'house' is pretty cool. we have a bunch of old potheads staying around us and i think the lady who owns it is also one (like a big rambler broken up into smaller space, the people who own it stay there too) and we have a pool, yeah!

we got a late start to our trip yesterday though, all i have to say is never rent a car from renta4x4costarica.com---- apparently they don't believe having breaks is essential or being on time for that matter. the guy was an hour late getting up to arenal to fix our breaks, and i guess jeff says they still don't work that great, but we made it! i am convinced jeff is the best driver ever!

i had my redemption with the ocean last night! so the score is now 1:1. we borrowed our neighbors long board and headed out, the surf was about the same size (read here super small) but i didn't have to paddle through a bunch of stuff.... it was a blast and now if i could just get rid of the fear i could see why jeff is so obsessed

does that horse come with 4 wheel drive?

the swell completely dropped so we decided to take a detour and head up to arenal, the volcano. found a nice hotel for a good price which we later discovered that that is because it is brand new and no one else is staying there! no worries though, so we decided to do all the usual activities and head to the badi hot springs.

not bad! pretty sweet actually, its basically a whole bunch of pools at different temps with bars... we went to the highest up pool and discovered they were in the process of building water slides. so jeff being jeff decides to climb up an unfinished water slide. he manages to get up with no one in the pool noticing but as he comes down with that i am totally out of control look on his face, the entire pool goes silent..... yes my husband is that guy--- of course i am laughing uncontrollably so i guess i am that girl too

the next day we decided to head up to the zip lines, which were pretty cool. although you are unable to enjoy all the great views that they sell you with because you are going 30mph... on the way back down they make you take horses, and you all know i hate horses. so everyone gets on and we start down the trail. apparently i get the wild horse because mine decides where it wants to go and at what speed it wants. it has a competitive streak and will randomly run to beat another horse. then take a different path where it has to jump over stuff. i am practically in tears, (again i know) i have no control and jeff of course found this hilarious.....

ocean: 1, jessica: 0

my daydreams of figuring out this surfing thing were quickly crushed yesterday, as i am near full tilt panic trying to paddle out and both jeff and i yelling at each other. apparently fear does not do good things for a relationship---- as i am paddling through i bawl of white wash and watching another big one form in front of me, i´m yelling what do i do! jeff´s response, i don´t know hold on to your board! --- thanks, that helps a lot, i know my fear was probably irrational and the waves not that big but still, i don´t know isn´t the kind of direction you are looking for when you are starting to panic and taking on water.......

the lesson is i have an irrational fear of the waves and jeff is a sucky teacher (all things i think we knew before this experience)

big swell = lots of rain

we have been down here for the most rain in 10 years, the coldest water ever, and now the biggest swell in the last 2..... and big swell means a storm, i have NEVER seen it rain harder in my life! and yesterday i don´t think i have ever seen waves bigger....... i swear when it rains here nothing is dry, the humidity is so bad that even our sheet are damp

things have been pretty mellow here, devin and amanda left and the boys from jersey are around all the time. funny kids, both have come close to traveling around the world and basically work till they have enough money to leave again. i guess we are a pretty boring crew, hope everyone is doing well!

mel´s beach!

the weather has def improved! ya! halloween we went to this place called blew dogs that was having a party.... can´t hardly understand some of the locals but it was good times!

the boys met a couple of surfers from jersey out in the water and we have been hanging out with them quite a bit. today all 6 of us piled into the geo tracker and headed to mel gibson´s beach, that´s right mel gibson. it was awesome, no one there and a water fall just up a bit that you can sit under. the surf was super close so you had a good view of the guys and there were a TON of hermit crabs. seriously the most beautiful beach i have ever been too!

feel like i´m forgetting to put a ton of stuff in here---- ah well! devin and amanda are leaving tomorrow, so it will just be jeff and i.........

rain rain go away!

ugh, it still raining! so i guess i´m just complaining but it has been literally downpour all day everyday since we got to nosara..... its like being in e washington when it pours, boring! amanda and i have resorted to drinking today because we can´t think of anything else productive to do, i´m halfway into my second book since sunday....

i guess on a more exciting note, the absolute downpour woke up last night and as it was subsiding i heard someone outside our window trying to get into the geo tracker. there was nothing in there so probably wanting to steal it, i think we scared them away early cause jeff and devin´s shorts and rashguards trying to dry outside where still there.....

sorry i´m cranky

discrimination & trek to nosara

so i guess some costa ricans don´t like us.... we were in the grocery store on sat night and were the last helped and the second in line at the deli and then the checker told two people to cut in front of us.... totally frustrating

the drive down wasn´t bad at all--- surprising since we were told that we would be lucky if we made it here..... i was paranoid it would be like our trip to playa negra a few days ago --- some serious 4-wheeling, we were lucky we made it in and i hope it is better in a couple of weeks when we go back there


i think i could really love this place if it wasn´t raining and things were actually open- grrr! i guess the whole town shuts down till the 1st which would have been nice to know before we got here. our first trek to the grocery store was pretty bad, we missed the one we were told to go to and ended up at a very run down sketchy place, everything was covered in a layer or dirt--- oh and the checker rang up about 5 guys before she would run our credit cards, lessen here stick to touristy grocery stores

this whole entire town is connected by trails/skinny roads, its pretty cool. amanda and i wandered around for about 2 hours this morning finding different stuff. we went to lunch at an american owned place with what jeff calls ´hippy food´ and they have nightly free yoga classes... the beach is really beautiful, it reminds me kinda of washington the way the waves are and there is this crazy hotel up on the point, very salvadore dali (sandy-- its totally deserted up there, kinda creepy! sorry you had to stay there!) i´m excited for everything to open up and there to be more people....

our place is a little bungelow type house, pretty close quarters for the 4 of us but it will be perfect when its just jeff and i, we even have a kitty that lives outside it. finally some monkeys and lots of butterflies.

i don´t know if i will be able to post picts while i´m down here, i think i´ll do a post when we get home with tons.... hope everyone is doing well!

the crazy monkey bar

this is our last day in flamingo and i must say that i am happy to go--- this place is beautiful but i think we are all ready to move on--- it has been interesting poor alan i think is having a hard time, it was his birthday this week and we are thinking he came down to escape losing both of his parents within the past year or so---- hopefully we will have a place to stay! we can't get a hold of the management people in nosara, this shall be interesting especially coupled that with possibility the roads will be washed out!

it rained like crazy for most of yesterday but it is making up for it nicely today, brutal sun the way i like it!

last night we went to this bar in tamarindo that is only open on friday nights, it has a dj, band, and pool-- all the neccesities! the name of such an amazing place: crazy monkey bar! we watched a tico get thrown out, saw some questionably dressed woman and listened to heavily accented versions of american music--- good times!

so hopefully when i write next we will be in nosara--- keep your fingers crossed!

beaches and beer

so the weather has completely cleared up and it is beatiful here! not to mention hot and super muggy. we ventured out to playa negra today and the roads were totally crazy, washed out and our awesome tracker is now having a break problem. we bought fish from the local fish dealer, who is maybe tweleve at most, he had his dad (maybe?) butcher this huge fish right in front of us.

*** surf report- grande was good yesterday, negra sucked today and devin and jeff skated a sick bowl--- jeff has been riding the quad and it is sweet*****

haven't seen a killer mosquito in a couple of days

we are currently in our usual routine of dinner and drinking games till bed. devin and amanda met a canadian couple in the airport who we ran into in tamarindo and alan is now letting them stay at the 'upper' house. i can't tell you how awesome this place is, with our own private beach and an upper deck that you can jump into the pool.. good times

need to get pictures on to the computer to post, i'll do that before we leave to nossara in a few days.... sorry this message sucks but wanted to keep you all updated!

our adventure to the coast

this is what i was trying to post before---

we get into san jose just fine, late but fine. as we approach our hotel for the night we see a denny's (that's right, the american denny's), a thumping night club, and our best western. after managing to get jeff's surfboards into the world's smallest elevator we decide to venture for something to eat. the only thing open: denny's---- ugh! and for some reason in costa rica denny's is really expensive--

up bright and early the next morning to head out away from the city (thank god!) and the hotel gives us a free breakfast from guess where? that's right! denny's-- i haven't been to denny's since i was 16, let alone twice in 24 hours

we wait for our car, which is late (on time by costa rican standards) it arrives about a half hour late, and as we go to meet it. i think this can't be it--- a black, beater geo tracker--- oh well what can you do? we load the thing full and the guy takes off, jeff looks at me and asks for the keys-- my response why would i have the keys?---- we tear the tracker apart and find nothing.... so we call the emergency number, no answer!! bad way to start a long drive. as we are both panicking, and i'm ready to leave them a message saying they can come pick up the pos we rented something else, the guy pulls up, his buddy looking totally stoned, hands me the keys says sorry and takes off

so finally we can head out! ya! the gods had other plans for us. about 10 miles outside of the city we hit traffic, as we make our way through there is a road block. we ask the cop about heading to tamarindo-- he says 'cerrada' and points toward an off ramp. quickly we realize cerrada means closed and find out later tons of rain has closed many of the main highways.

we spent 7 hours in the car, 2 of it weaving through backroads with a vauge map trying to find our way. finally we arrive at playa grande, no waves for jeff, and guess what it's raining! (i'll post pictures later)

down pours and killer devil mosquitoes

so i had a whole big thing typed out about our journey here and the internet ate it--- i'm trying to get wireless again so i can load it up---- lets just say getting to playa flamingo was quite the adventure and i highly doubt our car will make it the whole month


so after the adventure of getting here, it just got more frustrating. we were suppose to meet the guy we are staying with- alan- at his place but we trusted devin to do the planning which is a very bad idea!!! jeff lost his wallet and i was being eaten alive.... ugh about two hours of killing time we found alan and the wallet, thank god! but that didn't stop the rain, straight out of jurasic park rain..... for an entire 24 hours straight(part of the adventure of getting here, i guess the declared a state of emergency the wednesday before we left due to flooding)

yesterday it was nice and sunny and we hope the trend continues especially cause of the killer mosquitoes---- i have a picture! there are some that came from another country that are black and white stripped with red heads and they give you some crazy disease---- luckily we got africa strength bug stuff

imperial?

i can hear everyone now-- what is imperial, you say-- well let me tell you imperial is the best beer on the planet, and take a guess where it's from--- that's right COSTA RICA! i'm pretty sure if we brought some home it would be just like bud light and all the ticos (costa ricans) think we are idiots for liking it so much. but there is nothing like watching the sun set past the waves, sipping an imperial.....