Ventura/Santa Barbara (10/1)

My friend from college, Nick Hartley, got married in Italy and had the reception in Ventura. Coming down south from Fresno requires a board and wetsuit to always be packed. After two days of getting phone calls and text messages from Nick and John Haan about how good the waves were the last few days, I had high hopes for some good waves. When I finally got to the point on the 101 freeway where I could see the Pacific Ocean, it was blowing 20 mph on shore. White caps as far as I could see. I didn't even bother checking the breaks knowing that it was blown out everywhere. In the morning, John Haan and I check Rincon (1 ft), C Street (1-2' and contest going on), and then finally Pierpont out in front of Nick's parents house. The waves were 1-2' with an occasional bump from a double up wedge left off the jetty. It was small but fun and it was only John Haan, myself, and a little kid about the age of 10. It felt good to finally get back in the water after recovering from my rib injury 8 weeks earlier in Nicaragua. The drive back to SB showed Rincon flat. 5 hours later as I drove to the reception, it was chest high and reeling down the point at low tide. Had to pass because there was some serious partying to do in Ventura with all my friends. The Pacific NW is starting to get going and I hope to get some good waves in the next couple of months.

Summary of Nicaragua Trip

These are my 10 favorite photos from the trip.

I have decided that unless you are surfing at least once a week, you don't need to go on a surf trip for more than 10 days. Seven to eight days is probably best. You body just can't take the punishment if the waves have any size. It would be like running a marathon when you only ran a few miles once a month.

Even with the setbacks of busted ribs and food poisoning, I had an amazing trip. I really feel like I need to do a return trip because the waves were that good and consistent. I had read a lot about the winds blowing off-shore all day and it was completely true. Playa Colorado picks up so much swell from the south/southwest.

Nicaragua was a safe country to travel in and people were friendly and helpful. Everyone kept talking about Nicaragua being like Costa Rica 10 years ago before it was built up with houses and resorts. Seeing the Hacienda Iguana community and amount of empty lots, I can't imagine it with 200 houses build on all the lots available. The line-up will be so crowded and it will turn into Huntington Beach, CA.

If you are planning on traveling to Playa Colorado or nearby beaches (Gigante, Santana, etc) I would suggest communicating with Zach (http://zacksnicaraguatours.com) or Mateo (nicatime.com). They were much cheaper than NSR with airport transfer and boat trips. NSR was extremely helpful but paid twice as much for the airport transfer and 50% more for boat trips. You can reserve the same houses or condos through many agencies (Mateo, Zach, or NSR).

The wildlife was everywhere. I saw howler monkeys, iguanas, sea turtles, hundreds of crabs, tarantulas, pigs, horses, bulls, and fish.

Playa Colorado is a great place to take a wife or girlfriend. There are fun walks up and down the beach and infinity pools at several of the houses, including the Playa Colorado private beach club. All of the other surf travelers in the lineup and at the bar/restaurant were good people. Even the Brazilians, who have a reputation for being agressive in the lineup, were hooting for people in the lineup.

Make sure to bring small bills and I would recommend exchanging for the local currency (cordobas). Everyone takes American dollars, but it was more of a inconvenience to figure out the exchange rate every time.

Day 15: Last day in Nica

Safety first (kids got mom's helmet on

Ready for home

Last morning reflection

Nica to El Savador

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I woke up early to check the surf. The tide was already getting a little low and waves were starting to close out. There were still some lined up waves coming through but not nearly frequent enough for me to want to paddle out and get destroyed by the 10 foot bombs on the outside. Instead, I had a relaxing morning and packed my board bag and checked in to my flight online. My body had taken enough punishment on this trip and I was glad to return with all three boards that took on the trip. One of the guys from LA last night said he broke 2 boards yesterday.

Day 14 of Nica

John Haan and I got the boat to Manzanillo for the second day in a row. The lineup was crowded and full of beginner surfers. It was difficult to navigate the lineup because guys were always in the waves down the line. Many of them ditching boards to go under waves instead of duckdiving. All of them were nice so it was hard to get mad at them. I got several good set waves and got another good barrel on the second ledge. After the surf session, we got a ride to Gigante and swam in to get lobster lunch. The lobster was amazing (again) and we swam back to the boat. The boat driver ask if I would sell him my Xcel rash guard. I told him that if he watched our boards while we got lobster, he could have it. Good trade. When the boat dropped us off at Playa Colorado, the waves were pumping. The fisrt wave that came through a guy got a long left barrel on a 6-8 foot wave. I took off on the shoulder of one of the medium ones and decided to kick out and get one of the set waves. I saw a few more guys get some long barrels and also saw a huge right come in down the beach where John Haan was. No one was on the right and it had a tube section that was 100 meters. I ended up getting a decent size set wave a few feet overhead and was happy to make the bottom turn considering I was riding my smallest board (6'0" CI Whip) that I had for the mellow shoulders of Manzanillo. John Haan got snaked on his wave in.

Two guys from Cali asked if I got a few shots of them the previous day and told them to come see what I had on my camera. I ended up having some great barrel sequence shots and a video of them. We gave them some of our Tona that we weren't going to finish by the next day (departure) and emailed them the photos. One went to USC and the other San Francisco St. All of us walked to Don Elroy's to get some pizza and fries. The bar was packed, busiest I had seen it in the last two weeks. A good mix of girls and guys. It was a fun night for the last night in Nicaragua.

Day 13 in Nica

Checking the swells for Playa Colorado and Manzanillo

Outer reef with a nice right lined up. The front wave is at least 8 foot.

Today was a good day for surfing. John Haan and I slept in due to low tide in the morning. We ate breakfast and then set up our boat trip to Manzanillo. The waves have been overhead and the paddle out to the boat from Playa Colorado was difficult. I managed to squeeze through a channel and made it to the boat quickly. John Haan got stuck to the north of me and took a few waves on the head before he made it out. Our boat driver, Milton, was a good guy and spoke zero english. The boat ride out to Manzanillo was bumpy but the winds were good when we got to the spot. There were two other fishing/surf boats and one sailboat already there. The crowd in the water was not bad (12 guys) and the waves were really good. The sets were a few feet overhead and there was more push than last time I rode the break with Larry and Matt. I duck dove a set and got thrown to the bottom,; my feet hit the rocks probably 8-10 feet down. There was some serious power in some of the sets today. At the end of the 3 hour session, I got cleaned up by a few huge set waves. I was way out the back of the lineup and still got caught inside. The first wave pushed me back 50 meters in and towards the rocks, the second wave pushed me another 30 meters in and the third wave pushed me out into the harbor. I paddled back out and was sitting far out and had the exact same thing happen again before I could get a wave. It was time to call it a day. I ended up with one barrel and a few really long rides with some good turns. When the boat dropped us off at Playa Colorado the waves were huge lefts breaking double overhead. I took one of the smaller waves in and then sat by the pool with John Haan watching guys pulling into big left barrels.

A big thunder and lightening storm blew through and lasted 30 minutes. We watched the show from the balcony and got some video footage of the lightening.

For dinner, we walked to Gigante to get lobster dinner at Buena Vista. We had to time the tides and daylight to get there. By the time we got to Buena Vista the sky was dark, except for a few lightening strikes off in the distance. There was also no more lobster left. We settled for filet red snapper. Not as good as the lobster, but still very good. Lenny walked with us to the Hostel because he said there was another party and we were going to try to get a ride back from someone there. There was no party and no ride. The ONE taxi in Gigante did not show up and we ended up walking home over the rocks and on the beach. Lenny was creeping out John Haan. He kept asking John for a dollar and then $10 later before we separated at the rocks on the north side of Gigante bay. The hostel is an interesting place; at $10 a night it is a cheep place to stay, but the drugs associated in and around it is not fun. We made it back to the condo in one piece and without incident.

Day 12: Big swell shows

Chippa wafting

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Unidentified on a clean left at Playa Colorado

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John Haan snaps one at Playa Colorado

I think I lost 10 pounds in 2 days from the food poisoning. I am finally starting to be able to eat food again. I had toast for lunch and pancakes for dinner. The swell showed up around this afternoon and NIcaragua finally showed John Haan its glory. Some pros also showed up just in time for the big waves. Andrew Doheny, Chippa Wilson, Mason Ho, and Matt Wilko with Chippas video crew. They have video guy, water photog, and land photog. They are staying in the condo next to us. I heard one of the local kids say they are taking a boat to outer reef tomorrow in Popoyo. John Haan and I booked a boat trip to Manzanillo tomorrow afternoon. The tide is mid-tide later morning and early evening. Hopefully we will score some good waves. We are taking the boat with a guy named Mateo I met on the beach today. He is an American that lives in Gigante. I didn't surf today because my stomach still wasn't right. As the sun was going down we saw a wave break on an outer reef at Playa Colorado. I didn't have my camera, but there should be similar waves if it gets bigger tomorrow as the reports are saying.

Day 10.5 and 11: Food poisoning

It wouldn't be a trip to Central America without someone getting sick. In Costa Rica in 2005, John Haan and I were surfing together and he was the one to get food poisoning. I guess it was my turn for this trip. I think it was either the left over pasta meat sauce or the orange juice. Either way, I was up all night vomiting and going to the bathroom. Vomiting with hurts ribs is not the most pleasant experience. I was up all night and still had issues in the morning. I had a fever and muscle aches. By late afternoon, I was able to drink water and gatorade and stop the dehydration effects on my body. I hope everything is better by tomorrow when the swell hits.