I have been meaning to post something for 2 weeks, and I just haven't had the time to sit down to write. I really need some type of time management seminar for the unemployed.

Lesson#1.. It's not a vacation.. It's a lifestyle. I shouldn't party everynight like the people who are down here just for a week vacation. That's a ticket to a liver transplant down the road. But once the vibe is right and you are in good (bad?) company, its damn near impossible to just say no.

So the last week I spent in Jacó beach. The plan was to go in, buy a surfboard there, and get out. The reputation of the place as nothing more than a busy commercial street full of surf shops and a wide sandy beach break, barely so so for surfing, which turns into a red light district by night is rightly deserved.. cause that's precisely what it is. But in its defense, it is a place where people meet, and weird things happen... and what is life about if not the experiences that will make the tales you will tell your grand kids one day...  when they grow up though .. *ahem*.

If you make it down to Costa Rica though, the place to surf if you are in Jacó is Playa Hermosa. A short cab ride away, its got a mile long beach with a consistent selection of uncrowded peaks. I got stung there twice by jelly fish, but nothing too serious. Just small ones. 

There is not much else there though.. so staying there might be a bit too much for anybody by the Ted Kaczyinski's amongst us. Since I decided then that Hermosa was not an option, I finally was able to extricate myself from Jacó, and together with some friends, we took a fun speed boat ride to Montezuma beach. It was nice to be back in Paradise. If only for a day.

I was a bit sad to leave Montezuma, but well.. some things are only meant to be short I guess. My buddy Michael and I took the bus route up to Playa Carmen, where I am at the moment sitting in between Malpais and Sta Teresa. I think I will be staying here a good chunk of my stay. Its just the right combination of surf, good small town, chill people with a good vibe all around. My kind of hole. I don't really see a need to continue the trek up north to other places, and its really high time to just focus on the water. After all, its what I came here for. So hard when the possibilities are endless.

Ok, remember I said I was coming down here to see my friend here? .. well, look at what I found him doing, the little bastard!

Anyhow.. first impressions on Costa Rica. Its expensive. No two bones about it. In fact, many things are more expensive than Canada, or even Maui. Doesn't make sense. I mean, I am all for fair prices and Ticos have the right to a good lifestyle just as North Americans enjoy, etc, etc.. but the infrastructure is *still* at central american levels.. for north american prices. So somebody is pocketing the difference. 

And its not just the money. The whole local attitude has left me quite disenamored with the place. Everyone is very aggressively trying to sell you something, and you almost have no right to just say no, thanks. Yesterday's episode took the cake though. We got off a ferry only to find out that we had missed the connection bus to Montezuma. Of course there were a couple of taxis waiting to offer their services.. for a 100% premium from what the boat captain had said was a fair taxi fare. They made no efforts to conceal that the whole deal was about them knowing we needed the transport and that we had to take it or sit there for 3 hours for the next bus. 

All the tourists that were on that boat, 10 in total, banded together and we just said that no, it was too much, that we'd rather take the bus. I mean, it was a matter of principle since it was so obvious we were being gouged. The whole thing devolved into a tension between the two sides, us sitting on one side of the road, and them next to their cars on the other. At some point I even overheard them talking (I guess they thought the Canadian flag on my backpack precluded me from speaking Spanish ;-) , and it was really infuriating to hear them use derogatory terms towards the gringos and how they were going to get us for all we were worth and shaft unholy things up our .. anyhow. You get the point.

In the end we ended up hoping on a bus for about 4 kms to another place where we were able to secure a pickup truck where we rode on the bed .. quite fun ride actually. And honestly, we were happy to stick it to the taxi drivers who would probably have to wait till the next ferry for another batch of potential customers.

Anyhow, all this drama to give you an idea of what Costa Rica has been like for me. Perhaps its cause we have been following the tourist trail, and falling in all the usual tourist traps?.. but certainly the vibe has been quite different from Brazil for instance, where I felt that while the locals were working in the tourism industry, and nothing wrong with that, I never felt like I was being taken advantage of for the most part. Here.. they say Pura Vida.. I think they mean, Pura Plata!. 

Yup.. I am skipping town again. Yes, I will be down at a warm sandy beach with great waves, and I won't be rigging any sails. As far as I am concerned, I am done with windsurfing.

.. (yeah right).

But it is true that I am doing a stint to escape this BRUTAL Ontario winter. Seriously. This year, its been reeally bad for me. I actually used to like winter. The ski hill, skating on the canal, the whiteouts. Not so much anymore. Particularly all of these days in the minus 20's. Screw this, leave the North Pole to the polar bears I say.

So this time I just want to focus on surfing. Anytime I go somewhere where there is wind and waves, I always end up reaching for what I know best. That way, I figure, I am never going to improve on my regular surfing. So, I thought that if I head to a place where there is no wind and sails in sight, I'll have no choice but to surf. So, there, that, and a few of other personal motivators and justifications, and voilá!.. I am leaving for Costa Rica in a couple of days to visit my friend here:

Besides, it will be different. Different is good. Windsurfing traveling is of course where its at for me, but to be honest, I am looking forward to one trip without having to lug around two 8 ft. boards, 2 masts, 2 sails, boom, plus all the fixings... and I travel "light" for a windsurfer. Ah... the freedom!.

So, stay tuned, as usual, will update as often as I can, and focus is on the pics of course. So, windsurfing has been cancelled. I am going surfing!. 

Warning: The following content will make you want to quit your job, sell everything and fly off to Maui in search of wind and waves.

(Oh wait.. didn't I do that already? ) 

Remember "Committed"?.. that movie was soooo dangerous. I hold it responsible for making me buy a ticket to Brazil and finding my way to Jericoacoara. It was that good. And now, from the same director, Peter Svensson, comes another life changing, addiction fueling short windsurfing flick. Guys, I kid you not, you will be treated to the best windsurfing I have ever seen. Its that good.

Here is the trailer, and you can download the whole movie from the mistral website by clicking here.

So I started rumaging thru my files and gathered a bunch of clips shot by friends and myself down in Icaraizinho, using mostly cheap handheld video cams, so don't expect a lot of quality.. still.. given the tools, I think its kinda neat, and at least it sure takes me back...

OMG, I really had a killer time in Brazil. I miss my friends down there, walking around in boardshorts and complaining about the blasting sun, the reliable winds and the hot tub flat waters of the lagoon. I am trying to make the best of being "home", though once again I keep asking myself what that means. With "Snowmageddon" (thank you CBC for the weather fear mongering) coming this weekend, I guess I can look forward to some good snowboarding soon. But I am having a tough time acclimatizing to the winter temperatures for sure. However, aren't we all? ;-)

In any case, little else to do other than wish you a Merry Xmas and may 2009 bring lots of more wind and waves your way.. wherever that may end up being. Peace!