Sunday, May 27, 2012
Last day of school festivities
First and Last day of Elementary School
Ryan who started Freedom 7 in 2005, has graduated in 2012. A before and after photo of a fine young gentelman.
Adults in on the action
Ryan and friends, turning 12
Goodbye Popoyo
The Popoyo Crew: JJ, Renato, Eddie, Freddie, Dave C., Pletch, Mike D. Chris, Dave R. (kneeling)
It was a bitter sweet feeling departing Popoyo. Like leaving a family reunion, although happy to be going home, it was sad to leave our beloved friends and surf paradise. This is our parting shot, as we loaded up the vehicles for the 2 1/2 hour drive to Managua. We are still all smiles, as we hit the Popoyo surf break at sun up for our 8th day of surfing. We all scored some fun finale waves, and have pegged the Drazich meter, strained our paddling arms, rubbed our skin raw, and fatigued our physical beings to the bone. Still, all smiles......................Meanwhile, on the day before departure:
Friday in Popoyo was our last full day of surfing. It has been a great week, but now reality looms in our future, of our eventual return to Norte America. As usual, we are awakened pre-sunrise, and load up the Landcruiser and the Hilux truck to bounce our way to Chacocente. Chaco's is a turtle preserve, and a biological station. First, we took the dusty, "dry season" dirt road through the sleepy ville of Asterillo, past huts of corrugated tin, rough cut planks, or even plastic sheeting. All of these shanties are outfitted with dilapidated roofs, usually weighted down with bricks to hold the roof in place. Many of the homes along the way have kilns in their yard for creating the adobe bricks used in some of the "finer" structures. Chris told us that the bricks are manufactured of mud and horse manure, creating an adobe type brick. Curiously, the houses with the kilns are all wooden houses.
On the way to Chaco's, all the trees are thirsty. Passing through town we chunk along on roads with pedestrians, buses, bicycles, trucks, pigs, cattle, oxen carts, and horse traffic. After this town, we pull onto a dirt road which is yet a little more than a path through a nearly parched forest, the remaining leaves dust covered from the road haze. This road snakes through the forest, across a creek, and up and down a small mountain to the other side, where we park along the road.
To get to the beach, we duck under a barbed wire fence to join a well worn cattle trail to the beach. As we turn North, the water line is littered with hatched turtle egg shells, resembling a giant game of beer pong gone awry. Or, small white balloons.
We deposit our packs under a huge thorn tree, needle length thorns which can pierce the foot handily. At this surf session, we are accompanied by the "MalPaisians", a great bunch of gringos who live in Mal Pais, CR. Richard, the founder of Global Visions Int'l, Trent, from CA who now is the proprieter of a hotel in Mal Pais, Stephan an excursion guide for Global Visions Int'l, and Aaron, call sign Mr. Myogi, computer dude with an Oriental heritage.
We have some true fun on these head high waves, which were a top to bottom shackable verty wave. Lots of photos and fun on this sesh, and trip. Great guys to travel with.
On the way to Chaco's, all the trees are thirsty. Passing through town we chunk along on roads with pedestrians, buses, bicycles, trucks, pigs, cattle, oxen carts, and horse traffic. After this town, we pull onto a dirt road which is yet a little more than a path through a nearly parched forest, the remaining leaves dust covered from the road haze. This road snakes through the forest, across a creek, and up and down a small mountain to the other side, where we park along the road.
To get to the beach, we duck under a barbed wire fence to join a well worn cattle trail to the beach. As we turn North, the water line is littered with hatched turtle egg shells, resembling a giant game of beer pong gone awry. Or, small white balloons.
We deposit our packs under a huge thorn tree, needle length thorns which can pierce the foot handily. At this surf session, we are accompanied by the "MalPaisians", a great bunch of gringos who live in Mal Pais, CR. Richard, the founder of Global Visions Int'l, Trent, from CA who now is the proprieter of a hotel in Mal Pais, Stephan an excursion guide for Global Visions Int'l, and Aaron, call sign Mr. Myogi, computer dude with an Oriental heritage.
We have some true fun on these head high waves, which were a top to bottom shackable verty wave. Lots of photos and fun on this sesh, and trip. Great guys to travel with.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
May 10 still at Popoyo
Were up to 30.5 on the Drazich meter. Had a pretty fun day of surf, sometimes frustrating with the fading swell. Had the boat this morning, and went to Playgrounds for some crosschop A frames. I was using Freddie's Go Pro, and found it a bit distracting. We got in two solid hours at Playgrounds, and tried to catch a sesh at Lance's Left. The swell never filled in to the point of good surf. We retired to the casitas for some burgers, and a bit of rest.
Cumulative fatigue is catching up. Had a frustrating session at Popoyo, since there was about 30 surfers out in the line up, completely aggro, and the swell was sending an intermittent group of sets. Alot of jockeying for position, and caught a few waves, we'll see how the Go Pro did, I think my best wave did not get an image. Mike Devo had a great wave at Playgrounds that was caught on film by Renato. A true hero shot, that made the trip a trophy trip.
Rest up for a full day of charging tomorrow.
Were up to 30.5 on the Drazich meter. Had a pretty fun day of surf, sometimes frustrating with the fading swell. Had the boat this morning, and went to Playgrounds for some crosschop A frames. I was using Freddie's Go Pro, and found it a bit distracting. We got in two solid hours at Playgrounds, and tried to catch a sesh at Lance's Left. The swell never filled in to the point of good surf. We retired to the casitas for some burgers, and a bit of rest.
Cumulative fatigue is catching up. Had a frustrating session at Popoyo, since there was about 30 surfers out in the line up, completely aggro, and the swell was sending an intermittent group of sets. Alot of jockeying for position, and caught a few waves, we'll see how the Go Pro did, I think my best wave did not get an image. Mike Devo had a great wave at Playgrounds that was caught on film by Renato. A true hero shot, that made the trip a trophy trip.
Popoyo May 9, 2012
We are up to 26.5 on the Drazich meter in 4 ½ days of
surfing in Nicaragua. George Drazich is
a friend who keeps track of all is surfing hours, so as a service to him, we
have kept track of our time in the water.
Today was 7 hours, and 3 sessions.
We were literally awake with the roosters this morning. We know that since they begin cockle doodle
dooing pre sunrise. The same time boot
camp surfers are awakened. Chris, our
most awesome surf guide raps on our door, so early, but with the racket thrown
up by the roosters, we are typically already awake.
We took a roadtrip through some farmers fields to the surf
spot called Colorado’s today. It is a
classic beach break, that was A framey, but closey outey. We managed some short rides in a somewhat
crowded lineup. Dave Reeves absolutely
thrives on that kind of beach break, and was teering it up!!
As Eddie reclined on the beach, for some reason Chris had to
move the Landcruiser, and accidentally drove over Eddie’s Peli board. However, through his local contacts, he had
it completely fixed tonight. A major
repair that was a $15 charge. Nica rate.
Back to a real breakfast, and quickly back out to
Popoyo. That place is like a machine
that turns on at the same day everyday.
We paddled and surfed for about an hour, then, at about 2, the head high
peaky A frames start rolling in.
Coincidentally, that is about the same time that the crowd thins out, so
we “own the peak” It was the Dave show
as both Dave R and Dave C were tearing it up.
I was just humbled to catch some of their leftovers, however, I left
totally satisfied, completing seshie number dos.
After some burgers, we again did a quick turnaround to
Popoyo for the pre sunset sesh, which actually lasted into sunset and
beyond. It was almost a carbon copy of
the afternoon sesh, with even cleaner conditions, if you can believe that. Scored a lot of fun lefts. However, the injuries have started to creep
their way into some aged bodies, I popped a hamstring this afternoon on a hyper
extended kick out, we have had board impaling, fin scrapes, and bottom scrapes. None serious in nature, though, and the ever
present ache seems to be from paddling overuse, shoulders and legs. Rashing up of course, all the usual spots.
I wish I could take a digital photo of a mental image. At the sun slid behind the Pacific for the
day, I was awaiting the last wave in.
The clear crystalline water was a smooth glassy surface which perfectly
mirrored the pink and orange clouds that were still illuminated by the now set
sun. It was spectacular, and almost as
much as the sun prior to it’s retreat below the Pacific waters. It shone round, orange and bright, bidding us
farewell until manana.
Tonight was langosta night at the surf lodge. Every imaginable type of dish made with
langosta was provided buffet style. It
began with langosta and arroz, lobster bisque, ceviche, and capered, and
garliced lobster halves. So yummy, and
just a fine finish to a fine day of surfing.
Eating some lobster in Nicaragua with the surf buds after a full day of
fun surf. Does it get any better than
this. I’m thinking NO.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Popoyo Day 4
Popoyo May 8, 2012
Position, paddling, timing conditioning
First light at Popoyo wally and vert walls
Manpered
Congrejo magic
Here’s the scene, just had tipico Nica noche meal buffet for
dinner. So satisfying and yummy. All the surf crews are sitting around the
cocina chillin to some Bob Marley, and watching surf videos. Mostly we are rehashing the sweet day of
surf. So we are totaling about 19.5
hours on the Drazich meter for total hours of surf. 3 sessions today, descriptions to follow.
An interesting fact, is that for every hour of surf, 50% of
the time is spent paddling, and only 3% is spent surfing. So for every hour of
surf, only 3 minutes is spent actually riding your board. Fun, huh?
We got an earlier start than usual today, as we wanted to be
in the water before the crowd scene at Popoyo got unmanageable, and before the
onshore winds started.
We were fed, loaded, and in the water at 6 am. Popoyo was walling up and driving some fast
vert lines to the beach. A shoulder was
the best ride, and some pretty good surfers were in the water and scoring some
sweet rides. We surfed for about 3
hours, when a much deserved break was required.
We returned to the lodge for a real breakfast, not
continental. Following the lodge motto
of “surf them til they drop”, we only enjoyed an hour of down time, before we
loaded up and headed to Popoyo again. We
got there just in time for a thunder storm, but we waited, undaunted, and
patiently for the storm to clear. It was
fun hanging with our crew under the bohio overlooking the surf spot, and just
smokin’ and jokin’. After a while, the
tide started to creep back in, and the set size began to grow.
So, if the magic congrejo said to me then, “You have one
wish for the waves this afternoon, quick, what would it be?” OK, let me see, an uncrowded Popoyo break,
with head high A-frames, glassy conditions, surfing with my bros. Well, you can guess what happened…………….
As the storm blew through, we got a post rain clean up, an
oil slick glassy ocean surface, a scared away crowd, and wave after wave of
break to beach lefts tipping the meter at the slightly overhead size. Wow,
how much more could you ask for.
After some sweet hours of that, we again retreated to the
lodge, for the ever delicioso quesoburgresas!!!
Chris, our guide would not allow us to sit still for the
afternoon, so he rallied us again to head through the town of Limon to the
beach break Santannas.
Located at the point of a small bay, the swell hits the
beach break directo, and there are 3 peaks of sometimes closing out
screamers. I sat this session out, as I
was already working on rehabbing the shoulders after 6 hours of surf today, in
anticipation for tomorrow.
Having headed out before dawn, and arriving back at our
lodge after sunset, there was no better cure than the Nica buffet. It was
awesome, we are tired, out bellies full, and happiness abounds.
In Eddie’s afternoon computer session as he lifted his
laptop, he found a freshly squeezed 3
inch scorpion who had climbed up there .
We have decided that a group of golfers would be expected to
be pampered to, caddies and all. We are
just happy to be bouncing along a bumpy 3rd world road in a
Landcruiser in search of surf. True,
Chris loads our boards, and tells us where to surf, with local knowledge of
tides, swell, and winds, making it a mindless pursuit for us. Therefore, we have coined the term “manpered” Pampering for men!!
Popoyo Day 3
Popoyo Day 3 May 7, 2012
Another day on the boat!
Boot camp started at 0500, before the sunrise again. Slammed a quick breakfast, and busted over to
the tiny villa to the North, called Asterillo.
That is where the Popoyo Super Pangas are moored in a small protected
bay. When we arrive, one of our guides
must paddle out to the mooring on a surfboard to bring the boat to shore. We quickly load all of our gear, and embark
for a morning of surf.
We are the first boat, and first in the water at a surf
break called Lance’s Left. There is a
bit of morning sickness, affecting the consistency of the set arrival, but
overall, the waves are bigger than yesterday.
The bomb sets are well overhead, and a take off from the peak yields at
least a 100 yard shreddable left. All
are satisfied with the wave quality and have a great morning of surf. The crowd was quite manageable, and stayed so
even after a couple of boats showed up.
The other group of surfers staying at the Lodge are a group
of guys from Mal Pais, Costa Rica. A
good bunch of dudes, who are very considerate in the line up, and good
surfers. It has been fun hanging out
with them, and getting to know them. An
interesting group of dudes, the MalPaisians!! They usually end up at the same
breaks we do.
Today is the 3rd day of hard driving surf, and a
day when one must “embrace the pain”
Waking up is painful before sunrise, and a muscle fatigued body climbs
forth for another day of punishment.
Embrace the pain of muscle fatigue, sun and skin pain, rashes from all
the contact points on the surfboard: underarm rash, tummy rash, inner thigh
rash. That first entry into the salt
water, and simultaneously applying pressure to those contact points means you
must embrace the pain. Embrace the pain
of age. It’s all there, but for
desperate Florida surfers, we power through the pain to enjoy the offshore Nica
surf. Until…….
At about 10, the wind shifted from calm to offshore to
onshore. So, what does that mean? The swell is still there, but the surface of
the water gets a choppy texture. That
chop tends roughen the face of the waves, making for a rough take off, and
ride.
At that point, we had surfed for 3 hours, so we headed to
the boat. A yummy lunch of burritos and
fruit awaited us while we waited for the winds to subside. Unfortunately they never did, and we ended up
heading back to the boat mooring bay, and retiring to the surf lodge for the
rest of the afternoon.
Dave Cornell and I both fell asleep while sitting up in the
casita’s sitting area. A lunch of
quesoburgresas followed. For a day that
we should be embracing the pain, the afternoon was a godsend to rejuvenate the
muscles, heal the rash pain, and quell some fatigue.
Just before dinner time, it appeared that the wind may have
dropped off, and shifted to a more favorable direction. We loaded the guys and boards up in the
Landcruiser, and made our way through the dusty town of Las Salinas; dodging
pigs crossing the road, goats and cows meandering along the right of way,
bicyclists and uniformed school children making their way home. The evening Central American street parade in
a 3rd world nation.
After passing through Las Salinas, we made a right turn onto
another dusty dirt road that traverses past the salt drying ponds, and passed
up the hill to Popoyo surf break. We
still haven’t determined what the word Popoyo means, were still working on
that.
A new palapa hut has been set up at the parking area at
Popoyo, and there were a lot of surfers out in the still powerful line up. The variable which was still not working for
us was the wind. Some of the side shore
chop was sizeable, and it looked like a lot of work for a little bit of
reward. No paddle out, but plenty of
camaraderie with our own little group of surfers, as well as the MalPaisians,
and the other surfers who were chilling at the bohio waiting for the sunrise.
After another dinner of fresh fish with a great garlic
sauce, we had a lot more conversation, watched some surf videos, and worked our
way through the aches and pains. Tomorrow
morning is the day, offshore winds, an early wake up, and rejuvenated (yet
aged) bodies ready to charge the surf.
We are at 13.5 hours in 2 ½ days of surfing as registered on
the “Drazich meter
Monday, May 7, 2012
Popoyo Day 2
Popoyo May 6, 2012
Today was boat day at Popoyo. A typical surf boot camp day. We were up at 5 for a quick breakfast of
fresh fruit and PB&J’s and black Latin coffee. Energized for the morning at least. It was still dark when we headed out into the
Landcruiser on the way to Aesteirillo.
The panga waited for us, and we loaded the boards cooler, backpacks,
water jugs and our surf vibe to head to Lance’s Left. We could see the indicator wave spitting
plumage from the offshores, and we eagerly made our way across the small bay
area to Lances.
It was head high again to a bit overhead, and we scored a
lot of waves. Dave C and Mike D were
super charged up since the wave was such a long left. Wave after wave headed into our zone to be
consumed by charging. Unfortunately,
before long quite a crowd had developed.
After about 3 ½ hours at Lances, and many waves, we headed to a new spot
a little North up the beach, called Playgrounds.
It was uncrowed at first, and the wave was a fun little A
frame that would reform on the inside and jack up for some wally action. We caught many more waves, and Dave C and
Eddie E were killing it all day. I
surfed here for another 2 plus 45, before it was time to take a break on the
boat, rehydrate, have a sandwich and some Oreos, and enjoy a little nap.
As I awoke from the nap, Eddie E, Dave R and Dave C had been
scoring wave after wave. Not willing to
be outdone for time in the water, I borrowed Freddie’s board and paddled
in. I caught some sweet lefts, on a wave
that had taken on a whole new personality.
What had been an earlier A frame, had evolved into a steep wall of
incoming tide waves which were manageable for a shoulder take off, and jacked
up as the wave progressed towards the beach.
The incoming tide also created a monster back wash, and when combined
with the cross shore wind, the conditions were interesting.
A grand total of 7 hours in the water today, and 10 total on
the boat. We were in the water at 0630
this morning, and out at 1630, when it was time to pull our gear off the panga,
and load up the Cruiser to head back to the Popoyo Surf Lodge. I managed to facetime the family tonight, and
it went well until the ipad on that end was dropped, and a crack was observed.
Popoyo Surf Camp May 5, 2012
Back in Nicaragua with smiles. We were met at Popoyo Lodge, by JJ, the owner
who immediately stated, “the surf is firing!”
Their motto is to surf them hard surf them fast and surf them
often. Surf til you drop.
But, our morning started quite early on Yawl Drive in Cocoa
Beach, since 4 of this years’ travelers are Yawlies, the informal name for the
residents of our fine street. Mike, Dave
C. Eddie, and myself launched out in the mini van at 5 am. When I went out to load the Odyssey, I found
my other surf companions ambling down Yawl.
Last evening we had a “board” meeting on the front yard to
ensure we had all our boards packed up, paired up and ready for the American
Airlines punitive charges for surfboard bags. It was a fun, bonding event with laughs,
beers, and boards.
Enroute to MCO airport, the Beachline was illuminated
brightly by the amazing full moon we are having. It was like daylight illumination, with a
spooky, Halloween hue as the full luna was at it’s perigee. The haunting sky is quite appropriate since
my musical morning is highlighted by Dr. John’s new album titled, Lockdown
which features the Dr’s rasp penetrating voice highlighting his voodoo flavored and haunting New Orleans
blues.
With the board fee penalty fares paid, we board AA flight 1483
for a short hop to Miami, to then board flight 969 to Managua. Not even thinking about if the boards were
going to make it, we made our way over the Caribbean, to the Nica shoreline.
Just prior to landing, a quick view of the aerodrome reveals
some Soviet era helicopters and dome roofed pillbox bunkers, which must be
remnants from the Revolution.
In the jetway, we are hit with the searing heat and
humidity, and effortlessy and surprisingly make it through Customs and
Immigrations without event.
Did all the boards and gear make it. It appears yes, but no. Dave R’s roller bag did not make it out the
carousel, but he was politely assisted by an AA baggage rep, who assured him
his bag would be delivered later this afternoon, and amazingly, it was!!
Our 2.5 hour drive was immediately started by being pulled
over by the Polizia before getting a mile from the aeropuerto. Our crime, was flying the gringo flags of
dinero possession, since the multiple surfboards were easily observed in the
back of our pick up truck. Our driver,
Will deftly maneuvered out of receiving any fine!!
The next leg of the journey had us passing through the
barrio section of Managua before finally making it out onto the (loosely defined)
highway, where we noticed how dry this verano season is, having not received
rain for 6 months. The trees, ground,
and all vegetation has taken on many shades of brown.
Off the highway, we hit the dirt road for about another hour
where, the poverty of Nicaragua is sadly, and most easily observed. Many of the small abodes are literally stable
like, housing the livestock and the people.
In Ryan’s Exhibition last night, I was reminded that 2 million people in
this country live in poverty, and 22% of the nation lives in “extreme poverty”
When we finally arrive at JJ’s Popoyo lodge, we are greeted
by JJ, and Chris, who is to be our surf guide, as he was last year. His ever present smile assures us that we
will be having a great week with him as our guide.
So, as per JJ’s surf philosophy, we are quickly ushered to
our cabinas, change, outfit our surfboards with wax, fins, and leashes, and
pile back into our Landcruiser transportation to Popoyo surf break. Last year the surf was never described to us
as “firing”, like it was this year, so we bounced along the pocked road
anticipating the first sight of the Pacific.
Wow, the Outer Reef is truly firing.
Lots of overhead waves with offshore winds, even though I am
pacing myself, in the hopes that my 49 year old body will last a week at what
can certainly be likened to a surf boot camp.
After surfing, we retire to the community dining area for
some wonderful garlic marinated snapper which was freshly caught from a free
dive, spearfishing outing.
To bed early this night, as 5 am is our wakeup for a pre
sunrise breakfast, and a full day on the panga boat to hit the local breaks
accessible by water. Good night.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Ryan's "aging out" ceremony
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