On The Rocks, With Salt (in my wounds)

Another dia libre! My day off was yesterday, weather was on my side, and I got another fun beach day out of it. Hooray! Annette, Kiley, Danny, AB, and I trekked out to Playa Madera-- another surfer's paradise. We get there and the waves were pretty intense and going in every direction. Lucky for me, there were some nice rocks to go climb on, with tide pools. Did I say lucky for me? Because sure enough I ate shit and slid down those rocks on my ass and stomach and elbows and knees! TWICE! I was just about to turn around to get my camera to come back for some pics, and before I knew it, I was on my butt, covered in mud and algae, and maybe hermit crabs. I got scraped and banged up pretty bad, and once I realized I didn't die, I busted up laughing for about 5 minutes. On my way back to Annette, I noticed some more green algae on the rocks, and before I could step the other way, I was already on my ass again. It was hilarious.

Check me out going for a surf!

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Just kidding. That's Kylie. But those are the rocks that I became pretty intimate with in the horizon. I had even mentioned to Annette "Man, those rocks look like a fun water slide". THEY WERE, SORT OF.

I eventually got convinced to try surfing, but just in the little waves out front. The salt water on my scraped knees was exhilarating, as was the whiplash I got every time I fell off the board. MAN, it was exhausting and so not my thing. (Today I feel like I got into a car accident or something). I tried it about 5 times. One of those times, I think I managed to have both feet on the board for a whole second. I'm really glad I tried it, and I miiiiight maaaybe try it again. Needless to say the Toña and fish tacos were the best part.

From Just In The Nica Time

From Just In The Nica Time

Then later, hit up some poolside at the Pelican resort. This is where I don't live:

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The accomodations there are so sweet, people refer to Palermo (where I live, in the villa, mind you) the favelas. (Yep, slums). Funny.

More funny. An actual Aussie (Danny) playing an actual didgeridoo.

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Fun dia libre!

So, Where's The Boardwalk?

Yesterday was my dia libre. And what A. DAY. All I wanted to do was visit one of the surfing beaches I keep hearing about. So, me and 4 other amigos piled into 2 trucks and drove out in the middle of somewhere. 20 minutes of unpaved, bumpy roads and across some rios, and some howler monkey sightings, we finally got to Playa Hermosa. Helllloooo Playa Hermosa. This is the beach where they film the challenges for the show, and it's closed off to the public... much to the "aw hell naw" of visiting surfers who try to surf here. But, WE CAN GO THERE!

There was absolutely no one on this beach. The sun was out. The water was warm. It was a little bit (a lot) ridiculous. I splashed around on the beach, up and down the shore, up and down, splish splash. 20 minutes later, my friend says I'm doing it wrong, and if I do that, sting rays will get me. GREEEAT. So, then after that, I ended doing the exact opposite of marching/splashing, and instead, just gently swishing my feet in the sand. (I really lose the water splash effect, but whatever).

The dudes went surfing, I did not. RIGHT as I was talked into trying the surf, we hear a scream in the water, and this guy is getting carried out. Some dudebro went and got stung by a gd stingray! Just as soon as I agreed to try surfing, I immediately chickened out. Next time, I swear. (I'm scared, so what).

THEN! We saw some whales out in the distance! GAH. This was exciting. We could see the water shooting up, there must of been about 5 or 6... SO amazing. Even neater was walkie talking the whale sightings to basecamp, so they could notify the helicopter crew. 10 minutes later, Ken & his helicopter were circling around the area. Go team!

After a few hours of surf (watching), Toñas, hammocking, we head back and grab some lunch at this little restaurant/house and of course I have the best tasting fish and rice ever. It's just one of those days, you guys. Once again, I got really lucky, and I was so thankful for every little moment. Ohhh equalizer, where are you?

From Just In The Nica Time

From Just In The Nica Time

From Just In The Nica Time

Little Cosas

This is officially the beginning of Week 3! Dang, it's flying by.

Some fun factos:

Survivor won some Emmy's the other night, which is really exciting! Best Reality Host, and Cinematography. Booya.

LA Times featured an article on everything on Sunday. That took me by surprise. Pay close attention to the "strapping work crews" mention. Shout out!

(Click here for link)

Some things I never thought I'd ever do, but now I have:

#1. Wear shorts everyday.

#2. Surrender my watermelon slice to a fly. "JUST TAKE IT"

#3. Eat 4 lobster tails for lunch. When I also had had lobster for dinner.

Uncle Pablo has been spotted in Nicaragua! Just kidding. That's not his name, but 3 other people are already calling him that.

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Update: This is the real Uncle Pablo, but from like 20 years ago.

More importantly, I finally swam in the ocean!! It was a great morning.

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From Just In The Nica Time

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And this little stunner is growing right by our front door. Love it.

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If I Had A Nica for Every Pink Sunset

Not too much new to report... If walking to work on the beach isn't the best part of my day, watching the sunset is. Everything else in between consists of eating and sweating and working. I haven't had much of free day to explore any other parts of the town or surrounding beaches, but I will eventually!

From Just In The Nica Time

From Just In The Nica Time

From Just In The Nica Time

So, the bugs... The GD bugs. Eventually, I should get used to it, but for now, I assume the kung-fu position for every noise and flutter I here. The other night a grasshopper flew into my hair, can you imagine. Then there's this guy:

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I almost stepped on it :(

My Commute

This morning was the first morning when I was on my own. So, I got a ride into town and headed towards our Starbucks, called El Gato Negro. It's the cutest little place, and it's also a book store-- the first English bookstore in the whole country actually. I had me a cup of coffee, The Californian bagel sandwich, and something call Pitaya juice. It's like an artichoke on the outside and pomegranate on the inside.

Then I was gonna walk over to basecamp, and I'm all, OH, RIGHT. I can walk on the beach! So I did. These are the little moments where I get really excited. Another one was when the helicopter flew over yesterday. I waved at it. Here are some pics of the highway

From Just In The Nica Time

From Just In The Nica Time

This was so exciting for me, I couldn't bring myself to wipe the sand off my feet!