Northward We Go

Me and my usual inability to smile during photographs

            Five of us packed into the van and headed out of Puerto Escondido an hour before the sun rose. Jon and Allie, a friendly Australian couple, asked if they could come along as we headed back to Zihuatanejo. It’s quite a feat cramming five people’s surfboards and belongings into the van in a way that will still leave some room to sit. I must say that although driving in Mexico can be hazardous, exhausting and stressful, I would still rather drive than cram into the back of a windowless cargo can for a 450 mile drive through winding, pothole laden roads.

            We stayed in Zihuatanejo for Dia de los Muertos, which proved to be a pretty cool experience. I decided not to take photographs of people honoring their departed family members at the cemetery out of respect. Entire families come out to adorn the graves of their deceased family members with flowers, wreaths and candles. It was interesting to see how a different culture deals with death. I expected the whole thing to be rather somber and depressing but in all actuality it was quite the opposite with family members conversing, telling stories and enjoying themselves. I got to thinking that it’s probably better that way. When I’m six feet under I don’t want a bunch of people coming around moping and feeling sorry, I’d rather they through a big fat party on my grave and piss off all my subterranean neighbors.

Half a road, at best

            The next day we headed to Saladita, one of the longest left-hand points in Mexico. The waves were pretty small and more suited for a longboard. We stayed at my Neighbor Steve’s place, which was totally a treat. His neighbor is Corky Carroll who was a world champion surfer back in the 70’s. Corky was really helpful and gave us the low down on how to get to an isolated break known as “The Ranch.” We went that afternoon and checked it out after driving for about half an hour on a one-lane dirt road. We got there to find the break totally empty, with long lefts breaking along a cobblestone reef that seems to go on forever.

            We left Saladita to return to Pasquales and surf there for a few days. Edgar, the owner of the surf camp greeted us immediately and even managed to remember my name after six weeks, he’s a real hospitable gent. I guess I remembered his name too, although it helps that it’s written on the sign when you enter. The waves were good, as is the usual at Pasquales. Edgar let us know that there was a surf contest over the weekend which generally means no fun for non competitors so I decided to continue on my journey northward to Sayulita.

Edgar, hard at work as usual

The Church in Tecoman

            Before I left I stopped in the small city of Tecoman. This little gem is situated right in the middle of one of the largest produce centers of Mexico. Much of the economy relies on the apparently thriving lime and coconut business. The city is clean both physically and in its design too with easily navigable streets and a defined town center. The people here are some of the most friendly I’ve met so far in Mexico. They seem to always be happy and smiling, which is understandable considering how prosperous the town seems to be. In the town center there is a beautifully constructed open-air church. A kind older woman saw me taking photos and gave me a little tour of the place just out of the kindness of her heart. I didn’t understand everything she told me but it was obvious she felt proud of her town and the beautiful church that unifies this little slice of paradise. If you get the chance please do go explore this rich little town and mingle with its thriving and welcoming people, you wont be disappointed.

Adventures In The Swamp

Chacahua is a very isolated in many ways, and quite autonomous as well. Although Chacahua is only an hour north of Puerto Escondido, it’s as though time has stood still in this quaint village situated on a point inaccessible by car and engulfed by a crocodile infested, mangrove entwined brackish lagoon. Internet existence in non-existent, and there’s only one phone for the whole town located at the convenient store. When someone has an incoming call the clerk gets on the megaphone and announces to the village “Jose, your uncle Pablo wants to talk to you”, or something to that effect.

Eva Tommy and I on our way to Chacahua

            We left the car on the mainland and boarded a small fiberglass boat that appeared only marginally seaworthy with visible structural cracks in the hull. The half hour boat ride takes you through the lagoon, rich with exotic birds, snakes, turtles and other interesting fauna that thrive in this hostile environment. The captain seemed to navigate through the mangroves effortlessly, guiding the boat as if he had done it a million times; he probably has.

            Once we got there, we found a reeling right-hander that made Barra look like a kiddy pool. It’s a full-on barreling wave that, on the right swell, will take you on the quarter mile ride of your life. I counted one guy get five solid barrels on one wave, I managed to get barreled three times on one wave which is definitely a landmark in my surfing career. Unfortunately the swell only held for the first two days and then dropped off dramatically. Chacahua needs solid swell to really work, so after three days we decided to head back to Puerto Escondido which always seems to produce regardless of swell conditions.

Kay and Zac, I know one of you can identify these beautiful birds, I sure can't

The boat ride back from Chacahua was even more questionable than the one there. This smaller boat had a bigger crack through the length of the hull than the one that took us out there. My nerves weren’t settled by the fact that this craft was grossly over packed with 11 people. Half way back to shore two local people flagged the boat down from one of the small islands to hop aboard as well. When we pulled up to the dock there was a local man with a huge, hog-tied iguana that he wanted to take to town, most likely to sell. One of the salty old gringos on our boat began to argue with him telling the local man that he was disrespecting the environment and disobeying the laws pertinent to this lagoon, which is apparently part of a National Park. The argument got heated as the indignant gringo took it upon himself to exercise his apparent mastery of the Spanish language and belittle the local for capturing the Iguana. The gringo forcibly blocked the guy from boarding the over packed boat while heated words were exchanged about each of their mothers. I was a little on edge. There we were in the middle of a swamp on a overcrowded, nearly sinking boat and this guy wanted to go on some diatribe about a damn Iguana, give me a break. Obviously no one had ever told this guy to pick his battles.

            I got to thinking, and then concluded, what leg does this gringo have to stand on? He doesn’t live there, he just takes a jet-fuel guzzling plane down to this spot, acts like he owns it, and then probably goes back to the states to drive his SUV around L.A. or something. I wanted to tell him to back off, but you can’t change people’s minds, and trying to usually just ends in another pointless altercation. And really who cares? It’s an Iguana, I saw the guy eating a fish for dinner the night before, both animals part of a food chain with us at, or near, the top.

            Maybe he was just a jerk, or maybe he really felt like he was going to change this guys mind and help the environment. My conviction is…well I don’t know what my conviction is, I just felt like this overzealous gringo should chill out and let the guy kill the Iguana if he wants, it’s not like it was a Silverback Gorilla or something. You see Iguanas everywhere, there like reptilian rats as far as I’m concerned; heck I already ran one over with my own gas guzzling tourist chariot. Just something to think about when your traveling, there’s so many different ways to live, and as long it ain’t bothering me I figure leave well enough alone, especially when your on someone else’s turf.

The sunset from Dan and Carmen's

            We got back to Puerto Escondido with no problems. We’ve been staying at this great hotel called Dan and Carmen’s. It’s more like a compound, taking up a whole sloping hillside block dotted with banana a palm trees. For $40 a night we’ve got a room with three beds, a kitchen and an ocean view. Dan is Canadian expat who has spent the last twenty years building and expanding this truly unique compound that I would suggest to anyone who wants kick back, relax and not worry about a thing, except for issues like what combination of fruit you want in your morning smoothie from the onsite café that serves some of the best food in town.

            Tomorrow were driving to Saladita in the state of Guerrero to stay at a house my neighbor Steve from Santa Cruz owns and has so generously allowed us to use while surfing one of the longest left hand points in Mexico. Thanks for reading!

Off to Chacahua

Another day at Barra

       Well, it came, the massive late-season south swell that I had been hoping for. The forecasts were calling for sets to ten feet and it delivered. I showed up at Barra on Thursday to find meager sized forerunners, but by Saturday morning the sets were stacked to the horizon snapping boards left and right. The winds stayed calm for the entire weekend too, it really couldn’t have been any better.

The swell of the trip

Night out with the Aussies

        Everyone was completely surfed out by Sunday night, which is always a nice feeling; contentment, fulfillment and exhaustion all rolled into one. To make things even better I’ve met a couple of German professional surfers who are going to accompany me northward for the next few weeks. You may ask, German pro surfer? Just like the Jamaican bobsled team eh? Well not quite, as it turns out there are quite a few prominent German surfers in the world who have managed to master their sport abroad while still retaining their national ties, pretty interesting. Anyway, Tom and Eva are quite the hilarious couple. They are kind, generous and easygoing too, really the ideal travel partners. I’m looking forward to the next two weeks with them as we start to retrace the Pacific coast of Mexico northwards.

Tom, and yes, he is wearing pants

       We are headed to Chacahua tomorrow, which is an isolated village only accessible by boat. Word on the street is the right-hand river mouth break is better than Barra at the moment thanks to record setting rains which have deposited generous amounts of hollow wave producing sand at this otherwise fickle break. I will report back in the next few days. Chacahua is also home to an interesting isolated ethnic culture of some of the very few Africans in Mexico thanks to a slave ship that ran aground here nearly 200 years ago, just a little tidbit for all you history buffs out there.

Eva

       Other than that I regret to inform everyone that things have been quite relaxed and hassle free lately, so I have no stories of corrupt officials, machete wielding farmers, drug-sniffing Rottweiler’s or allergic reaction inducing insects to report. The photos of the last swell can take the place of my incessant ramblings for a change. Please enjoy.

Rumors

After surfing Barra for a few days I began to hear rumors about other point breaks in the region. Finding these elusive points is easier said than done as the coastal road runs along the coast, but often out of view of the ocean itself, making surf exploration difficult.

 Surfing, by nature, is individualistic and selfish sport that has very little need for teamwork. Many seasoned surfers become “salty”, no pun intended, about the secrecy and exclusivity of their surf spots. In the surfing world most would agree that the regions most affected by severe xenophobia and localism are the north shore of Hawaii and Santa Cruz. Mexico, by and large, is pretty mellow with the localism, although people don’t just readily give away their secret spots.

I had heard that there was a good wave to the north of Barra, but its name remained elusive, and those who I had asked basically said “go surf it if you can find it, it’s good.” So I went to the Internet café to access good ol’ Google Earth to determine from a birds eye view which of the many points in this region could be the mystery point -break I heard about. Using elementary cartographic techniques (which, in reality, was holding my pinkie finger up next to the scale on the screen and then next to the road) I determined it was about…. wait I can’t tell you how far north it was, you have to go find it for yourself!

I figured I’d go search for it alone, knowing that if I found this hidden gem I could surf it by myself… I know, totally selfish right? I drove to about where my pinkie had indicated the small dirt road to the beach might be. The road was about ¾ of a lane wide and completely washed out, but the mighty Econoline handled it with no problem like the precision piece of American machinery she is. Just as I could see the ocean, a fork in the road presented itself with both roads looking like feasible options. I picked the one to the left, and pretty soon I was on someone’s farm and not a thoroughfare.

seek and ye shall find

Just as I went to do a k-turn to head back I saw a man approaching my car, on foot, with a rather large machete. My stomach turned for a second, but then I though, wait, I’m in the boonies in Mexico and people here carry machetes like San Franciscans carry Iphones’s, no big deal. “Hola senor” I said with a smile “ Buscando para el lugar de surf.” He laughed and then went on to tell me that I had taken the wrong road, I needed to turn back to the main road and go about another three kilometers. Next time I think I’ll use a ruler instead of my pinkie when searching for absconded locales. Turns out he was in need of a ride to the main road anyway so he asked if he could come along. I hesitated in my mind, but tried not to show my fear as he climbed in sitting shotgun, wielding his half-meter machete, I just kept thinking Iphone… it’s just the cultural equivalent of an Iphone.

We made small talk and then I dropped him off, he seemed grateful that some dumb gringo had trespassed onto his land, as it ultimately saved him quite a long walk in the hot midday sun. The correct road was exactly where he said it would be, and it was in considerably better shape. After meandering through the jungle for about 10 minutes there it was, an empty point break in southern Mexico with nobody around for miles.

Me enjoying an empty point-break

Poster boy for zinc oxide

Ham, my Aussie buddy carving into a clean one

The place was too much fun to keep a secret and I asked some of my buddies at the surf camp if they wanted to come along the next day. When we got there we ran into a gringo couple that I had met at the supermarket a few days earlier. As it turns out the guy was a professional surf photographer and came out for a little while to take some photos of myself and the other Aussies… pretty sweet.

 The thrill of finding your own surf break is inexplicable, even though in reality many people before me have surfed it, I’m sure. I was born a few hundred years too late to categorize myself as a surf conquistador but the thrill of seeing an empty, nearly perfect break is still pretty amazing. The hard work of aligning my pinkie next to the computer screen had paid off; I can only imagine what other uncharted breaks there must be along the endless miles of coastlines that make up planet earth.

Barra de la Cruz

    (Sorry for the delay in posting, there is no high bandwidth internet where I have been for the past week)
        The wave forecast had been calling for a more significant swell in the coming days. Seeing the ferocity of Puerto Escondido when the waves were “small” I decided to make the three-hour trip south to Barra de la Cruz, where the large swell would line up along the famed point in a more manageable fashion. Puerto is great, but when there’s a long period swell in the water you’re better off heading for a point break unless you’re a complete kamikaze big wave nutcase, which I’m not.

Barra living up to the legend

            I hit the road early after stocking up at the local supermercado with enough rations to last me through the coming swell. Planning ahead becomes increasingly important the more south you go as the towns become smaller and more isolated.

 You’ll find Southern Mexico is littered with palm trees bursting with coconuts just about everywhere you go. Subsequently, you’ll also find enterprising young men and women selling these delicious bulbous natural creations at roadside stands. I’ve become completely addicted. The novelty of watching someone hack the top off the coconut with a machete with such surgical precision continually amazes me. As a child I was always fascinated with coconuts, perhaps because of their elusive nature and the challenge presented to obtain one as they hang up there out of reach. My grandparents lived in the Florida Keys for a period during my childhood and harvesting coconuts was always on the agenda during our visits. In all actuality the experience is rather anti-climactic. After you capture one and spend a massive amount of effort to break into the heavily armored shell you’ll find a meager serving of “milk” which is more like watered down non-fat milk. Nevertheless I still take every opportunity to grab a refreshing coco frio every time one of the roadside stands presents itself. Driving while sipping on a coconut is perhaps not the wisest decision, as even my big honking American cup holders are no match for natures version of a Super Gulp.

On you’re way to Barra de la Cruz you’ll pass through the Bahias de Huatulco, a serious of absconded small hillside bays scattered with high end resorts and a wealth of cheesy tourist shops. The place is beautiful, but if you’re traveling on shoestring budget its best to take a look and then get out before you’re convinced into buying an overpriced hammock or the like.

Just when you think you’re completely lost in the jungle along Mex 200 after being disoriented by the endlessly winding road you’ll see a tiny sign for Barra de la Cruz.  The townspeople seem to love the diverse array surfers from all over the world who come to surf the holy grail of Mexican point-breaks. I found Pepe’s Cabanas to be the optimal place to call home for the coming swell. His modest Cabanas are about 12’ x 12’ with palm-thatched roofs, a fan, and a bed or two depending on your needs. The bathrooms are the cleanest I’ve found at any surf camp so far and even have toilet seats, which, believe it or not, are a luxury in many parts of Mexico.

My home in Barra

Pepe is the man. When you get there he gives you the rundown and shows you where everything is that you’ll need. Additionally, every guest gets a page in “the  notebook” where it is your responsibility to keep track of what you ate from his restaurant and how many beers you’ve had so you can pay your tab at the end of your stay. How much better could it get? A utopian experiment in surf communism based on the honor system with a world-class point-break as the backdrop. Heaven. Well, almost, I forgot to mention that Pepe’s Cabanas is kinda-sorta situated right next to a swamp making for some of the worst mosquitoes I’ve seen so far in Mexico. I guess nothing is ever totally perfect, but for a surfer looking for rock bottom accommodations and an unreal point-break this place is paradise; just make sure you have plenty of bug repellant.

Plenty of waves for everyone!

Unreal point break perfection

For fear of loosing the interest of the non-surfing blog readers out there I will refrain from writing a whole page about how unbelievably perfect this wave is. For the surfers out there, just trust me, this place is the most epic right-hander I’ve ever surfed. It barrels right of the take-off and then softens out into a Trestles-like bowly peeling right where you can execute half a dozen cutbacks before it walls up and barrels again all the way to the beach at which point you get out and walk back to the point to do it all over again. Enough said.

October 12^th marked the 46^th or 47^th anniversary of Barra de la Cruz depending on whom you ask as it’s on ongoing dispute amongst the townspeople. To celebrate the town held a grandiose fiesta complete with a band, fireworks and all the tacos you could ever want. The band that played the fiesta was reminiscent of North American country music with songs about broken hearts, unfaithful lovers and broke down pick up trucks, only with more brass instruments, oversized sombreros and the ever-present accordion. The locals partied hard, and danced even harder. It was great to see nearly everyone up and dancing enjoying themselves completely uninhibited, aided by the unrefined Oaxacan version of Tequila, infamously known as Mescal.

Mescal, in short, is to Tequila what used paint-thinner is to Vodka. Apparently the wrong batch can make you blind.  During the fiesta one of the Aussies at our international table of obvious outsiders bought an unmarked bottle of the Mexican moonshine insisting that we all take a swig. It’s only sold in glass bottles, probably because it would melt plastic, and for safety reasons you shouldn’t drink it anywhere near open flames. The next morning the surf break was empty as the whole town recovered with pounding headaches and fuzzy memories of the previous night. I however managed to shake off the hangover and surf by myself for nearly an hour before anyone mustered up enough strength to get out there.

Puerto Photos

         Puerto Escondido is pretty sweet. The waves here are world class. I’m leaving for Barra de la Cruz today but I wanted to post some photos of the waves here. Keep in mind that there isn’t any significant swell in the water right now, most locals would consider this a small or marginal day. To an outsider though these waves are still top quality. Enjoy!

Me Encanta Mexico

       Language is perhaps the most beautiful tool which humans possess. It binds us together in a coagulated mass, allowing us to share our thoughts, feelings and insight in the hopes of achieving progress as one blob of humanity. It allows us to advance and thrive through complex concepts like compassion, humility and compromise, which are only executable through language. Two dogs fighting over a carcass can’t stop and say, “ you know max, since you were here first, and since I already ate, why don’t you have the rest”. As humans we are blessed with a profound ability to use our brains, in unison with language, to rationalize and align our thoughts to achieve what we, as the human race, ultimately want.
       I’m sure this sounds highly utopian to anyone with even the most modest skeptical propensity, and you’re right it is. If only the world functioned in a manner to which people could read the above paragraph and agree without a qualm. This is, unfortunately not the case.
My point is that language is pretty darn cool. I only took a few years of Spanish in middle and high school and to be honest, I didn’t really pay all that much attention. Working in restaurants through college kept me on my toes, but in reality I still wasn’t anywhere near fluent, I just knew when the cooks were talking smack about me or somebody else.

       Now that I’m on my own down here in Mexico I find that the only time I’m doing things in English is when I’m escribiendo…. I mean writing. Point being you start to catch on at a breakneck pace, that’s otherwise unobtainable in the classroom. It’s true; immersion is the best technique for learning a language.
       I went back to Gustavo and Servio’s taco stand last night to chow down on their delicious Southern Mexican style tacos topped with mole, a blend of chocolate and hot-ass peppers that make white boys sweat like pigs. I think they were pleased with my attempts to speak Spanish with them. I know I conjugate verbs in the past tense incorrectly all the time, but the bottom line is they get what I’m saying. This won’t be acceptable if I ever want to claim that I speak fluent Spanish, but for the time being I’m happy with my progress.
       Because the restaurant was so slow they took the opportunity to ask me about phrases they could use with their English speaking clientele. We sat down and drank some beers while conversing back and forth about some useful phrases that ultimately benefitted us both. I wrote down things like “come on in” and “we have the best tacos in town” (which is the truth). They were so pleased with the lesson that they wouldn’t let me pay for my meal. Considering I felt the Spanish for English lesson was mutually beneficial I left them a tip equal to the bill anyway. The bottom line is, if you’re not afraid to be wrong, an not afraid to be corrected, and better yet, welcome corrections as lessons, you will learn a language so much faster.
       I believe that Mexicans welcome foreigners attempts to learn their language; it demonstrates that you actually care and that you don’t think your tourist status exempts you from adhering and integrating into their established language and culture. Plus, language makes you smarter, it’s ultimately what separates us from all the other living animals. Sure, dogs can bark, but can they really settle that dispute over the carcass in a rational manner?
       My interaction last night inspired me to take every opportunity to be that goofy tourist who asks a bunch of silly questions that often times don’t make perfect sense. If they laugh at me then good, I’ll know what I need to work on. And if I don’t know if I’m saying it correctly then I’ll ask. My conviction is you can’t really learn a language unless your willing to speak it with people in an uninhibited fashion where you are ok with being wrong and being corrected. I hope I’m right about this; otherwise I’ll just go one forever sounding like a blabbering gringo idiot.