surf camp (instructor not included)

We had just finished a surf session in Santa Cruz, CA. It was one of those one-step-forward and two-steps-backward kind of days. I was close to tears and ready to throw in the towel on the whole "learn to surf" project. As I struggled to extract myself, one limb at a time, from the tightly adhered neoprene wetsuit I dreamed of a surf camp.  A warm water surf camp, no wetsuit needed. Costa Rica ended up at the top of our list that day and we promised ourselves that someday, we'd go and experience the clean beaches, warm water and empty waves. Someday actually happened.

We spent three and a half weeks with nothing on our agenda each day but a surf session or sometimes two, depending on the tide. We zigzagged the countryside traveling from one break to another and found plenty of time for exploring the land.

Costa Rica was far more beautiful and more diverse then we expected. From the dry grassland to the high altitude tropics and amazon like jungle. Denver spotted almost all the living creatures that were on his wish list. Plus a few bonuses.

We started our journey in the Guanacaste province of Costa Rica. The province is ubiquitously  termed a tropical dry forest and sees little rain and more consistent heat then other provinces. We spent the most time in the dusty and charming town of Nosara surfing Playa Guiones. 
 

Costa Rica

Playa Guiones, Nosara, CR

 three and a half weeks well spent.

our adventure has been well documented (and then some) on Instagram under thickworld

He is risen!

“In this hour, I do not believe that any darkness will endure.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King

the ultimate one day remodel

The new house has a mother-in-law-type of unit on one end. The plan that we made before the house closed (after a rather cursory walkthrough) was to move our stuff into that part of the house and just "camp out" until the main house progressed to a certain degree of livability.  Once we pulled up with the Uhaul, ready to unload, the jewel tone carpet and matching green drapes seemed decidedly unlivable and remarkably strong smelling. We decided that unloading would have to wait a few hours. 

Using a crowbar that had escaped packing by being an awkward shape and a few other tools that were near the surface, we got to work tearing out the carpet, pad, and underlayment.  The plan worked well and we threw down some leftover white paint on the walls and subfloor to clean things up and cover over stains and any other unsavory finds. While waiting for the paint to dry we got to work unloading the Uhaul and somehow managed to get the thing unloaded before calling it quits for the day.   

The next morning we brought the wood-burning stove in from the other room and hooked it up to the existing flue pipe. That little stove has made our space amazingly nice and cozy for these last few weeks of winter.  It kind of looks like a shanty town but living on painted sub-floor is really not too bad.