no sleep til brooklyn...

i leave in the morning.

thanks for letting me share this incredible journey with you all.

i feel healed by this place.

much love,

me

a simple kind of life...

yesterday may have been the happiest day of my life thus far.

walked 4 kilometers to playa avellanas.

had read the night before the four agreements

and one of the agreements is to be impeccable with your word and not to speak against yourself.

the whole time ive been saying i cant ride short boards, but on the walk i visualized myself on the short board and kept saying that i could ride it,

and i did all day in some big waves,

the locals said these were the best they had seen in months.

i love duck diving, cant do that with a longboard.

i love the seaspray from the breaking wave; it creates rainbows.

i love surfing.

this morning i awoke very early and went to the beach to find all these ticos fishing at low tide.

they were running back and forth and over the rock reef and just pulling out fish after fish.

it filled me with such joy. they were all so happy and screaming and running around.

i asked one to show me how it was done - in spanish, no less.

oscar gave me his gear and i threw out a few.

they dont use polls, but rather a block of wood with fishing line wrapped a million times.

you take the end of the line and spin the lure and then release.

so awesome.

ive got enough fish for days. 1 mil colones, 2 bucks.

things i love about costa rica

fruit smoothies

la playas

pura vida

agua de pipa

plumeria trees

mangroves y buttonwood shade

many many moons

and shooting estrellas

skiddish iguanas

gallo pinto

no phones

walking to the fishing village to buy fresh catch of the day

ticos y ticas, most patient and kind people around

baile en la noche

millions of tiny white butterflies fluttering at your feet when walking through the forest, its like they are escorting you, so sweet

grasshoppers the size of your head

waves everyday

sunsets y cervezas

simplicity of life

flashlights at night because there are few streetlights

unpaved roads

hitchhiking

using a machete on anything

orange and lemon trees

hanging my clothes on the line

the physical challenge of everything

todas cosas...

things i dont like about costa rica,

well, i got sand in my camera and the shutter wont open.

so no mas picturas, solemente palabras.

muy triste pero quiero hacer mas fotografias...

perdon mi espanol, estoy aprendiendo.

hasta luego y pura vida.

me

barrels

waves have been really good everyday.

ive only ever seen these kinds of wave on youtube.

real surfers are getting barreled over and over.

pretty much everyone in the village is happy.

so much fun to watch.

i did it.

paddled out at negra with a tico.

he was beautiful

i said miedo, miedo, miedo.

he sliced open a coconut and found crushed ice, wha????

i downed it.

we paddled out into blanca de agua,

he pushed me into a wave.

it was beautiful.

fear is life.

do what you fear the most...

everyday i watch the break at playa negra.

and everyday i surf the safer smaller break just south of playa negra.

ive got six days left and i have to surf this break.

las olas are muy rapido and the bottom is la rocas.

i almost drowned once in kauai. and that kind of experience just stays with you.

i used to surf with friends and although they could do nothing should something happen, you knew they were there. and it just felt safer.

yesterday i was walking the path home and a black horse walked right up to me in the road.

we stopped and just stared at each other for an undetermined amount of time. i teared up.

then he walked around me and blasted out a magnificent nay.

we both went on our way. feel like there is some symbolism there with fear.

a cosmopolitan fiesta...

after yoga philip and his mum, pamela had us over for dinner al fresco to see off her french friends, francois and ghee...

(both philip & pam are fluent in many languages including french, of course)

pamela and me. she is a fascinating woman.

a tough broad who's lived a million lives all over the world and she is still a beautiful young thing.

in a word, my dream blueprint.

the people in the village talk a lot and think philip and i are sweet on each other.

i can see why, i do look at him with adoring eyes.

sadly, there is no salacious scandal going on here.

mi con amigo.

felicia y philip a la hammock.

mr. & ms. happy.

im smiling.

amanda a la hammock.

still smiling.

headstands in the yoga studio.

you can see the bruises from my surfboard.

dont try this at home.

gaby, my instructor wants to take more.

las olas mas grande mas tarde el dia.

surfs up y'all!!!

p.s. sorry not to post more surf pics. crima es muy problema en la playas.

all is full of love...

woke up.

made smoothie.

walked past a field of dreams.

admired the flowers.

cloudless blue skies.

paradise.

surfed 3 breaks at playa avellanas, river mouth and little hawaii.

posies

wake up.

make smoothie.

go to yoga.

pick a posie.

hitchhiked to santa cruz with some israelis.

ate lunch.

que rica comida.

found fruit on side of road.

held in in my shirt as to appear pregnant.

got picked up immediately.

learned the fruit is not to be eaten, rather dried out and made into decorative bowls.

i was stoked.

with love and many thanks,

amanda

the dance...

had some friends over for dinner last night to celebrate our individuality and singledom...they are pretty much the crew i roll with here in the village, but last night they became team crazy...

here is philip the welsch!!! he's a crazy behind the scenes kind a guy...look at his sinister stare. anyway, he and i shared a perfect day, we surfed and layed in the sand and walked to a fishing village and bought fish. then we found a broken down shack on the beach and a machete and sliced open coconuts. he wrote a message to me in the sand. it was loads of fun.
felicia, a.k.a. deisel and the acme of the term hot mess!!! she baked us a chocolate cake.
we ate fish tacos and wrote each other valentines...

chocolate hearts, the best kind...
so there was a big dance in the village, we decided to take prom pictures before. sabo, captain america and amanda hug-n-kiss, take one.
forbidden fruit take 2.
phil coppin a feel...hes naughty, that one.
and the rest, well i cant post them...it was a fun night all around and probably the best valentines ive ever had, the whole day.

happy birthday mandy crawford!!! you are part of my insides. love you and may your birthday be magical!!!

las picturas

hitched all dia...

happy birthday jackson..

my nephew jackson turns 12 today and i miss him very much.

he would get a kick out of the fact that i was awoken by howler monkeys grunting all night and that i see mad iguanas todos los dias. cant seem to get a photo of those slippery suckers.

im lucky to be the aunt of such a smart and compassionate young man. 

i love you jack.

im getting into some photography.

this is a portrait i took of coco, a peruvian, who has lived in playa negra for 11 years. 

he stands about 5 feet and is a sick surfer and good friend.

wavves...

road trip to playa junquillal

the mascot...

right peelers...

tried to post some video, but havent the patience for that...maybe later.