The Casa PŌNO Studio is Complete!!!

Well, six months after we first broke ground our new rental space is now complete.  Just a few more details to take care of but we will be putting the studio out to rent any day now.  Between the pace of construction in Mexico, Christmas holiday delays, a sick contractor, visiting friends, lack of motivation and an injured wife the project took a couple months longer than we hoped but we really really like it!  We hope you all do as well.  Here are some photos! 

The Sayulita SUP Open Wraps Up!

The Sayulita SUP Open was held over the weekend and SUP racers from all over Mexico, Hawaii, California, Puerto Rico and Tahiti came to compete. It was fantastic to see a SUP event return to our main beach as racers of all ages battled against waves, wind and each other in a distance race, a technical race and a SUP surfing event.

Friday evening there was a competitors meeting where important information was given out and final lists were made for the weekend.  We met some people in the SUP world we knew from the USA and here in Mexico. Alex was also happily reunited with some of her team mates from the CONADE Junior Games from last October. Pretty standard stuff but it was nice to be around SUP folks again and see who the weekend competition would be.  We also were able to meet world champion paddler, Conner Baxter, who was super nice and chatted it up with us for a bit.

Photo with the "GOAT", Conner Baxter.

I might have had a few tequilas before arriving at the meeting and decided that signing up for the races over the weekend would be a great idea......hmmm.  So, I handed over the pesos for the entry fee and declared myself a competitor along side the kids.  Ashley would have to watch three of us compete over the weekend.

Trace out in front to begin the distance race.

Saturday morning was the distance race.  The course was 10 kilometers long with lots of wind.  The women's division was headlined by the women's SUP champion from Argentina, Juliette Du Haime, and she was just plain stronger in the headwind and outdistanced Alex for the win with Alex coming in second.  

When Alex came to the finish line the Juniors kids from the SUP Team she coached last year saluted her at the finish line with their paddles raised as she ran beneath them. Such a great gesture from the kids who meant so much to Alex when she was the Jr SUP Team's assistant coach.  

Trace and Juliette.

Trace, however, paddled beside Juliette for much of the race and finished 7th in the Men's division.  Considering the top three finishers were a Men's world champion, the Mexican national champion and a professional waterman from Tahiti Trace's efforts were certainly noticed as a 14 year old and the youngest in the Men's Open Division.

Trace has begun a physical transformation the last six months or so. He has been anxiously waiting for his day to come since we have always told him he will most likely be as tall as his Uncle Greg at 6'2" or so.  He has always had great paddling skills but now his body is catching up. The potential of the two working together began to show about 2 months ago and we thought that maybe he would have a strong showing this weekend. At the end of day one we felt were correct in our prediction but his strongest event was still to come.

Sunday was the technical event where the racers navigated waves and turns to complete a 3 lap course.  Large waves arrived the night before and the organizers considered a course change and even discussed not having the race since many paddlers did not have the skills for these kinds of ocean conditions. The kids, however, train in these conditions each week and is where they thrive.  They wanted nothing to do with a modified course and wanted to get after it. Finally, the decision was made to keep the designed course and all the competitors were off the starting line and into the super wavy and demanding conditions. 

Trace kept up with the lead men's group staying in the top three or four for most of the race catching waves and paddling back out through the surf.  It wasn't until the last turn where the competitor from Tahiti caught a wave that Trace could not catch up to and beat him to the beach and the final spot on the podium.  His coach and professional paddler, Conner Baxter, were waiting for him at the finish line and tried to grab him to hoist him in the air celebrating his effort that came up just short. Trace actually had the energy and eluded them running to the finish under his own power.

By the end of the first lap it was clear that Alex had something that the other women competitors didn't and had distanced herself from the field.  She had more hometown training and skills in these conditions and more energy for battling the demanding course. Alex cruised to a first place finish in front of a cheering crowd on the beach.

Ozzy, Alex and Trace begin the technical race.

We were so happy to have a dozen or so friends who are in town come down to the beach and support the event and our family. The group must have been close 15 people or so and got a taste of just what Alex and Trace train for several times a week.  Many remarked that they really had no idea that the kids had skills like they showed during the race and thought SUP was more of an after school activity for them.

It took me a while but I completed the course as well. A bit soggy but I finished.

The awards were given out at a dinner in town later that evening.  A small gathering of competitors and guests rather than on the beach following the races.  Alex received her 2nd place trophy for the distance race and then proudly took the top spot on the podium for her technical race victory!  Even better she received a check along with her award!  Everyone loves an oversized check!!

Trace's evening would be quiet...or so we thought. He finished off the podium in both races but had an incredibly strong competition. He certainly received a lot of attention and made us and his coach proud.  During the Men's technical race awards the podium was full, trophies presented and photos being taken. I could feel Trace's disappointment at missing out on that 3rd podium spot as he stood just behind me as the awards were given out.

In an incredible gesture from the 3rd place finisher, Henere Harrys, Trace was asked to join the winners on the podium. Henere actually gave Trace the 3rd place trophy to keep for himself. The two battled for 3 laps and Henere knew that he just edged Trace out at the final stretch. Ashley and I were speechless and in tears as those gathered at the presentation applauded and cheered. Such a show of sportsmanship and respect towards a young athlete and we are so grateful to him for what he did.

So, that is a wrap! The Sayulita SUP Open was great and we hope it returns next year with more paddlers. Thanks goes to Ashley who was solo on the beach for this one and kept things organized and everyone fed. The kid's next race will be in April when they will compete in a qualifying event to earn spots to go the CONADE Junior Games which will be held sometime later this year.  The Jalisco State event will also happened at some point to qualify for Mexico's National Competition.  For now, we rest.

Alex Joins The SIC Maui Jr Development Team

Alex has been racing paddle boards with her brother for about 6 years. What began as an after school activity and social meet up time with friends has turned into something much bigger. We always support our family paddlers. We try to get them what they need to be successful as long as they continue to show that they are serious and dedicated to what they are doing.

The international SUP brand, SIC Maui, is one of the few brands who feature exceptional junior SUP athletes and bring them under their banner. Alex has been paddling on SIC Maui since 2018. This year, Alex put together a string of strong race performances on her SIC Maui race board. The company's brand manager took notice and after some brief discussion with us and Alex an invitation was extended to join the Team. 

Several stand out SUP athletes have been part of this youth Team the last few years and have gone on to make their mark in the SUP racing world. Alex and Trace are friends with all these talented juniors and we really like their families as well. Lots of fun to see our daughter be recognized outside of our small Mexico town for her years of effort and dedication. She has the Team, the talent and our full support so  let's see where she goes with it.

Alex's full bio can be read HERE.

Sayulita Days Returns!

The highly anticipated yearly carnival made it's return last week for a brief stay after being absent for the last couple years.  Certainly a sketchy event but something the kids flock to as soon as the rides start going up on the baseball field in the center of town.  Photo by Curt Barter.

Alex's Public Speaking Engagement At Local Fundraising Event

 This last week Alex was asked to be a speaker at the annual fundraiser for the Costa Verde International School's student scholarship fund.  CVIS is the school that she graduated from almost two years ago and where Trace will graduate from later this year.  She was one of two student speakers who presented during the evening.  She had done a couple meetings with a school parent to help write and prepare for what ended up being a packed house of several hundred school supporters. 

Alex totally knocked it out of the park!!  Ashley was filming on one side of the event and I was filming on the other thus the two videos from different perspectives.  Almost a week later Ashley and I still receive comments about Alex's speech.  She was so comfortable speaking to a large, attentive crowd even with the distractions of dinner being served.  Such composure for anyone in front of a crowd like this!  Early estimates were that it was a record breaking event for the school!  Go Alex!

An SUP Event Returns To Sayulita!!

It has been several years since a SUP event has been organized in Sayulita.  This March, SUP competition returns!!  The Sayulita SUP Open is the new event that will attempt to rekindle the days of the Punta Sayulita Longboard and SUP Classic but minus the longboard component.  The Punta Sayulita Classic was one of our favorite weekends of the year when some of the best paddleboarders were in town with music and great action. This new event is the energy of several local big names in the Mexico SUP world and hopes to draw from not only Mexico but north and south of the border.  There will be SUP surf, SUP long distance racing and SUP technical racing.

We will have to wait and see how things work for participation numbers go since COVID still is making travel difficult.  The kids are stoked to be racing down the street in their own back yard and we hope to see a number of the kid's friends on the junior sup team participate as well as perhaps some kids from the CONADE Games that Alex went to in October..  No planes, board rentals or hotel reservations for this one!  Whatever happens during this SUP event weekend it will be fun to see people come to race, surf and be good hosts to everyone so that this can become a beginning to something that happens every year.

Casa PŌNO Kitchen Upgrade

 We have spent the last few years living with a kitchen and dining area done on the cheap.  Plywood countertops, a folding card table and repurposed green plastic lawn chairs were very functional though not exactly high style.

Ashley had had enough.  It was time for an upgrade and she put something together that would accommodate all the kitchen storage needs and keep things uncluttered and out of sight.  Better yet, it would keep things from getting covered in a fine layer of Sayulita dust that accumulates each day and is even worse when we live in a house that is open to the outside during the dry, dusty winter months. 

Simple counter height parota table, side table and tall pantry.  Chairs coming soon.

With some inspiration from a friend's home in San Pancho and armed with photos from Pinterest we enlisted the help of our carpenter to build what she envisioned.  Lots of adjustable shelves, glass panels and room for close to everything that did not have a daily use in the kitchen.  Those daily items would stay on the existing kitchen shelves and be unseen most of the time.

Dining area looking toward kitchen.  Some color yet to come.

The cabinets would be black and reflect the black metal we already had in the house.  Opaque glass panels would help lighten things up a bit.  Upper cabinets were an unplanned call in the kitchen area but a good one.  A clean place to put food, glassware, dishes etc was something we haven't had for a few years.  The uppers also gave some balance to the kitchen and dining areas. In a matter of a couple hours after installation began we suddenly had a kitchen and dining space that totally transformed our main living area. We will have to add some real color at some point.

Putting the organization plan together for our new look was probably one of Ashley's most favorite activities in a long time.  A plan she had been spinning in her head for months if not years and it worked out great!  Things are put away and it totally transformed a large, white wall that was empty of anything save a refrigerator, vent hood and a stack of some Costco metal storage shelving.  The countertops will stay for a while still.  They have been totally awesome for our needs and if they ain't broke then we won't fix 'em.  The carpenter was also busy in the new apartment space.  Details on that coming.

Feliz Navidad 2021!!

Our very simple Christmas complete with compostable wrapping paper.

Alex Comes Home With The Hardware From Oaxaca

 Back in the spring of this year Alex qualified for Mexico's Junior National Games aka the Juegos Nacionales CONADE.  She would join other youth surf and SUP athletes from all over Mexico for a week in Oaxaca's Puerto Escondido.  Each state would send their 15-18 year old representatives to compete.  Our state of Nayarit is not all that organized especially on the SUP side of things so she would be representing a Team from the neighboring state of Jalisco.  The organization called CODE is the athletic development body for each state and Jalisco's CODE program is exceptionally strong and well funded for all athletic pursuits.  SUP is still relatively new to the CODE program so to have a paddler like Alex with her experience is definitely an asset to the program.

One last practice before traveling to Oaxaca

Alex had been practicing occasionally with the kids on the Team from the Jalisco since last April.  Alex was by far the most skilled and experienced of this group.  Her Team would be joined by another group from the interior of Jalisco who were in a developmental program for canoe.  Some of these canoe athletes were crossing over into SUP.  The crossover to SUP from canoe and kayak is exactly what the sport is currently seeing especially in Eastern Europe.  The two groups would meet up in Guadalajara and fly together to Puerto Escondido.  Alex had actually met many of these "Canoe" kids at a two day qualifying event last spring to she was happy to see them again.

The two groups of the Jalisco Team meet up in Guadalajara.

Alex and amiga, Dani.

The impressive part of all this is that CODE Jalisco would be picking up the bill for everything.  Travel, lodging, meals, uniforms for the entire week!  The Team even traveled with a doctor and physical therapist. Alex' Jalisco group would be led by the Jalisco Surf and SUP Federation president "Fiky" who has been super to Alex since she joined the Jalisco Federation last spring.

Alex and Fiky.

The Team arrived all together in Puerto Escondido and the plan was for them to get settled and to train for a couple days ahead of the SUP events, sprints and long distance.  The forecast called for waves so Alex was pretty excited.  Variable conditions were comfortable for her and she felt like demanding conditions would give her an advantage especially against those kids who trained on flat water locations like lakes or rivers.

So, while the competition turned their attention to the surfing and body boarding disciplines the SUP competitors took to getting some water time and practicing in some waves.  Alex was super happy to burn off some nervous energy and rode wave after wave into and back out of the surf and the question being asked on the beach was "who was the gringa charging the waves for the Jalisco Team"?

All was good until it wasn't.  On her last ride into the beach a wave picked her up and drove her board  nose first into the sand.  A smashed board only a day away from competition.  Nooooooo!  This was NOT news anyone wanted to hear.  All her preparations and travel just to have a broken board!?!?  Alex was already fighting a nagging injury but now she also had no useable equipment?!  Fortunately, there was a very respected repair guy nearby and he was able to get Alex board water worthy again overnight and she would be up and running by the time the sprints happened a day later.

Alex' SIC RS race board looking sad.

After practice back at the hotel.

While Alex' board was off getting repaired, the Team got ready for opening ceremonies on the beach at the event center.  This was basically a small tent city where each state had their own space to call their own during the competition.  This is where the kids were able to mingle a bit and be teenagers meeting other teenagers from other places around the country.  Some of the other team coaches actually didn't want their athletes to mix much during the competition but everyone managed to meet other teams despite the coaches efforts and make new friends.  I think this was Alex' favorite part of the event weekend and she still keeps in touch with the kids she met and hopes to see them again at the National SUP Competition in 2022 or at future Conade Games.

The event center.

Post opening ceremonies Team photo.

Day one of the competition for SUP was the sprints.  200 meters.  It sounds easy enough except that the swell that brought waves the previous couple days was still sending energy into the event area.  So, the paddlers needed to not only paddle as fast as they could but also contend with wave energy coming sideways to the way they were paddling.  Again, Alex trains in these kinds of conditions so she was unfazed by what the ocean offered that day.  Several of her Jalisco team and other competitors fell during the race since most, if not all, of their training is in protected water that is almost always flat.  This was a real disappointment for some of the kids and the coaches but if you want to win in different conditions you have to train in different conditions.  In the end, Alex advanced from her qualification heat to the final and ultimately won a sprint 15-16 year old division gold medal for her and her Jalisco Team.  

Alex headed out to her first sprint heat.

If the competition didn't see Alex practice catching and riding waves during the week then pretty much everyone saw her sprints during the competition.  Alex said kids started coming up to her for advice which she was happy to share but at the same time wondered if she should say anything that might help the competition in the distance race still to come the next day.

Alex relayed a story about how she arrived at a social event between teams a bit late and everyone was busy talking.  She stood patiently to the side until one of her team mates called her over to where they were all talking with another team from the State of Guerrero.  The Guerrero team wondered about Alex.  Blonde, blue eyed, tall girl who was probably the most skilled paddler at the competition.  Who was she?  She joined the group and they were totally surprised that she spoke Spanish at all.  They thought she was standing off to the side of the conversation because she didn't speak the language.  She had to explain that the only reason she was standing off to the side was because she didn't want to interrupt.  Another good question was when she was asked about how she felt about Mexicans.  Puzzled she asked what they meant by the question.  The kids said that "Americans don't like Mexicans" and they wondered how she felt.  She had to tell them that she has spent most of her life growing up in Mexico and has lived here since she was barely six years old.  Asking her how she felt about Mexicans as if she was a born and raised north of the border just didn't fit who she is.  She said the kids had some difficulty understanding that her upbringing was much different than what her appearance said.  After taking with her they finally understood that she was very different than what they expected.  Alex said that the kids they were speaking with do not live in a community such as Sayulita where people from all over the world live, visit here and many languages are spoken.  They just figured Alex was American and had certain opinions or views about things and never even considered that she may have grown up here and might have other feeling towards people than what they thought was the truth.

Team Jalisco girls getting ready for the long distance race.

Day two brought the long distance races.  Alex and the other 15-16 year olds would be racing 9km and the older group 12km.  A 9km is not terribly long for a distance race and Alex had been working on her conditioning before the event so she was confident going into the race.  Three 3km laps to the finish line and ocean had calmed since they first arrived so there would be no advantage there.  It had rained the night before so the hot sun made things sticky-humid but Alex went out prepared with a hat and camelback filled with electrolytes.  Alex and Trace also train in the afternoon heat so the temps did not have an effect on her like it did with many of the other kids.  During the day kids were stumbling up the beach at the finish and were provided IV fluids or were even removed from the course by jet ski.  Alex, on the other hand, ran up the beach in first place for the girls, grabbed a hydration drink and happily received congratulations from her team and coaches.  She even did a couple post race interviews.  She went out prepared and had no problems with that day's conditions.

Another gold medal for Alex and her Jalisco team.  Her good friend, Dani, finished second and the Jalisco boys did great as well.  I was actually able to see a live stream on FB of the end of the race and tuned in just as Alex was paddling her last half KM or so to the finish line.  So much fun to see her since we are always there in person to see the kids race and had to painfully live by texts and photos all week.

Such an amazing experience for Alex and her Team in Oaxaca!  The Conade Games is something she can continue to compete in for another couple years and Trace will be old enough in 2022 to try and earn a spot to go to the games as well.  Alex absolutely loved the week traveling with her Team and meeting kids from all over Mexico and we really think it was a fantastic learning experience.  She will be doing more traveling like this when she goes to Peru in March with her online high school.  Capable world citizens was Ashley's goal from the day the kids were born so this type of thing helps move that along.  SUP has provided several great opportunities to travel and a meet people inside and outside Mexico and we are grateful for that.  Looking forward to more in 2022.

Dia De Los Muertos 2021

Pre-COVID Sayulita rocked a Dia de los Muertos celebration that was on a level that any town or city for that matter would be proud of.  Vistors would come on that holiday from out of town to be part of the celebration.  Well, celebrations were understandably subdued in 2020 and though people were certainly out and about this year the planning for the return of the grand event in Sayulita was postponed until 2022.

In the neighboring state of Jalisco celebrations were strong in the downtown area of Puerto Vallarta.  Photos of these giant "Catrinas" started to circulate and I had to share them.  Each state in Mexico has been monitoring COVID and have allowed certain activities to occur if certain precautions based on the levels of infection.

Like everyone else we hope that we can remember COVID as just a bad dream sooner rather than later and all the great events we love can come back in full.  Sayulita is so much about being out and being social and we have kind of forgotten how to do that in the past year and a half or so.

A New Casa - Casa PŌNO Sayulita - November 2021 Update

 What?  Another update?  Isn't the house done yet? What could possibly be happening now?  I think we kind of feel the same way but this will hopefully be a short project with a look to the future.  We have been renting the PŌNO Suite, our one bedroom apartment, for mostly long term stays since COVID turned the world upside down.  There are certainly pros and cons for that kind of occupancy arrangement. There is always someone living in your house to consider when doing anything disruptive, we cannot use that space to accommodate friends and family and the overall monthly income is probably a good bit lower than if we rented it nightly.  Fortunately we have liked our long term renters and have undoubtedly enjoyed any extra income it generates.  Plus, there are fewer hassles with check-ins, check outs etc.  That rental income pretty much goes right back into the kid's monthly school tuition.  Such a benefit to help cover those expenses!  

The backhoe arrives to dig out all the extra soil that filled the lower 2 tiers.

But could we do better renting using what we already have?  Well, we knew we wanted to reduce Ashley's flying time but how are we supposed to do that when college is looming in the very near future?  What could we do now that would help?  I began scheming and coming up with ideas.  In our family, I am the one who comes up with a plan(aka a "scheme"), Ashley poo poos it for a time and then she eventually sees the light and provides the capital for the project.  Then it is my job to get it done.  To be honest, it is sometimes her scheme and then again, it is my job to get it done. I have to say it has worked for us pretty well to this point.  

The front yard of our property provided an opportunity for and additional rental unit. The original plan for the yard space was for a grey water treatment system.  That whole idea got scrapped during construction and it had become a kind of 3 tiered minimalist garden space.  What I could see was that the middle tier was about the size of a hotel room.  The walls were already in place and tall to allow for a high ceiling. The lower tier could accommodate a small outdoor seating area and we could steal some space from the existing bodega in the upper tier for a bathroom. Genius!!  Well, Ashley didn't quite think so at first but after a few months, some number crunching and the scary reality of college tuition looming she came around to the idea and said "let's do it"!  Get it done!

My official napkin drawing the contractor is working from.

The vision was a large room with kitchenette, closet, king size bed, decent size bathroom and a private outdoor seating area.  One side of the room would be all windows and there would be a skylight providing some additional light to the space.  All the utilities were right there and the bathroom location provided easy access to the sewer line that ran from the house.  The space resembled our master bedroom so it was easy to measure up and walk the contractor, Antonio, through the plan.  Antonio was also the foreman on the original house construction and has been our "go to" guy for everything the last several years.  He knows pretty much every part of this house so there would be few surprises. 

The front yard with most of the extra fill and debris removed.

We also saw an opportunity for additional water storage.  Water will continue to be an ongoing issue in Sayulita since the town has yet to grasp the relationship between the amount of construction, visitation and resources available.  So, buried under the adjoining patio we would be adding a 5000 liter plastic cistern.  This would help to bridge the every increasing times without water pumped to the homes in town. No water days are usually due to water department pump problems, line repairs or lack of supply in the late spring and early summer.  Sometimes the only way our neighbors get water is to get 10,000 liter water trucks to deliver water every week or so.  Water trucks are a booming business here.  This cistern addition would bring our on property water storage capacity to over 12,000 liters.  A smart and easy add-on with a machine on site and space big enough to hide it.

The cistern pit partially covered by planking.

After about 3 weeks of demolition, debris removal etc the crew formed up the roof and a pump truck was hired to make the job quick.  I must admit that sometimes it's frustrating when local construction blocks the narrow streets in town but it is super AWESOME when it's our construction!!  With the roof poured in less than hour it was on to cleaning up extra debris to make way for a final level for the floor and some roughing of electrical in the walls.

Pump truck making quick work of the roof.

Virtually the next day Antonio began building a perimeter short wall around the roof.  About 3 courses of block.  This will contain the material that will be put back on top of the structure.  The idea is to make things look like they were before the project began with the only difference being that there will be living space below.  A garden on the roof essentially. We also raised the wall bordering our neighbor for a bit more separation.  The rectangle in the photo is a long, think sky light that will help bring some additional natural light into the space.

Roof with skylight.

Additional debris gone, bed base and door to new bathroom at the back.

The thing that was the most labor intensive was opening the new space into the existing bodega.  So much cutting and smashing and hammering the sturdy wall that separated the original garden and the bodega.  A door opening was needed at the back of the new room to connect the two spaces.

Once the roof was on we could really begin to see how the space would be entered and how the overhang would effect the outdoor sitting area.  We wanted the renter to be able to sit either with open sky or under a protected overhang if it was raining.  A bit tight but it will work pretty well I think.

The rough opening into the patio space and overhang.

Inside looking out.

So I think that is a wrap on the progress after 5 weeks so far.  The next couple weeks are going to be finishing things with lots of coats of concrete and the installation of the cistern and covering that up.  Lots of details coming up and making sure I order items so the plumber/electrician has the right things in his hands to keep moving with.  More updates coming.  We hope to be working on finishes in early December since getting anything done around the holidays is pretty much impossible.  Crunch time.