This Thing Called "Surfing"

One of my goals during this "Adventure" was to try and learn to surf. I had tried on a number of trips down here and a few on the Oregon coast without much success and never was all that good at it. It frustrated the hell out of me. My buddy John says that he is "addicted" to surfing. More specifically, addicted to SUP or Stand Up Paddle surfing. He is pretty damn good at it which motivated me to learn even more. Why couldn't I get the hang of this or even like it all that much? Having lived and skied all my life on "frozen water", my growing up and adult life certainly did NOT prepare me for this thing called "Surfing". Moving water? WTF? Waves, breaks, sets, close outs, rights, lefts...? Mumbo jumbo for sure. Well, we came to Mexico with our new shiny new oZoboards and for the first few months I got in the water once in a while. There were other things to do, work to be done and the ocean still didn't have my attention yet other than a place to let the kids burn up some energy.

When January came around, Ashley was back from working the holidays in the States. This was a good excuse to go out on the water together while the kids were at school and really try something new. She wanted to paddle for exercise and I wanted to surf to try and accomplish my pre-adventure goal. I got some advice and went out on the small waves. A big board, paddle and no brakes! Sayulita is great for learning since it has soft sand when things get shallow and a wave that grows progressively larger from one end of the bay to the main break where the "real" surfers go. I spent my time at what I called the "Kiddie Pool". Shallow, small waves and fewer people to run over. A place for real beginners like myself.

Day after day I paddled back and forth, going in and out, getting knocked down, getting beat up, going straight, learning to turn right and then left. I was a beginner again. I began to meet other beginners in the water and would see these people out each morning. Some of them were only here for a few days and others were like me, living down here for the winter season and learning something new. All we could do was to try hard, cheer each other on and laugh at ourselves. I slowly began to build some skills and that's when Ashley started to take notice. She saw how much fun I was having riding waves so she also started to spend time in the surf rather than out touring around on the flat water. We hardly spoke to each other while out trying to find the next wave but we would both be looking for the other like little kids after catching a good one. As if to say, "Hey, did you see me"?, "Did you see what I did"?. Fists pumping into the air applauding.

I always kept an eye on the main break to pickup visual cues from some of the fantastic local surfing talent but I knew where I belonged...in the "Kiddie Pool", practicing. Slowly I move farther and farther along the surf to finally I started to really look at the main break, especially when the conditions were not all that great and the local surfers may have decided to take a day off. Fortunately, by this time, I knew a lot of faces in the lineup. Welcome smiles and a shout of "Ozzy!!" from some friends in the water helped ease my anxiety.

Before coming down here, I read and heard less than great things about being in the Sayulita main break. Yelling, arguing, bullying, fighting are all things that I was ready to face. As I spent more and more time in the main break I saw these things happen. How have I fared in the main break thus far? I never have tried to necessarily be "liked" in the main break. Only wanting to be recognized as someone who is not passing through and has some skill. Hopefully, with that comes a small amount of respect. I try to play by the rules to be sure myself and others stay safe. I don't try to catch every wave I can and let good waves go by to other surfers since a SUP surfer has a small advantage at times. I always look for faster surfers coming down the line that have right away and get out of the way.. I almost always give a local the right to the wave if we are both paddling for it. Vision. You have to have vision. I've seen people who can surf but only see what's in front of them and don't see others around them who have the right to the wave. Then they wonder why they get yelled at. I don't think it is because of someone missing the wave so much as the increased probability of getting really creamed when someone who should be getting out of the way doesn't. Since Sayulita has a huge number of folks new to surfing they are very often in the lineup when they shouldn't be and that doesn't make people comfortable. I spent months working on my skills before I came even close to the main break and some show up after a few days on vacation. Not a good way to be welcome in any break. I stay clear of the main break on days where conditions are above my skill level. If the surf is too big...don't be there. If you can't turn both ways...don't be there. If you can't get out of the way... don't be there. Some may not agree with how I've decided to handle being out there but I know I am an outsider and new surfer and I believe this is a process developing skills on my SUP and acceptance to be out paddling with some of Mexico's best SUP and surf talent.

Mother Nature. What really is surfing when you get down to it? I feel it's a very temporary agreement between you and Mother Nature. You don't really control anything about surfing. Mother Nature only lets you tag along until your ride is over or until she changes the rules and sends you crashing into the ocean. Every single ride is different as tide, wind, currents change by the second. In skiing I could ski the same run over and over and it would be the virtually the same condition every time. Never the case with surfing. One is constantly adapting from one wave the next as the element around you continues to morph.

So, now what? Can I surf? Am I good at it? Hmmmm. I'll just say that I am always learning and have a long ways to go to feel really good out there but from the passer by it probably looks like I can surf. I've recently upgraded my "tabla" to a real surf model from Starboard SUP and am enjoying that now as I learn to adapt learned skills to new equipment. I try to stick my nose into more aggressive spots to catch waves where they should be caught and ridden vs catching things a bit outside and grabbing waves that come my way. Traveling to different surf breaks has been fun so I visit a number of breaks that are close by for a change of pace once in a while. Let me just say that finding surfing this past year has been a blast. See you out there.

Christmas 2012

Another year, another Christmas. The holiday season started off with a Christmas Festival at Escuela Del Mundo where the three groups of grades had a performance. Trace's class sang songs,

Alex's class read and demonstrated how four different countries celebrate Christmas and the older class danced.

I, of course, had to fly out that day so I missed the festival and Christmas Day and New Years Eve and all of the fun in between.
Though, before I left we gave Alex and Trace each a wonderful gift from the three sets of grandparents and us. They have been wonderful so far and thank you grandparents very much! I also want to thank my friend Carrie for working so hard day after day to find and purchase these gifts that were pretty hard to get a hold of, as well as the accessories and then to bring all of it down to us in Mexico. If it wasn't for Carrie it never would have happened.

Christmas day arrived and Ozzy and the kids opened gifts.

What began as an exciting morning quickly turned bad. We didn't get the kids much because they don't need anything and they said they didn't really want anything. Plus they each received a really nice gift from the grandparents. Since we do not have a TV here the kids are not saturated with commercials and commercialism so they do not know all of the latest and greatest toys that are out. Trace pretty much got clothes, which he needed, as well as Alex. We kind of forgot about the whole Santa thing

and got totally busted by Trace. The few gifts they got were wrapped in the same paper and there really wasn't anything fun to open.

So, we screwed up!! and I felt horrible. I forgot that the excitement for the kids is opening new toys. Ozzy realized that all Trace wanted was just one new toy that he could play with physically, and I completely understand, he is a five year old boy. Of course all of this information is being communicated through email and I am not able to talk to the kids. After a while Trace forgot about it, thank goodness. They headed off to Christmas dinner at a friends house which they were excited about, in their new clothes.

It is hard to plan Christmas because I am usually not around for the entire holiday season so I have no Christmas, I miss the parties, the school activities, opening of gifts, excitement of the children, etc. Christmas for me is just another day at work. I have only been home once in the last 17 years for Christmas so I have forgotten what all the excitement is about. My kids should not suffer because of that. We usually do Christmas on a different day just before or after the 25th but since I wasn't home for the last half of the month it wasn't possible this year. They are used to me being gone for almost every important event and holiday. We just do it another day. That is the life of an airline kid. They have never known anything else. It is a give and take life for them. They are able to fly anywhere in the world for free and are able to live in cool places like Mexico, but they spend holidays without their mom. Right now they would rather have mom around but one day they will be more than happy to take those free rides and hopefully they will be able to appreciate my job.

When I came home we did the usual stock the pantry run. My Christmas guilt was weighing on me so I told the kids to pick out something that they wanted since Santa was such a slacker this year. Trace picked out a $3.00 sword that makes noise and lights up. He was sooo excited and said that it was the best toy ever.

Alex picked out some headbands even though she was very happy with her Christmas stash since it was all about clothes and hearts.

So the day ended for the Ostrowski's without too much drama. We learned a big lesson and will do better next year. Also, in our defense, going back to the commercialism, if it wasn't for decorations down here we would never know that it was Christmas. It just isn't thrown in our faces unless we go into a large store, like Walmart, which is about an hour away. Think about it, we have no TV or radio and the temperature is in the 80 to 90 range. You just kind of forget about the season.


Even though I was working I at least got good trips for the holidays. With the exception of five days "slummin it" flying domestic.

Quick stop in Jamaica

Spent Christmas day hiking six miles round trip on the mountain behind our hotel in Santiago, Chile. The trail was super busy with hikers and bikers and cars all going to pay a visit the the Statue of Immaculate Conception. It is summer there so the weather was beautiful. It had just snowed in the Andes so the mountain tops were snow capped. Made me realize that I miss hiking, but not enough to move back. The Chileans celebrate Christmas at midnight and into the wee hours of Christmas morning.

Washington DC

Spent New Years Eve in Lima, Peru. Had a great day getting a 1 1/2 hour long facial. Stoping by the beach checking out the surfers wishing I was out there with them, shopping at the Indian Market buying Alpaca blankets to bring back, since it is so cold here in Mexico, and ending the day in the crew van headed to the airport to work back to Atlanta with what seemed like the entire city of Lima setting off fireworks from about 11:45 until after midnight to welcome the new year. I felt like I was back in Salt Lake City watching the closing ceremonies of the 2002 Olympics and silently cringing because you know how I feel about fireworks.

It was all good though I would much rather be home with my precious babies. At least I was able to practice my Spanish on my trips.

Happy Happy 2013!!!

Trace!

That's our boy! From the GoPro "dashboard cam" driving through town from a day on the beach near Punta Mita, Mexico.

Santa In the Plaza

Mi amigo, Sean Galloway, who does great photo work took this photo of Santa in the Plaza yesterday. The entire album can be seen on his FB page.

Feliz Navidad!!

Santa Arrives...On A Surfboard?

Santa was spotted checking out the surf recently. Sounds like he might be grabbing a couple quick waves as he passes through here in a few days. I kind of figured him for a longboarder though.

Lice!

Ozzy has two jobs to finish ... Check
Dillon has not been out in a while and has some kind of infection ... Check
We are out of gas in the house and it is Sunday so Sonigas is not working today ... Check
We have no cash and the ATM machines are either broken or sketchy ... Check
We have no food ... Check
Mommy's new paddleboard is totally thrashed and cracked and dad thinks he did it ... Check
Mommy is gone and will not be home for at least 20 days ... Check
Daddy has to make Cauliflower Cerviche for Traces's class of 24 kids along with other things ... Check
Kids have lice ... Check ... And cannot go to school ... Check ... And Ozzy has two jobs to finish ... Check ... And mommy is GONE ... Check Check Check

That was what was going on with Ozzy

Mommy just spent four wonderful days in Mexico City with girlfriends ... Check
Mommy is in SLC running errands, picking up mail, just hanging out because mommy just does not want to go to work ... Check
Ozzy emails mommy to let her know the kids have lice, cannot go to school, and he is doing all the necessary measures to kill the lice ... Check
Mommy is sitting back thinking, I am so glad I am not there, while my friend Carrie reminds me once again that my husband is a saint as I agree ... Check

That is what is going on with Mommy

Until Mommy comes home.......
I am not satisfied that the lice is gone so we do a preventative lice shampoo to kind of see where we are with the "buggies". Plus, I don't want to get them! Alex checks out good, maybe one or two dead buggies. On the other hand Traceman is full of them. I start to friek, not in an irate way but in a way of being motivated that this will be the end of lice for us. Ozzy starts to do research as I am throwing questions at him about these buggies.
So, the shampoo kills the lice but the eggs are another deal...?
You kill the lice, but have they already laid eggs?
What kills the eggs?
How many eggs will one lice lay per day?
How long do the lice live in the hair before they lay eggs?
How many eggs do they lay?
What is the incubation period before these eggs hatch?

Too many questions, too many theories on how to get rid of them, where do you start?

We googled everything.
I bought natural oils that can be mixed together to keep the bugs away in the first place...
That is great info but a little too late.
We bought the buggie shampoo and as I said it killed the buggies but when we were combing through the kids hair with the provided comb I started noticing little white things all over Alex's head about 1/4 inch from the scalp. Alex informed me that these were eggs. Alma showed them to her when she was going through her head one day. They look like circles with a tail. I started pulling them out of Alex's hair by the dozens and finally had to quit because Alex was loosing it. I had already done Trace, to a point. It was not just me, Ozzy and I were both going to town in their hair. So they go to school the next day with the oil spray on their hair to keep any newbies from wanting to join the party. That day I am talking to a friend whose kids are at the same school about the eggs situation from the night before and she mentions a vinegar and olive oil solution. After more Google time we learn that the vinegar allows the eggs to detach from the hair but does not kill them, and the olive oil smothers any live buggies. This is the all natural way to kill them. So we say screw the olive oil, we need a full chemical death here. We do the vinegar treatment to release, not kill, the eggs and use a "special comb" borrowed from a friend and OMG we couldn't believe how many eggs came out. Our research showed that this was really the only way to get the eggs out of the hair. Remember, they are not dead, just released. I honestly don't think anything kills them except boiling water and bleach but I am not going to submit my kids heads to either so they are not an option.
So they go to school today and get the usual Friday lice check and Alma passes Alex. From what I understand Alma is a professional in this department so if you pass her test you are good. Trace passes as well. Wahoo! They can go to school on Monday but I am still not satisfied that the buggie eggs are all gone so we do another vinegar treatment tonight for the eggs and a shampoo treatment in the am for the living lice. There are still kids at school who did not pass Alma's test. Are they in Alex or Traces's class? Did the kids get close enough so a buggie could get in our kids hair and start the process all over? When you have a school full of kids with lice it is virtually impossible to get rid of the cycle. We will continue these treatments for as long as we live here, we will use a special comb, we will use a special conditioner that is supposed to prevent the eggs from attaching and we will use the oil treatment to hopefully prevent the buggies from ever coming in the first place. The buggies are not gross, they are not a sign of social status or income level, cleanliness or dirtiness they are just a time consuming pain in the ass.

Since I have been home buggies have taken 3 to 4 hours of my day each and every day. Think about it. I have to wash all of the bed linens every day because a buggie could be on it. I have to go through two kids hair either with vinegar or lice shampoo an then comb the hair with a special comb which takes about one hour per kid. And I have to do this with all of my linens and hair because I cannot not cuddle and love my kids.

Since I first wrote this I have learned that both of the schools, Primaria and the private school Costa Verde, are both infested with lice as well. I have become a professional at this lice thing and have pretty much gotten our lice problem under control which is good because

We have guests and the water pump is not working so we have not had water for two days...Check

I guess it is a good thing that I destroyed my board by getting stuck on the inside and completely pummeled by huge, close together, powerful waves and thrown into the rocks at La Lancha the day before I went to Mexico City, but after I caught one of my most amazing waves ever, because I cannot surf anyway right now because I am instead getting pummeled by Itsy, bitty little buggies and I am trying to stay afloat. Give me the ocean any day because these lice are taking me for a totally different ride.

Who wants to come visit?;) We will send you home with a departing gift!

Girls Trip!!!

At the beginning of November three of my friends from Sayulita and I went on a girls trip to Mexico City to the Distrito Federal, aka, the D.F. I really thought that those words together in the same sentence would ever come out of my mouth. I am so grateful that I am now able to say them.

Kirsten, Gretchen and Lina on our first night in Mexico City

I want to start by saying that I know that not all of Mexico City is as wonderful as the areas that we visited. But here are a few thoughts about what I saw and experienced:
Mexico City is ginormous, (that would be slang for absolutely huge and then some), clean, cultural, artistic, wealthy, well educated, classy, friendly, architecturally beautiful.

The Metro is fast, easy, clean and safe. Establishments place fresh water and food out on the curb for dogs that are being walked by owners, the owners keep the pets on leash and clean up after them. I know that doesn't sound very spectacular but after living in Sayulita for a year it is. The people were well dressed, well groomed, happy, social, alive.

In all actuality Mexico City is just like all of the other large cities that I have visited. I will admit that I too fell under the spell of the American media and believed all of the bad press about Mexico City. I even believed flight attendants who said that is was dangerous and that you shouldn't leave your hotel. I hope they continue to believe that because I want those layovers.

For three days we walked a ton, covered what we thought was a lot of the city but hardly even touched it. We visited the Centro Histórico which focuses on the Zocalo, or main plaza, which is the second largest in the world behind Moscow's Red Square. Here we visited Mexico City's Cathedral, museums and took a ride to the top of the Torre Latinoamericana to get a view of the city.

View of the city, a very small slice of it, with Centro Histórico in background

Palacio de Bellas Artes

Beautiful mosaic building near the Centro Historico.

We spent another day in San Ángel. This area was beautiful. Old colorful buildings, cobblestone streets, and incredible street markets. We planned on going on the Frieda walking tour but after the few bottles of wine with yet another amazing meal and lots of shopping we ran out of time.

One of the many beautiful and large estate entrances in San Angel.

Which takes me to another part that I loved which was the restaurants. We never knew what we wanted or were really looking for but we always stumbled into a quaint restaurant that had the most delicious food and wine selections. We went all out for lunch and dinner for three days.

Gretchen, being a vegetarian, was not too impressed by these pigs legs

The group of girls were a perfect traveling match. We are all super mellow, so we made decisions quickly and easily as a group and everyone was happy. We were all on the same page. We even fell into the pattern of one person picking up the tab for lunch or dinner and taking turns that way, instead of nit picking the bill to see how much each person owed.

At our hotel, The Brick, in the Zona Rosa.

I cannot wait to go back and take another small bite of Mexico City. If you ever get the chance it would be well worth your time.

These adventures keep getting better and better. Wonder what will be next?

Concrete Projects

Yes, Ozzy has been doing more than surfing this fall in addition to the trip back to Park City. Two different projects bumped up together and have made for a relentless concrete schedule. One job was for a new brew pub in Puerto Vallarta called Los Muertos Brewing Company. Our blog visitors from Park City may know Conner Watts and wife Stephanie who are in Vallarta full time and have done "crazy amazing" things to get this brewery up and running. The other job was for a family here in Sayulita who are part owner of a very popular eatery called Don Pedros. Both clients were great to work with and we think the new spaces they have created are fantastic.

Respect

The Delta Gods were with me on Friday, October 26. Due to swaps, 24 in 7, legalities, availability, pay protection, one drunk passenger that wasn't even on my plane and the only non stop on Saturday (I know, you don't understand any of this lingo unless you are an airline person or married to one) I was able to come back to my beloved Mexico and family five days early and before Sandy relentlessly destroyed much of the Northeast. I was happy to be home as always and especially glad I could take all of the family burden off of Ozzy since he has two big jobs that he is trying to finish, and it is very difficult with two children and a dog. So on Sunday morning after breakfast the kids, Dillon and myself go for a walk on the beach. Poor Dillon hasn't been out since I left so he is super psyched. So we are walking along and there is trash on the beach, not a ton, but stuff here and there. A lot of it washed up with the waves. "Damn, I forgot my bag, again, to pick it up", I think to myself, I'll go to my friends house who live on the beach and get a bag from them and pick it up on the way back. I start seeing lots of trash, where people hung out on the beach the night before with pizza boxes and beer bottles and just left it when they were done. I thought okay drunk tourists, then the one that really set me off was the remains of a wedding. Yep, a couple thought so highly of Sayulita that they wanted to devote themselves to a lifetime of love and commitment on the beautiful beach here in Sayulita, but they didn't think highly enough of Sayulita or its beaches, environment, residents, visitors, wildlife on the beach or in the ocean when they decided to leave programs from the wedding, beer bottles, plastic water bottles and the cross altar they put up on the beach. Really?

I live here, I know that Mexico is not the cleanest country in the world but for a visitor to come here, enjoy what Mexico and Sayulita has to offer, and feel like it is okay to leave all of their shit behind for someone else to clean up just pisses me off. That someone else is a wonderful group called Sayulimpia. These people are given housing in Sayulita but are volunteering their time so they only get paid from donations of random people walking by as they are working on our streets to make Sayulita cleaner. That someone else is also locals like me and my children that do not want to walk our dogs and enjoy our beaches waking through other peoples crap. Also amongst all of the programs, beer and plastic bottles we found at least ten sticks with the firework holders attached. So once again this same wedding party lit off at least ten different rounds of fireworks and left the remains on the beach with all of their other shit.

Yes, we all love fireworks, unless we worked at DisneyWorld, and then we are kind of over them. They are bright fun, loud, colorful and dangerous to the environment. Fireworks get their flamboyance from a variety of chemicals, many of which are toxic to humans. From the gunpowder that fuels their flight to the metallic compounds that color their explosions, fireworks often contain carcinogenic or hormone-disrupting substances that can seep into soil and water, not to mention the lung-clogging smoke they release and plastic debris they scatter.

So this wedding party just did a double dose on Sayulita and the environment. Thanks a bunch! Please don't come back for your anniversary!

Luckily we returned home after visiting friends just as the fireworks were going off. Our dog Dillon, as well as many animals,is deathly afraid of fireworks, thunder, etc and has already ruined screens, doors, urinated inside and run away from pure fear of the loud bangs. As Sayulita is coming into wedding season you can imagine how excited we are about this as there are probably at least two firework shows a night from Thursday to Saturday nights due to weddings.

There is an alternative to fireworks though. Sky or Wish Lanterns. These flying lanterns are made out of rice paper with a bamboo frame, which contain a fuel cell or small candle. When the fuel cell is lit the flame heats the air inside the lantern causing the lantern to rise. Once airborne the sky lantern will rise until the fuel cell or candle stays alight, when the candle burns out the sky lantern floats back to ground. The lasting visual effects will enjoy far outweighs that of a firework. Also, Sky Lanterns are silent so much more sociably acceptable and, as they can float for up to 15 miles. Many people put wishes in these lanterns.

I know that these are not perfect for the environment but they are a much better alternative to fireworks.

With all this said, and it had to be said for the sake of readers understanding my point, please respect our town. People live here, people raise children here, people grow food here, people fish here,people surf here, people release baby turtles here. This is not just a place that people can come and enjoy and destroy and think that someone else is going to take care of it. And it is not only Sayulita, I am talking about the entire planet. Please, people, have some respect.

Dia de los Muertos

El Dia de los Muertos (the Day of the Dead), a Mexican celebration, is a day to celebrate, remember and prepare special foods in honor of those who have departed. On this day in Mexico, the streets near the cemeteries are filled with decorations of papel picado , flowers, candy calaveras (skeletons and skulls), and parades.
It is believed that the spirit of the dead visit their families on October 31 and leave on November 2.

In order to celebrate, the families make altars and place ofrendas (offerings) of food such as pan de muertos baked in shapes of skulls and figures, candles, incense, yellow marigolds known as cempazuchitl (also spelled zempasuchil) and most importantly a photo of the departed soul is placed on the altar.

It might sound somewhat morbid, but the Mexicans react to death with mourning along with happiness and joy. They look at death with the same fear as any other culture, but there is a difference. They reflect their fear by mocking and living alongside death.

Living alongside death means that Mexicans have to learned to accept it within their lives. Death is apparent in everyday life. It is in art and even in children's toys. It is not respected as it is in other cultures. Children play "funeral" with toys that are made to represent coffins and undertakers.

Death is laughed at in its face. Many euphemisms are used for death, La calaca (the skeleton), la pelona ("baldy"), la flaca ("skinny"), and la huesada ("bony"). There are refranes, sayings, and poems that are popular with day of the dead. These sayings are cliches and lose meaning when translated. For example "La muerte es flaca y no puede conmigo" means "Death is skinny/weak and she can't carry me." Calaveras (skulls) are decorated with bright colors with the name of the departed inscribed on the head. Children carrying yellow marigolds enjoy the processions to the cemetery. At the cemetery, music is played and dances are made to honor the spirits.

Even the schools have celebrations for Dia de los Muertos. Escuela Del Mundo, Alex and Trace's school had festivities today where each of the children were involved with a skit and explaining what each piece at the altar represents.

After the celebration tostadas and desserts, that the parents brought to help raise money for the school, were served while the children all ran around and had a crazy good time.

The celebrations continue Thursday and Friday at the plaza where there will be many more altars live music and festivities.

Alex and Trace wanted to make an altar at our house to remember our dog who passed, Sammie Sue, so we have a sugar skull and marigolds. Maybe Sammie will come and hang out with Dillon for the evening. He would be psyched.