Archive for the field notes category
Still working furiously. 18 hour days. no joke. strapped to the computer, my arm has a rash from this cheap Ikea MDF desk. I’m going blind. I’m trying to wrap things up in time for our trip next week to NYC. Summer is in full swing and by the time we get back I fully expect Vallarta to be deader than a doornail. Septhambre. That’s fine, more waves for me.
It’s been raining like mad this past week. After two weeks of absolutely no rain, all the green jungle vegetation was starting to turn brown. Last Thursday, a torrential downpour sent water flowing into our kitchen and living room from a door to our open air service room. The sight was totally out of place, Marcia and I both had to take a second to register what was happening. It must have rained 12 inches in a 6 hour period. insane.
We’re being infested with ants. Rather than kill them all with some noxious poison, I put out some sugar water in a bowl to divert their attention from our trash. They loved it. They went home and told their friends. And their friends told their friends. After a few days we had ant trails all over the house. It took me about a week to figure out that I needed to put the bowl outside.
You can tell I haven’t gotten out of the house much lately, huh?
The surf has been dead. I’m sure there’s been some small waves here and there, but no real swells to speak of. This summer has been a total bummer. We are mid way through the season and we’ve only had 3 storm systems pass our way. Last summer we had something like 14. Something about the storm angle being off and heavier than normal jetstream flow across Chile. Global bummer.
For anyone keeping tabs, the seedling is coming along nicely. We’re in the 18th week and he is of the male variety. We’re slowly circling in on a name. Something that sounds good in both english and spanish, and that isn’t easily twisted in school yard fun. A hard criteria.
This past Saturday I drove up to Mazatlan for a surf contest at a left point break called Patole, with boards and camera in hand. The drive is six hours. I arrived at 1pm to wind-blown waist high slop. The contestants tried their hardest to put on a good show and I tried my hardest to snap some interesting shots. In a funky ass mood, I hung around for 4 hours or so and turned right around and drove all the way back to Vallarta. By the time I got home, at 11pm, I was so cracked out from that Monster energy drink I had, on the way, I couldn’t get to sleep. what a day. I have a post brewing on the cost of living in Mexico, as it relates to my road trip to Mazatlan. You will not believe how much it cost me to get there and back.
With big swell on the way, some homies have headed down to Pascuales to catch the deep water, open seas swell. I broke the budget for the week, so I’m holding the Bahia de Banderas down for the local bras.
The Bahia de Banderas is the name for the giant bay this entire area sits on. From Cabo Corrientes on the southern tip, to Punta Mita on the northern. This is also the name for the municipality I live in that stretches from Nuevo Vallarta to Lo de Marco. The state of Nayarit and Fonatur (the governmental development agency) call this area “the Riveria Nayarit”. In theory, giving the area a classy attaché in hopes of luring tourists and foreign investment dollars. The locals call it “Badeba” a contraction of its full name. I like Badeba, cuz it sounds kinda naco and probably pisses a lot of developers off.
I got skunked not once but twice yesterday. An am trip to Veneros, some nice chest high waves, but 30 people in a break that maxes out at 15. No waves at all at Albercas. And after a long trek in through the muddy river bed to Burros and nothing there as well. In the pm, back to Veneros to find blown-out waist high closeouts. I need some water.
Regular updates resuming shortly, just as soon as I can get my face out of this ginormous MS Word doc I’ve been editing for god knows how long. If I’m not in the water, I’m in this dumb word doc.
apartment complex in guadalajara
Every cliche ever uttered about Mexico is simultaneously true and false at the some time. I can’t explain it. It’s just how it is.
Still in GDL, Tzahui called last night asking if I wanted to take pics today, from the boat. Waves are at 3 meters. I shat me ponties with regret. What am I doing in this concrete jungle?
Late to the party as usually, I just read Sissy Fish’s End-of-Nau post. wow. amazing read. what a bummer. peep the comments. one part bad business plan, one part bad economy = disaster. Chum has my condolences.
Now up to date on BSG. great freakin season despite its early, questionable episodes. Ep10 was insane!
Half-way through Gerry Lopez’s Surf Is Where You Find It. great read. love talkin story. Admittedly, I’ve actually never read any of Lopez’s articles before. He’s a great story teller with a very direct and undecorated writing style. His pre-70s Hawaii and early Uluwatu/G-Land stories are my current favorites. The Buzzy Trent and Miki Dora stories are stone cold classics. required reading.
Keeping my eye on that Photography Book Now deadline, July 14th.
File under “Did you know that”: Swell sells a pretty good priced reprint of the exhibition poster for the Pre-War Surfing Photographs of Don James at Danzinger Gallery? I have my mouse on the “buy” button as we speak.
