Run Through The Jungle

It's a blustery one out here today and it's been going since late last night. We have gusts of 45-55 miles per hour but the strangest part is that the sky is blue and cloudless as ever. Just a straight wind storm, something I've never really seen but it's supposed to last the next couple days. Weird going to the beach and seeing zero surfers and I've got the itch to get back out there but I can't. I sat on the beach this morning under the lil hut pictured here:

There's a bench underneath and it's usually occupied by a bunch of surfers and people with tripods taking video but not today. I sat there by myself around 745/8 AM and a guy came up and asked in Spanish if I spoke the language. I said no, but he proceed to talk anyway and I told him I could understand some of what he was saying. He spoke zero english (less than i speak spanish by a lot) and his name was Oscar, from Nicaragua originally. He cracked open a looking smirnoff ice of some sort on this lovely sunday morning at 8 AM. He asked me if I wanted one because he had a second. I think it was this:

But I declined. He also asked if I "fumar" and then offered me a hit of the joint he was lighting. He told me he was hoping to surf today because it was his off day from his construction job. The strong wind forecast made him opt to watch the ocean with a drink and a smoke instead. He said he's trying to learn english but it's slow and even though he's been in Nosara 8 years he wants to go back to Nicaragua. We had a broken spanish conversation for about 30 minutes which is always funny. It's disjointed and takes forever but I've found both participants seem to get something out of it.

Last night on the beach we had a real deal surf competition that I checked out after having this wonderful Indian dinner:

This competition was not like the last one. The waves were solid and the surfers were much more serious, and better. There was a real cash prize and probably some of the most speed I've ever seen someone get on a surfboard. I think that's an aspect that's hard to tell from watching videos but in person these dudes are flying on the small boards and they get air off the top of the wave like it's a snowboard half pipe. Fun to watch.

So with no surfing today (I'm here writing...), I went for a walk through the jungle further than I've gone yet. With the wind though, branches are cracking and falling every which way. You need to keep your head on a swivel. It definitely forced me to pick up the pace a bit. I stopped by a bookstore cause I'm a nerd that likes to read and I'm ripping through this western too fast.

I'm hoping the weather report is false and I'm able to get back out there tomorrow or tuesday because the days are dwindling down. Last time out I was getting closer to competency on the hardboard but I'm still late paddling, and balance isn't all the way there with the length difference. Might have to go wander the world and become a beach bum to be an actual surfer because it's not happening in the next 3 days. I've made some solid progress though. Peace and I'll check back in when I feel like it.......