Missing The Burb

I miss this trip

Surfboard Fishing

The surf was flat for a few days so I paddled out and loved it, while Chad got creative and thought of another way to occupy himself. Him and our buddy Brett took out their longboards and a couple Tico fishing reels and headed on their way to do a little surfboard fishing. They paddled over the reef towards Punta Mala in search of some big fish. Rumor has it that this particular area is extremely SHARK infested, so I was crossing my fingers that they didn't end up with a giant shark on the end of the line (or a crocodile for that matter). They found me on the beach about 3 hours later with a 10 pound Barred Pargo on the end of their line. They were extremely pleased with themselves and were heading to the store to get the necessary ingredients to make ceviche. The town was pretty impressed as well and there is talk of an article in the local newspaper (Jaco Pirate) featuring this lovely surfboard fishing duo!

Video of Bull chasing Chad and JP (in the white shirts)

Chad Rodeo...Horn in Butt Video

Chelsea and Jeeper's (JP) visit!

Immediately following Cindy and Kevin's visit, my sister and her boyfriend arrived. Just imagine that first time you fell for someone and the intense feelings that go along with it, that is Chelsea and Jeepers ALL the time. Honestly, I have never seen two people so in love in my life! These two are constantly touching and staring at each other at all times, it is quite sickening :). OK, maybe I am a bit jealous, but someone needs to tell them that the honeymoon period ends after 3 months, right?? Ha ha! I love you guys and it was honestly so great to be with a couple who are so in love, you reminded Chad and I of how it was 10 years ago :)!!!

Chad, Pat and I met them at the airport and proceeded to make our way to Turrialba for some intense white water rafting. Pat's friend “the infamous Marty” owns a white water rafting company (Rainforest World) and was generous enough to allow us to stay at his home while giving us the Tico (local) rate for the rafting. It was an all day affair and seriously the most intense rafting I have ever done. The river was only a class IV, but the guides made it more intense for us because we were all so athletic (hahaha). Chelsea and JP's staring got in the way of their rafting and they were violently tossed out of the raft and smashed into a big boulder. It was hilarious and scary at the same time. Marty had never seen people get tossed in this part of the river, so we had to let the lovebirds know that they needed to focus on the river instead of each other :). The rafting was a blast and well worth the adventure inland. Thanks for a great adventure Marty!

Chad stayed an extra day in Turrialba to do the class V river with the rafting pros. Chelsea, JP, Pat and I went back to Esterillos deciding that we would rather live than have another adrenaline rush of a day. Thankfully, Chad survived the trip and was able to make it back in time to feed us before we starved to death. The cooking skills between Chel, JP, and I combined was quite pathetic so it was nice to have our personal chef back at the house :).

We had a set of surprise visitors arrive in the middle of Chelsea and JP's visit. My buddy Chris from college and his friend were on a surf trip through Costa Rica and needed a place to stay. They stayed for a couple of nights and then headed down south to Domincal. I hope the surf picked up and you had a good trip. It was great seeing you Chris!

The remainder of Chelsea and JP's trip was spent doing the normal Chad and Erin tourist route...Manual Antonio, Monkey Tour, Horseback Riding, Lovers Rock, ect. However, the highlight of their trip was definitely the local Rodeo. Esterillos Oeste has a rodeo about 3 times a year and Chelsea and JP were lucky to be here during this time. They got a true taste of Costa Rican culture. After a few beers, JP, Chad and our 60 year old buddy Les (a.k.a Toro) got the courage to go out in the ring with all the Gauro drinking Tico guys. It was quite the scene! Basically the bull comes raging out into the ring and charges at all the idiot drunk guys running around the ring. Apparently, the first bull scared the shit out of Chad because he fell on the ground when the bull was not even close to him. The second bull came out and Chad thought it would be a good idea to slap it on the ass. Needless to say the bull charged him and Chad tried to climb up the fence to avoid a good beating. Chad made it half way up the fence and the bull was able to put its horns right in Chad's ass. It was about the most hilarious thing I have ever seen (see the video attached, and listen closely to my commentary, ha ha). JP and Toro were a bit more slick in the ring and were able to avoid any serious injury. I decided after this night that Chad is a water athlete not a land one because he is damn slow on land :).Toro bought the local kids a bottle of guaro and him and JP proceeded to help them drink it. Crazy Gringos!!! What a night!

On Chelsea and JP's last day in Costa Rica we decided that we would support a local struggling Canadian fisherman (and his Tico captain) and take a boat trip to Isla Tortuga. This was their first time going to the island, so we knew there was a bit of a risk involved, however if we knew how big the risk was we probably would have gone with a reputable company, oops! Here is a condensed version of the crazy trip...

-The seas were REALLY rough and we were in a small ponga, so we struggled to stay in the boat
-The captain took us towards what he thought was Isla Tortuga and thankfully Pat was with us and knew we were way out of the way. We told him he was wrong and he got angry about it so the owner of the boat decided to drive (now that was scary because he does not really know how to drive the boat)
-They didn't have a map so we had a guessing session as to which island of the 10-20 that were in the area was the right one
-After three hours we arrived (it should have taken 1 and a half hours), we gladly got off the boat and Chad was going to stay because they were going to fish a little. Needless to say the boat wouldn't start
-We hung out on the BEAUTIFUL deserted island for 6 hours until a big catamaran could tow us back to the nearest port (this port was 2 hours from our house)
-The owners wife came to pick us up, but on the way to pick us up a tire fell off the trailer. There were 9 of us trying to fit in a 6 seater truck, so we decided to take a cab all the way back home.

...aside from all the mishaps, we made it home safe and had a great day. Isla Tortuga is a white sand beach with crystal clear waters, absolutely stunning! Pat rented a kayak so we went around to the different islands, snorkeled, drank some beers on the beach and had a great day. Chad and I swam across to a remote island and had fun exploring a cave or two :)!! Additionally, everyone on the amazing catamaran got to experience Drunk Chad, which is an obscene story I will save for later! No mas guaro para Chad!!!

Chelsea and JP, we love you both and had such a great 10 days with you! Thanks JP for your fun and easy spirit, you are a top notch guy and I couldn't imagine a better boyfriend for Chelsea. I hope you enjoyed those e-mails when you got home, hahaha! Chelsea, you are the best sister ever, thanks for inspiring me to get my ass in shape (thanks to you I run everyday now). Thanks for the good games of Cadillac, and most of all, for re-introducing Chad and I to an extremely loving relationship! You guys are the best!!!

...more pics from Cindy and Kevin's Visit

Cindy and Kevin's Visit

Chad's parents—Cindy and Kevin—arrived the day after we got engaged. It was so great to have them here for our first week of engaged life. They brought a bottle of champagne and a a few bottles of wine to celebrate and Cindy and I more than celebrated that first night. Thanks to Nicole and Mark, I had a card that played The Crystals song “Going to the Chapel and were gonna get married” which I proceeded to annoyingly play for everyone when I called them to tell them the news. We had a super fun night with a not so super hangover the next day!

The remainder of Cindy and Kevin's visit consisted of Chad and Kevin surfing while Cindy and I talked about the future wedding (that I am not planning until I get home, LOL). It was so great having Cindy here during this time and I honestly can't think of a better future mother-in-law. We were even able to convince her to go horseback riding with us and she did a fabulous job. Chad being the great son that he is, dragged Kevin out in some gnarly surf with “aggressive whitewash”, forcing him to get in paddling shape for his Mag Bay trip. I was impressed by Kevin's balls when he had to swim through this “aggressive whitewash” after his leash broke in overhead waves, not too bad for a 53 year old :). Kevin, you are quite the stud!

Cindy and Kevin, I love you both a lot and cannot wait to FINALLY be a part of your amazing family! You are the best future in-laws I could even ask for! Thanks for all you kindness to me over the years, you are the best! I look forward to seeing you both in a month!