Ahhhhhh... 1600 dollars is well worth every penny! Steve Jobs Rules! I love my new MAC!

Anything I want... Porn, News, Religion, Money, Knowledge, Music, Cults, Hate, Love, Science, Mysticism, Drugs, Anti (everything)... It is all at my finger tips! I feel power in every stroke of my keyboard! Thank you Steve! I will say "HELLO" as our BACKSTAGE PASSES get us through the "PEARLY GATES"! You have given me freedom! (Make love to the devil.... even so... I will always LOVE you ""STEVE""!) YOU ARE THE MAN! I love this fucking computer! I will post my favorite Metallica song as a tribute! Damn you kick ass... I hope one day we might "DROP LSD" at the same time!

I crashed my BMW full speed "on purpose"after drinking a bottle of PATRON to this song. "what was I supposed to do?" "Drive SLOW?"

Motorcycle Madness

So what is freedom? Freedom comes in many forms. As of this post I have found my freedom comes with only 2 wheels. I recently purchased a new Honda Falcon NX400 Enduro Motorcycle. I have also purchased half stock in a Yamaha 225 Enduro for my chica to ride. Well in rainy season there is not much to do... unless you have a moto that is. Conrad and I went on a 3 hour ride yesterday that was truly mind blowing. We have video, but no fire wire cable, so I hope to post that as well in time. Costa Rica is just one giant motorcross track. In one day we rode dirt roads, into a beach town, through the river, on a paved curvy mountian road, up to a mountian dirt road, Finally ending at another pristine Costa Rican beach. There is something exhillerating about moving at 100km/hr over gravel up a hill with no thought of slowing down. These bikes just tear through the terrain like Speeder bikes from Star Wars. Your mind starts clicking through the moment so quickly there is not a second to think. You truly become one with the machine... picking lines through puddles and around rocks at a mind blowing pace. And after 3 hours you step off of these magical machines and cant help but holler out loud. "Fuck that was fun!" So in close, for this short excerpt if you´ve ever wanted to experience zen... while engaged in some kind of X games experiance.... ride an Enduro through the roads of Costa Rica. A man made track would never amount to the fun and variety that exists here.

"We have a problem" - Another post from Conrad (hotel-with-out-windows.blogspot.com)

Starting this blog in rainy season means many stories will be about nature, the Castle, or our local population since tourists are not so common. When is rainy season? It´s not as simple as the guidebooks explain and depends where you are. Here dry season starts about the middle of November and the sunshine stays through April. May brings the first rains and can be heavy, but mid-June through August are known locally as small summer and although it rains at night, the days are still sunny. September and October tend to be the heaviest months for rain so I was a bit surprised when Klaus called me from Germany and said a couple comes to stay despite his warning of heavy rain and all the fun that goes with it. They arrived yesterday and this morning I drove them to Samara to get a new hotel. From the moment I saw them standing on the road I knew we had a problem. After 24 hours of travel from Germany to Costa Rica it´s tough for anyone to smile, but the shock factor was worse and they hadn´t even seen the car yet. The castle "Chariot" is a Dodge raider held together with parts from other cars and lots of luck - it´s very Tico. After loading their fancy new backpacks I turn the key and hear the familiar click when the starter doesn´t feel like working. I grab the trusty screwdriver, pop the hood and proceed to hot wire the problem. The raider sparks to life and the big my smile on my face doesn´t compare to the frown on theirs. People surprise me all the time so maybe things will get better. At this time of year you have to take the "long way" since the river is too high to pass. After 13 miles of bumpy dirt roads, the smell of gear oil and no conversation we arrive at the Castle. Chris runs the Wunderbar this month and has two cold beers waiting for our new guests. I sense the relief of finally arriving when the man says "everything will be all right as long as we have a clean, pretty room." Expectation and perception shape our experiences and give us all the ability to suffer or smile. Honesty without hesitation works for me in these moments so I pick up the bags and say "let´s go look at your new room." Now it´s my turn to gauge their honesty. Ten minutes later he walks from the room, sits at the table, takes a deep breath and says "we have a problem." "You don´t have to be very perceptive to see that" I say. In an instant the dam of awkwardness blows up and real conversation flows. They admit they need more luxury and although they want something off the beaten path, being trapped by muddy roads and rivers without a car is a bit much. They know they were warned about the conditions, but were very excited about such a peaceful retreat away from stress. We tell our stories and realize we have similar backgrounds and now the man opens up telling us more about the catalysts in his life that reawaken the question of satisfaction and happiness. This conversation is always welcome and it becomes obvious they´re not arrogant complainers, but a loving couple exploring their lives. I see the unique effect this place has on people whenever the environment strips away formality and leaves honesty. As I said earlier, people surprise me. I´m sure this couple will always remember their first night in Costa Rica at El Castillo. I know I will.

A post from my friend Conrad... I lost the Kayak!

Some days in rainy season bring out bad judgement. Being wet and bored can make one yearn for a little adreneline. It´s been raining steady now for about a week and a half, but what started last night and continuied all morning was heavy. Young volunteers interested in saving the turtle population make their camp down the beach and live simply with no electricity and water they must turn on every day to fill their tanks. Normally they cross the estuary and walk through the castle like clockwork. And sometimes when the estuary is too high we use the sit on top kayaks to run a taxi shuttle. That brings me to this morning when two volunteers asked for a ride and I didn´t open my eyes or my brain wide enough to appreciate the conditions. It was between low and high tide, but the volume of water from rain was creating a very strong current running out to sea in the estuary. I ferried the kayak across and reached the other side down by the beach because the other end of the estuary was just a carved wall of sand and rushing water. At this point I should have appreciated the strong current and said nope it´s not going to work to get back across, but what the hell. There were two guys, but only one goes with me to attempt the crossing - the current is very strong and just getting in the kayak proves difficult. We finally get a good launch and we´re headed across toward the beach parking lot when a set of waves comes in and collides with the water going out - if you push two ends of a piece of paper together you´ll see the bubble the kayak was in. Kayak flips - we get it back over and get back in, but now we´re caught in the outward surge. A wave comes in and I see a chance to ride it back in the estuary - it´s good at first, but more waves hit from the side and the kayak is over again - this time we´re further out and it´s time to swim and get to safety - I tell my passenger to forget about the kayak and swim across the current until we´re clear and then back to the beach. I don´t his name, but I give him loads of credit for getting through panic attack and swimming back safely. He told me later that he developed a recent phobia of deep water being exposed to glacial lakes. This explained why he was screaming "I can´t breath, I´m freaking out, I´m not going to make it" - but as I said he calmed himself down and everything ended safely. Oh did I forget the title or this post?? No, but first I had to get myself back to the castle side of the estuary where this all began. That was quite a swim and reminded me that I´m no longer a raft guide! Back on the other side is when I realize there´s no kayak. These kayaks are very difficult to sink and yet I don´t see it anywhere. Under normal conditions the kayaks always return to the bay or the rocks of the reef. Since the tide was low I climbed around the reef still not believing the kayak could be gone. And after turning on the turtle campers water ( yes I could have just turned their water on and all this would not have happened but hindsight blah blah..) I walked again and then up to the view from Alegria - nothing. As I write this post I´m happy poor judgement didn´t cause injury or death, but I´m very much hoping to work on my next post - I found the kayak!

More Ultralight Videos from my boss.

This is where we fly... cool huh?