Wednesday, September 14, 2011

NICARAGUA 2011


I recently completed my residency in orthopedics and figured that some serious vacation time was needed since the last long vacation I took was about 4 years ago, I figured I was due. So when Dave "Rumpie" Rampton proposed that we do a surf trip to Nicaragua I was in. When the time had come only three brave souls had committed to make the journey in search of waves and adventure.

ME

DAVE RAMPTON
AND
DAVE JACKSON
We all had agreed to meet up in Managua, Nicaragua because we all were coming from other places: Jackson - San Francisco, Rampton - Belize, and I was coming from Panama. I had an 18.5 hour layover in Panama City, Panama so I decided to go out and see the city and some of the nightlife. It was a lot of fun. Met up with some other American and his Colombian wife and we hung out at this Disco and danced. Lots of fun. Great people. Great city. The next day I boarded a plane leaving Panama City behind to meet up with Jackson, get the rental car, and wait for Rampton to get in later that night.

PANAMA CITY FROM THE PLANE
(Left to Right) ME, PASSPORT, ST. CHRISTOPHER (patron saint of surfers), PANAMA
So Rampton finally arrived, and the next day we hit up church at the Ciudad Jardin Ward in Managua. We weren't sure if we were going to get lost so we left really early. We arrived about an hour early only to find Eric this little deacon sitting out front waiting for the bishop. He had been baptized a few months ago as the only member of his family. He was there an hour early to assist the bishop in getting the building ready and pass the sacrament. You could tell how excited he was to hold the priesthood of God and to be united with the saints. Church was such a great experience. So much love was there and the Spirit abounded. The members in Nicaragua are stalwart and extremely welcoming.



After church it was off to Popoyo to get checked into the house and rest up for the big week of surfing ahead of us. There were so many adventures, stories, inside jokes, and experiences that made this trip an amazing memory for a lifetime. We surfed big waves in one of the most beautiful places in the world. Schedule consisted of wake up at 5:15 and surf, nap, eat...repeat
3-4x/day. I will add a few pictures but the week was too long and too much happened to write the whole story down here. But here are some photos. Enjoy.

DRIVE FROM MANAGUA

PICKUP BASEBALL IN THE JUNGLE

RIVER THAT SWEPT A CAR AWAY EARLIER (WE CHARGED IT)

CASA DE SURFIAR

PRE-GAME


PERFECT WAVES


ALL TUCKERED OUT AFTER A SESSION


MONKEY ON A LEASH

DOWNTOWN POPOYO

BOAT TRIP TO DAIRY QUEEN'S (SURF SPOT)

DRANK A LOT OF FRESCA

CRAB WRANGLING ON THE FRONT PORCH

ICE CREAM IN SAN JUAN DEL SUR

BEST FISH TACOS IN NICARAGUA

TRECKING THROUGH THE JUNGLE IN SEARCH OF WAVES

POPOYO SUNSET EVERY NIGHT
This was definitely a fun and amazing trip. Nothing in southern California will ever be too big again. I will be returning to Nicaragua to surf again. EPIC!