The Fist Of God.

Another sunset.

Pelicans! (At this point, I put the stupid date marker on my pictures by accident; it's annoying.)

And another empty white sand beach... a good place for a day of leisure.

Hugh, sporting his spear-fishing yellow speedos (aka banana hammock) putting on a show for the beach goers.

Apparently them speedos work. Parrot fish for dinner.

Parrot fish is actually quite tasty but it's a bitch to clean; the scales are like armor plates.

It's hard to see, but this is a big o'le sting ray. This is what killed Steve Irwin (the Crocodile hunter) when his chest got pierced by the sting ray's long, barbed, tail-spike.

Look me in the eyes.

Art Shot!

Cleaning our kill.

The bay where we'd spend Christmas eve and Christmas day.

Some enterprising locals.

Hey mister, you want to buy an iguana?

No surf nearby so we made our own.

Paradise.

Tammy rockin' it.

Hugh's turn. That's Cameron who I'll talk about in a second.

We met the hired captain of this yacht and his friends; the owner was back in the states so we got to go over a play for Christmas Eve.

Over dinner, Hugh and Cameron, the captain, talked about how they had both sailed in Tahiti and how they had both met Liz Clark. Hugh had long ago sent Tammy this inspirational story that had been posted on Liz Clark's website.

It turns out that the author of the story; the story that had so moved both Hugh and Tammy; was none other than the man sharing Christmas eve dinner with us on the only other boat we had seen for days in some random bay 90 miles off the coast of Panama. Needless to say, it was kind of a moment; Cameron was really stoked that his story had been enjoyed so much. We ended up having a great night with lots of wine involved; it was a Christmas Eve I won't soon forget.

Dear Santa:

Pumping the bilge. Where the water came from is still a mystery.

A hidden village; I wish we had time to check it out.

The yacht that Cameron worked on and Khulula; the only boats in a beautiful spot.

Another shot of the bay.

Khulula.

So that's how palm trees reproduce...the seed's in the coconut.

Leaving to do our overnight passage from the Las Perlas Archipeligo to the North end of the Gulf of Panama. It looks like we're in for calm sailing all night... we were wrong. I'll write another post about that passage (my first open water, overnight sailing experience) soon.

See how innocent that little anvil shaped cloud on the horizon looks...it wasn't.

Essentially we sailed right up against a big, lightning filled, low pressure system. The low pressure was sucking wind from the high pressure over the Gulf of Panama resulting in 25 to 30 knot winds, wind swell, and a much more eventful sail than we had anticipated. I got soaked a couple of times from swell breaking over the boat.

Tammy and Hugh in their life preservers (which get harnessed to the boat so you don't fall overboard). This was probably at about 2am in the middle of howling winds and decent sized wind swell in the open ocean.

This post was part two of three. Click here to view Part 1 or Part 3

That is all.

No, wait,... that is not all. Why does Pabst have such a bad reputation? I like it; it did win a blue ribbon after all..

Hugh and Tammy picked me up in Panama City. Hugh really wanted to carry my bodyboards.

The view of the Panama city sky-line from our anchorage.

Hugh in his sweet, sweet Comex shirt

Pirates!

Bridge of the Americas - Pacific Entrance to the Panama Canal

Our first anchorage at Las Perlas Archipeligo.... just one of thousands of beautiful, empty, tropical, white sand beaches. One of the Survivor seasons was filmed in the Las Perlas Archipeligo.

We went snorkeling.

Hugh did some research for the Ocean Gybe Expedition

These plastic pellets are what Hugh is collecting. What's crazy is that they are not broken down plastic... they are raw material used to make plastic products. Somehow, they are leaking into the environment and carrying toxins all the way up the food chain. Besides spillage, one theory is that factories are blowing millions of these pellets up their smoke stacks to try and clean them out...brutal!

Hugh collects samples (unfortunately they're found on even the most remote beaches) and sends them to a researcher in Japan who is trying to trace where they are coming from.

More pellet collecting.

Sitka Surfboards, a BC based surf company, helped sponsor the oceangybe expedition by ponying up free surfboards and clothing.

This is a small village on the small Isla Casya.

Hugh and Tammy peruse Main street in the downtown district. Where can I get a Venti, vanilla soy, double shot, no foam, extra hot, half-cafe, latte around here?

Christmas was in the air.

A villager going about her day.

A fine cock.

No really, it's a very nice cock.

Hugh and Tammy about to launch the not so trusty dinghy. I think Hugh was trying to repair this thing every two or three days.

Hugh on our deserted Island.

Deserted Island Contemplation

Contemplation interrupted... stupid broken plastic chair.

Tammy on the reef.

Me on the reef.

Puffer fish (aka: Fugu).

Puffer fish II. Who knew a fish could be so cute?

We ended up calling this a "rubber" fish after I speared and cooked one (it was like eating rubber). The weird thing about spearing fish without a fish guide is that you're not quite sure what it'll taste like and you're just kind of hoping that it's not going to poison you.

Art Shot!

Tammy and Hugh

Tammy and the spear gun. Watch out seagulls!

Back chilling on Khulula after another successful day of leisure. I wish this picture could convey how quiet and peaceful it was... no other boats or people in sight...the only sound was water rippling when the odd fish would jump.

This post was part one of three. Click here to view Part 2 or Part 3

Khulula, my home for the next couple of weeks

I fly out of Costa Rica to Panama City today to meet up with my friend Hugh Patterson and the Ocean Gybe Expedition (www.oceangybe.com). I feel really blessed to get the opportunity to experience a little slice of their epic journey around the world. All I know is that we are going to be sailing around the pacific side of Panama, I'm in good hands, and I'm super excited.

I'll post more about my experiences in Panama and the expedition in general when I get back to Nosara in early January. I don't expect to have any internet connection on the boat; so, until then, have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year everyone!

Robb.

Me bodyboarding on Playa Guiones

During a recent surf session, as the lineup got more crowded and the number of waves decreased, I noticed myself becoming territorial of my space, competitive for waves, and somewhat agitated. As my frustration levels went up, my performance went down; I was missing waves and wiping out and getting even more frustrated.

As I become aware of my state and how it was negatively affecting me, I was able to shift it to one of acceptance. And why not choose acceptance? I was healthy and playing in the warm ocean in a beautiful tropical setting. With acceptance, I stopped worrying about the people around me. I waited patiently, enjoying my surroundings, for waves to come to me instead of trying to force my self onto waves. I started to find flow, my performance increased, I was catching more waves. In short, being aware of and then shifting my state changed my experience.

There's always another perspective available to us if we choose.

Tim and "The Jimmy", our truck rental.

Mike

Alex, Tim, Mike - friends from the Boston area who are staying in the same condo complex as I am.

Me posing with an Imperial, the local beer

This was an amazing little bay.

This poor Pelican was not well; it probably died not long after this shot.

Another one of the bay.

We went snorkeling.

Alex, ready for her first snorkeling experience.

Tim and Alex

Mike, chilling and working on his sunburn.

We met some locals.

This was a local kid ripping the little surf break out side the bay.

Waterproof cameras are fun.

This doesn't look that pretty but it was, perhaps, the best ceviche I've ever had. I think it cost $4.00.

The little "soda" (restaurant) with the great ceviche.

Cows in a culvert.

Me on another empty beach called Marbella... good surf, gorgeous setting, probably a good place to buy property if you're looking for an investment.

Another view of Marbella.

This picture doesn't do it justice, but this bull was seriously pissed at our rental car. It charged us a couple of times and we were concerned that our $800.00 car insurance deductible was in jeopardy.

Tim and Alex at the end of the day at Lagarta Lodge.

Mike

Obviously this was a prime picture spot. Me, working it for the camera

This is the sunset from the sunset bar at Lagarta Lodge. If you're ever in the Nosara area, you have to check this place out; the view is unbelievable.

And what day in Costa Rica would be complete without a few wildlife shots.

It's called a patience bug.

fin

Hermit Crabs

Vultures

Bird on a Wire

Wild Condo Cats

Squirrel

I like these pictures because they contrast "development" (in this case, road building) with animals in their natural setting. It's a fine balance that developing countries really need to pay attention too.

The horses got over exposed in this picture but I kind of like the way it turned out... it gives it a dreamlike quality

I've been listening to this Gui Boratto album and liking it a lot. It's minimalist techno but don't let that scare you. The tittle track (#5) is my favorite. Put the headphones on, crank it up, and picture a bunch of Germans dancing slowly in tight black clothing. (Actually Borrato is from Brazil)

You can download it via torrent by following this link