Barra de la Who?

Mexico has a way of sinking its claws into you. We left Puerto Escondido on a Thursday and stopped driving only 2 hours later at a point break recently added to the list of "world class point breaks." In a perfect world, this is how our entire trip would have gone. Instead we powered through 4 countries in 4 days... but that's another blog.

Because this break is definitely no longer a secret on anybodys list, after much debate we'll let the cat out of the bag... It's Barra de la Cruz. It's a beautiful right point break that is heavily localized and rightfully so.


If you're into a little local action and you find yourself in this stretch of Mexico bring $2 US/per person to get through the beach gate, located approximately 1 km from the beach. If you're into staying the night and can dig a no frills atmosphere, we definitely recommend Pepe's Cabana's at only $6 US per night per person. The restaurant on the premises is equally economical and open for brekkie, lunch and dinner. The bonus of camping out at Pepe's is that your $6 fee includes your entrance to the beach.

Nicaragua - by Brad

Words can´t describe how good it felt to arrive in Nicaragua. The policia had smiles and one even said ¨Welcome to Nicaragua¨ as he handed back our paperwork and sent us on our way without even hinting at a bribe.

The volcanoes were amazing to watch on the horizons and our destination was closer than we anticipated. We topped off the gas tank (never let it get below a half tank, please!) and headed for the coast. Within an hour we reached the highly recommended Hotel Chancletas.

Not only was the water as warm as the average bath tub, but the waves were beautiful and plentiful. The locals working the hotel were friendly and always kept your beer cold and full. The food was delicious and we were excited to share this experience with new acquaintances and lounge in the many hammocks strewn across the property.

We met a couple from Los Angeles that was stoked to see our mad max surfari mobile. They have been building their own, from scratch, for the past two years. It pretty much puts ours to shame. If your interested in camper mobiles, you´ll definitely enjoy their blog The Super Camper.

So check out The Super Camper girl surfing! It's Holly Beck, cool, eh?

We stayed for 2 nights and 3 days and definitely could have stayed longer, but duty called and we had to head south to Bernardo and Lorianna´s finca.

The Infamous Surfari Mobile is here!

Finally! The much anticipated Surfari mobile build out is here!






For those who don't know, I bought an 89 Toyota pickup that is already familiar with life below the border, in fact the truck was already modified for the rough roads in Mexico before I bought it. The suspension system on the truck allows me to make it hard or soft. Once we hit the dirty washboard roads all I have to do is hop out, twist a knob and we can drive the roads at 40-50 mph instead of 10-20 mph. The bottom line is a bumpy road is a comfy road. The price was right and the previous owner was happy to see his truck leave for another adventure.

The truck and I visited my brother Ross for a makeover a couple weeks ago, and boy does it look different. Ross was the mastermind behind the project and knew exactly what had to be done in order to get this truck ready for the long haul. I on the other hand was there to pay for everything and lend a helping hand when needed, but for the most part my job was to stay out of the way.
After Ross' birthday extravaganza, we shook off our hangovers and started the build out. Ross had already lined up a lumber rack for the truck. That was the first project. Little did I know he had a few ideas up his sleeve. We got the lumber rack on and headed out to a friends farm to weld the puppy on. Ross informed me that we would be adding a flat mesh grate on top of the lumber rack for better storage; which is also convenient as a second story sun roof and or surf lookout. Genius, Right? Ross is full of ideas like this.

We also lined up two spare 33'' tires which are an absolute necessity for the roads we will come into contact with. Again, Ross knew exactly where and how to mount these tires on the new lumber rack. He welded a place for the tires right above the cab of the truck and to top it off he set it up so the tires would be sitting flush with the frame and could easily be locked down. He basically customized a regular lumber rack into an open, second-story penthouse.

My main job while Ross welded everything together was to sand and primer down every scrape or blemish on the truck. As you know there is a lot of rain in central America, and once that rain got to us we would be one rusty truck. By the time I finished primering the truck it looked like a cheetah. Once we saw Jana's reaction to the cheetah primer though, we decided we needed to clean it up. We taped everything off and gave it a nice and organized "Mad Max" look.

To give it the real off road touch, Ross gave me 4 KC lights for the front and rear of the truck. Ross wired it all together adding 2 switches in the cab so I can turn them on while driving. The lights are so bright I will be able to light up an entire soccer field, and that will go over great with the locals down south.

The next move was to build out the interior truck bed, or should I say bedroom? We took all kinds of measurements and started cutting the plywood. Ross made the cuts and I painted the wood. We glued and drilled and crossed our fingers that the new bed would fit in the back of the truck. Luck was on our side, the cabinet box fit like a glove. Now that the bed was made it was time to make the drawers that slid into and underneath the bed. A few splinters and beers later we were good to go.

Now it was time to get the camper shell back on and make sure it was water proof. It took a few trips to the hardware store to get the right amount of weather tape, but in the end, we got it done.

I added a 4 foot high lift jack to the list and Ross locked that down on the roof with a shovel attached so that those who want it, can't get it. Ross showed me how the high lift jack and some rope could also be used as a winch in case of an emergency. Which was good to know; because I didn't know.

After three long days of drinking, oops, I mean working on the truck, we had finished. All that was left to be done was packing and organizing. Jana and I had some downsizing to do and I don't want to take anymore of your time. Thanks for reading, we'll be in touch.

Oh yea! Thanks again so much for your help Ross, this trip would not be as much fun if you didn't get involved. The Surfari Mobile is complete I couldn't be happier.