This is a trip we were trying to do for so long. Last year we had it booked but a hurricane changed our plans and we changed our tickets at the last minute. We were not going there during a hurricane. You see tropical systems off the coast of Nicaragua change the wind direction and you just can't have that when you are planning a trip to Nica. Nicaragua's SW coast is blessed with a constant offshore breeze. The trade winds blow across from the Caribe, hit lake Managua, pick up speed and haul right out into the pacfic where they groom large south swells that have traveled from as far away as New Zealand and Antarctica before roaring ashore on the coast of Central America, thus making for perfect surfing conditions. Wind is so important to surfers and Nica has the perfect wind. Nica is a surfing paradise. So we left Miami and arrived at the Surf Sanctuary later that night. Immediately, a huge local storm hit the coast and it rained cats and dogs for hours with lightning knocking out the power. We had planned on updating this website with our daily adventures but that idea was lost with the electricity. The next morning the river had broken out from the heavy rain. The surf was 4ft and glassy but low tide and water the color of yoo-hoo were a set back. We were worried about getting sick but the locals assured us that wasn't going to happen. Still, we looked for the peak closest to blue water and surfed that for a bit. Tony took off on a beautiful left and backdoored one incredible tube section before flying out. He later said that was one of his top10 barrels. So that session was not all lost...
That's the way it is in Nicaragua. Even if the conditions are not totally perfect (even though they usually are) you can still get some of the best waves of your life. We ate breakfast and then decided to go hiking looking for different waves, checking out the countryside and looking for cleaner water. Nicaragua on the coast is beautiful. It's just as pretty as Costa Rica and very undeveloped. It was like going back in time and the three of us were like young kids on an adventure. Hiking through the woods, exploring new areas, swimming in the tide pools while we waited for the tide to switch, building forts, going fishing and of course surfing lots of waves. This trip was as much adventure as any guy could want. There is not really any place close by outside the camp to buy food, local transport is the bicycle and we were stuck walking. We walked everywhere. We walked for miles. It was great though! We felt healthy and energized, taking in every small detail of the Nica landscape. The wave out back takes a bit of getting used to. It has many faces and sometimes the barrel just grinds and sometimes it's a bit floppy. Meaning it opens and shuts quickly. Other times it peaks up or just flat out tunnels. When I finally started getting the hang of it and feeling more confident, I enjoyed some absolute sick drain pipes. The popular peak down the beach is a more open faced wave and it's crowded with local kids but out front the lines are quick and the barrels wide open. Depending on the wave you would either have to stall to stay in or race to get out. The lips are pretty thick from that So Pac 15 second groundswell and we all had some tough wipeouts! But to be sitting in the tube looking out at the beautiful landscape, that's what felt like the real Nicaraguan surfing experience. By the time we left we were surfed out and sore, rashed up and so tired. Still, it's so hard to walk away from perfect tubes and I wished we could've stayed longer.
Board Problems
Team Duct Tape
We flew from MCO and as soon as we got to the AA counter the clerk and the manager were waiting for us. First question: "How many boards do you have?" Mike is such a cool guy, and a devout Christian and he told the latter in plain truth, "3 boards." Then she made him open his bag and she counted the boards. Next question: "Paying with a credit card?" $300 dollars later our boards were checked and ready for an ungodly torture that no fine, hand-crafted surf product should ever have to go through. Of course the flight was delayed 2 hours so we are at the gate now in Miami with those huge windows looking out onto the tarmak. I said "Hey Mike, check it out, there are board bags laying in the middle of the runway and two trucks speeding right at them." Out jumps a guy I can only describe as "Chris Farley in an AA grounds crew uniform with a full-on mohawk". He picks up the board bags and chucks them full force into the truck bed. They speed off to the cart they fell off of. We had a good laugh thinking 'suckers'! We were talking about the saps whose boards got damaged, releived that they weren't our bags. All the way to Managua we're cracking jokes about Chris Farley the AA guy throwing boards. The jokes went on: Mohawk Farley as the pilot driving the plane, window open, smoking a cig, 'get r done'! We were laughing so hard! On the ground in Nica we see a cart full of shredded board bags.. not ours, 'ha, ha' still no clue. Then, the the harrowing three hour long drive to Surf Sanctuary, equal to our EC drive but bumpy roads, pitch black, huge semis honking, people and dogs in the street, a single lighbulb in every casita, jack knife turns, three hours later we arrive in the dark. Unpacking our bags was a scene from a surfing horror film: shredded glass and foam everywhere. Our bags were ripped, it was like someone had went on a knife wielding spree. Our rails were crushed. We were so bummed! What does a surfer do? No one has a board to rent and we want to surf in the am. Tony was so bummed, en vez de llorar(instead of crying)- he nutted it up and with the help of a large roll of duct tape pieced his board back together enough to surf it. 
Nica Real life excerpts from the e-mail I finally got through to my wife after she was scared sick at not being able to contact us for days:'We are so pissed at AA they have made travelling a nightmare. it stormed almost every night at surf snacvtuary
the days were beautiful but every night at midnight was a hurricane. we lost power fro over 2 days. we had no candles no light
it was pitch black we used our watches to see our way to the bathroom. lots of noises, geckos and bats i did not sleep to
well but it was a complete blast and as much adventuire as any 38 yr old man could want, the country is very undeveloped and pristine.
we walked everywhere, barely and rarely ate,
got sunburned, rashed and sore but super tubed. Tony was really cool and got us out of jams with his wit and humor evryone loved him
and hooked us up, and we all got along really good. We swam in tide pools went fishing, built forts, took a boat up the coast
and walked miles through fields and beaches I lost weight and Im more toned from surfing so much. Nica is beautiful on the coast and not too nice in the towns.
the people are very different from the friendly ticos. some were nice...
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