Soul Rider Travel Blog

New Years in Maui

noreply@blogger.com (SoulRiderGirl) — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 00:38:00 +0000

After Christmas, it was back to the beach for more kiteboarding!

Launching in the midst of a Cabrinha shred session.

A Maui New Year's Eve!:

A rainy New Years Day hiking the Iao Needle!

Rain means waterfalls everywhere!

Dude there's class 5 in Maui!

Taking Kite Lessons, Maui style:

Why to take kite lessons:

When the wind died down, we toured around the island....

and found some great hikes down by the beach, and...

on top of the island at 10,000 feet up at Haleakala!

We also found some mellow relaxing sedate disc golf at Kaanapali:

Later we felt like getting a little dirty, so we embarked on an epic expedition to find Jaws....

Just before leaving for the mainland, we had to get one more paddleboard session in! This shot is taken one hour before takeoff! Yah!

We were really sad to leave, but HEY, WE'LL BE BACK!
"Shaka to ya frada cuz yur mutha nuddin budda bradda!"

Christmas on Maui's North Shore

noreply@blogger.com (SoulRiderGirl) — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 21:03:00 +0000

We went to Maui and discovered a whole new passion: kiteboarding!

Several of the days were somewhat stormy, but there were many perfect days at Kite Beach.

This Maui trip was one of those benchmark experiences that will never be forgotten. There's just something about spending Christmas in a tropical place while learning the raddest sport ever with your family. Waaaaaay cool!

This is the "Pro Beach" scene where the super shredders from Cabrinha Kites hang out. (All the rippers like Cabrinha because they have the most progressive and innovative engineers.)

Brothers in the ultimate playground.

We stayed just a couple miles up from Kite Beach in a shacky house right on the water. This was the view from our deck at Spreckels.

When we weren't in Haiku with the rest of the fam, the typical evenings looked like this.

We also enjoyed some great hikes near Haiku.

This hike led through the lush jungle to some nice waterfalls and swimming holes.

Dave's Tarzan imitation.

Check out someone's fence in Haiku. He must be a gnarly Waterman!

Paddleboarding is the other fun sport we learned! (Super thanks to Bri for providing the boards!)

Basically a combination of surfing and kayaking, its surprisingly challenging in the waves - but still a lot of fun on the flat water. One advantage it has over kayaking, is the ability to look straight down into the clear water to see the reef. I'm hooked!

The calm water on the Kihei/Lahaina side. Char was thoughtful enough to tell us we were snorkeling in the tiger shark breeding grounds AFTER we swam in!

Every day that there was good wind, we found ourselves back in the water kiteboarding!

Bri rippin' up the waves.

Dave practicing his air turns.

One day, we all did a nice lava hike out to an excellent snorkeling area.

It was hard to believe, but this was just a couple days before Christmas!

Hookipa on Christmas morning!

More pics from the rest of our trip coming soon..........

Gooseberry Mesa Wedding

noreply@blogger.com (SoulRiderGirl) — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 06:23:00 +0000

Peering into Zion National Park from Gooseberry Mesa, a world class biking destination and the site of M&A's wedding.

The stars of the show!

Their week long wedding included a few GROUP rides....here's a snippet of a few of the 80+ people that biked Little Creek Mesa one day.

Even the senior citizens were out in full force!

Carvin' up the slickrock in southern Utah.

Peering down into Little Creek, with Gooseberry Mesa and Zion in the backdrop.

Thanks to Matt and the ultimate mountain bike tour company, Rim Tours for the shuttles!
BTW, it was estimated that at least $500,000 worth of high-end bikes were scattered about the site.

On the epic Gooseberry Mesa loop ride!

For the mountain bikers reading this, HERE is a more detailed description of the trails we rode with more pictures, a map, and a GPX file of the rides on The Mud Blog. Check it out!

Scenes from the Wedding:

Despite the urging from the crowd, no fight tonight.

Disco dance party Van Smooch style!

The next day after the wedding celebration, we rode the fabulous JEM trail....or part of it. My dad tried to show off by bombing full speed down a rock garden and ended up breaking his hip in 3 places.

Why is everyone smiling??!!??

Luckily an emergency helicopter was nearby (another biker has just broken a hip also), and was able to air lift him to safety.

So, we'll all be back soon....gotta finish that JEM Trail!

Congrats to M & A!

Adventure Trip '07 - Pics of the Oregon Coast

noreply@blogger.com (SoulRiderGirl) — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 04:21:00 +0000

On our way back down from the Gorge, we cruised down the scenic Oregon coast. It was relaxing and gave us time to recover from all the biking, kayaking, and kiteboarding near Hood River.

This spot reminded me of the Goonies! I swear a pirate ship was going to pop out of the fog any second.

Here's a short video clip of a couple spots we saw along the way; check out the waves!

After having our fill of the fog, we hit up Redwood National Forest. Seemed to be more about the rules (ie, no walking on roots, no biking, stay on road, don't do this, that, whatever...) than about the trees. We did a short grandma-type hike on a freeway-wide trail.

But it was pretty non-the-less.

Here's a short video of the trees where Star Wars was filmed:

Afterwards, we headed inland to the Trinity River and passed the gnarly Burnt Ranch Gorge run (epic class 5 run that we are scared to kayak). That night we found a great campsite on creek with emerald swimming holes. We plan to come back to explore the Trinity and kayak for sure!!

Adventure Trip '07 - So Washington & Gorge

noreply@blogger.com (SoulRiderGirl) — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 04:21:00 +0000

After the Rob and Rachel's adventure (see previous post), we headed south through the mountains in Washington. Our intention was to bomb down to the Columbia River Gorge, but somehow get stuck in the Gifford Pinochet Forest for a few days. (This was a Good "Stuck!")

As we were driving through, we ended up meeting a nice couple from northern Washington in a campground. They were out with dual sport bikes, exploring the regions many trails. They recommended a trail for us to ride that evening; "Trail 170." Since they were so nice and aided in the shuttle, we got to do a one-way bomber run!

That night we camped at one of our now all-time favorite camp spots! Totally secluded and RIGHT on the Cispus River! Hearing the roar of the river all night got us pretty pumped to kayak. Even though the river was low, we learned that there was a runnable class 3-4 section up above our campsite. The Gorge had to wait another day; we were hitting the river!

The River was running at 415 cfs. In some cases, it seemed like the river was much harder at the low level. There were certainly some solid rapids, and a river wide strainer. One rapid was probably the hardest and scariest rapid i have ever run. Dave wanted me to walk it. I am SO bummed we don't have a picture of this...but it got my certainly got my heart pounding!

Driving south, we came across Iron Horse Falls - a short hike to an amazingly scenic spot!

Soon after, we ended up riding Falls Creek Trail; a cross country bike ride that had miles of singletrack lined with black berries!

This classic Washington ride had some interesting volcanic features creeks, waterfalls, and a precipitous flowy trail that dropped for the last few miles!

Fun!

Here's a shot of the creek, just before the trail drops a couple thousand feet!

After biking, we checked out the Klickitat Spit on the Gorge for kiteboarding. Our equipment was old and screwed up, and we got worked. Enough said...but we gave it several tries at least.

Its a cool scene to check out - especially the Hood River Spit on the Oregon side.

Nearby is Post Canyon - one of the best places to bike in the US! Lots of freeriding and cross country trails connecting all the way to Mt Hood. Along with Black Rock Trails, Post Canyon is among the best places to legally ride stunts and jumps outside of Whistler Mountain bike park!

This is the end of a long ladder stunt that basically drops down a cliff at Post Canyon. Below is a video of a section of trail nearby:

After riding we met another kiteboarder/mountain biker that also writes guidebooks! He wrote Curious Gorge, a guide for interesting things to do in the Gorge area. We swapped books.

The Gorge area also rules for kayaking! Everything was flowing low, but we got some nice runs in at White Salmon River and the Klickitat River on the Washington side.

Thats Dave in the hole on the White Salmon.

Chillin' in a cave about half way down the run.

That night we camped by the Buck Creek Trailhead and snuck a short bike ride in before hitting the Klickitat - a wilderness run that starts at an Indian Reservation. Every corner of the River is like Devil's Postpile - AMAZING! We felt like we had gone back in time - never saw a hint of humanity on this run.

Because the run is so remote, we had to set up shuttle using our mountain bikes (no hitchhiking on this one). So a nice 20+ mile ride awaited us after kayaking! There was only one bummer though. When we got to our bikes, which were locked and stashed in the woods, we had no keys!! Luckily we were able to find an Indian working nearby who had bolt-cutters! After bribing him with 10 bucks, we were on our way!

What a trip! The Hood River/Gorge area ROCKS!

And now on to the Oregon Coast....

Adventure Trip '07 - Washington

noreply@blogger.com (SoulRiderGirl) — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 05:14:00 +0000

Playing in the Cascades!

For the days following the Whistler portion of our trip, Rob took off work and planned an action packed week. We arrived at his house around 1 am after driving from the Whistler Bike Park, and we were up and going just hours later. After a high energy breakfast, we took off driving east from the southern Seattle area.

First up was Ranger Creek Trail out in the central Washington mountains. We were sooooo stoked that Rachel shuttled us to the top of the ride. After just a little climbing, we got to descend over 3,000 feet of pure northwestern singletrack goodness! The initial views of Mount Ranier faded into blurred forest as we raced by.

After the epic ride, we met back up with Rachel and headed into Mt Rainier National Park for a hike. But before setting off on the trail, we had to enjoy a Loer-type lunch to give us energy! Ice Cream!

This fantastic hike gave us amazing views of the entire central part of the state. Peaks and peaks as far as you can see!

Ranier was as majestic as ever; and we got to see the distant mountains that we had biked on past trips (like Sun Tops).

As always, the hike was extremely enjoyable with our fun and spastic company!

The best viewpoint of all was at the end of the hike, complete with a ranger's fire lookout. Dave, of course, hiked right by the "do not enter" signs and hiked up on the lookout building. He noticed that a window was open, and the building unsecure. So he decided to close it up, just in case some vandal-type hikers might come and steal supplies. (There was a fresh supply bag laying right there.)

Only a few minutes after locking everything up, he noticed a ranger aid far down the mountain side working on some project. Only then did he realize that he just locked the man out of the building...along with his bag of supplies!!

Rob couldn't believe it! But, somehow i'm not so surprised!

Check out the pictures below: its the exact same shot; the first is at 10X zoom, while the 2nd is a normal shot:

Next day was the most random we've yet had with Rob and Rachel. We went Scuba Diving! (I snorkeled since I'm lame and not scuba certified yet.)

Most people don't think of the Puget Sound as a great place to Scuba Dive. At least I never did. But there is some amazing underwater sights...its actually awesome! From the rare Rat Fish, that look like giant rats with fins and bulging eyeballs, to the biggest star fish I've ever seen and huge ling cod; Seattle has some great diving! BUT drysuits are recommended...we were froooooozen!

After diving, the 4 of us went on a cruising tour and ended up docking at Tides Tavern, Rob and Rachel's favorite place to eat! It was right on the water with views of Ranier in the distance - and the food was oohhh sooo goooood! This was a really great day and special for Dave and I - something we don't normally do.

Next day: Back on the bike! Our original plan was to kayak the Skagit River all day, but the flows were just too low this year. So we went for an old classic: biking Tiger Mountain!

This time Rob didn't pull a "Ripper Man" (he sings White Zombie, stands up to show off while pedaling hard uphill, but the chain snaps and goes flying 20 feet away)... until the end of the ride.

There was the big log ride/drop that was really scary the first time we rode it, a couple years ago. But, this time it was tiny!!

Next up was mountain biking along the Middle Fork of the Snowqualomie. Again, this would have been a multi-sport adventure if the river was running a little higher. But the bike ride was excellent!

After riding, we were exhausted so went shopping for deals at the big Seattle REI. We found nothing and decided to go home and watch the newest James Bond movie with Rachel. But then we got all pumped again!! So we had to go do another late night skateboard around the neighborhood! Whohoo!

Unfortunately, the next day was the last with Rob and Rachel for now. We ended up having time to kayak around his local lake and hang out a bit. Cant Wait until next time!!

Adventure Trip '07 - Northwest & Whistler

noreply@blogger.com (SoulRiderGirl) — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 04:14:00 +0000

After our epic adventures in Northern California, we kept heading north towards Canada. We were in a bit of a hurry, with plans to meet up with friends, but we were able to make a stop in Falls City, Oregon at Black Rock Trails. This park undoubtedly has some of the best freeride mountain bike trails in the U.S. Stoked! Check out more on that here!!

After spending a couple days in the area, we cruised up to Seattle to hang with Rob and Rachel on our way to Whistler.
As usual Rob kept us up late; running around dancing, and skateboarding all over the neighborhood. His neighbors must love him! Who wouldn't want to hear Rob Zombie blasting and 3 sets of skateboard wheels racing all the nearby roads at 3 A.M.!??!

Unfortunately we had to bail the next day (after a HUGE Loer-style breakfast) for the drive to Whistler. We camped at Squamish (picture above) on the Howe Sound. Its like Yosemite, but its on the ocean with several world class rivers and creeks pouring in... Oh, and an overwhelming amount of sick trails everywhere!

And... its near Whistler:

For the next 4-5 days, we were an hour north of Squamish: biking Whistler Mountain Bike Park!

Raaaaad!!!!

I never take pictures here....its just too much fun to stop and grab the camera. Fortunately Jay got a couple shots on a couple trails.

There is no wonder that this is the most famous place to bike in the world. Whistler is simply that awesome! And, I already cant wait to go back...

My favorite trails are Dirt Merchant and A-Line, super groovy banked rollercoaster dream rides with endless tabletops, step ups, etc. Dave and Jay seemed to ride the gnarliest, steepest, ruttiest, cliffiest, hardcore trails with big drops into pure sketchiness; like Captain Saftety and Clown Shoes.

The conditions were slimy and slick on the double black diamond type trails (like, REALLY scary!) and pretty perfect on the jumper trails. Its been a huge snow and rain year for B.C., and it seemed to rain some each day.

Dave and I got a day in before Jay arrived, and then we rode for 3 out of the next 4 days. On the day off, we pedalled Kill Me Thrill Me and I rode A River Runs Through It, a cross country trail with nonstop ladders and structures. There's a lot of unique features...a fun form of bike artwork.

One of the last days at the Bike Park, I followed Jay down Rock City and went for one of the scary cliff rocks. But I accidentally tapped the brakes, which seemed natural since it accelerates you straight into slimy roots and dense trees. BUT, with a moist steep granite face, this is obviously the wrong thing to do. I slammed down on my hip. It hurt so bad i almost threw up. The resulting giant black and blue bruise hurt for the next 2 months. LAME! So i didn't get to ride as hard as I wanted towards the end of the Whistler section of our trip.

But the last day Dave and Jay charged! They ran all the scary stuff, including the huge sketchy drop on Clown Shoes.

The Whistler Village is a pretty happening night. One night, there seemed to be a band at every bar and restaurant. We ended up watching an exhibition by Ryan Leech (#1 Trials biker in the world) at a bar one of the nights.

Here's a short video of some of his stunts, but i missed most of it:

This is a photo of A River Runs Through It. Most of the trail is actually wood!

The only bummer about this portion of our trip was that we didn't get to kayak in southern British Columbia. Part of the problem was that we simply ran out of time. But also, the rivers were running very high and coooold. Everything seemed to be class 5, and boaters from all over the continent were kayaking in huge creek boats with full dry suits. So basically, we were feeling a little under-gunned.

The picture below is the Cheakamus River, which i WILL kayak next time! We camped nearby and ran around on the trails and met some east-coast boaters. One cool guy from South Carolina (or at least he seemed cool) promised to leave dave an older creek boat for free. When we got there, some other dude with earrings all over his body claimed to know him and snaked it! Oh well, we were completely exhausted from nonstop biking anyway! And, we'll be back!

Next up after Whistler: Rob's Adventure week in Washington!

Adventure Trip '07 - North California

noreply@blogger.com (SoulRiderGirl) — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 04:04:00 +0000

Our 2007 camper trip commenced in the Eastern Sierra, where i've spent a portion of almost ever summer of my life....at the Virginia Lakes cabin.

It used to be kindof relaxing; i'd fish a lot and always read at least one book. Now this seems impossible! There's too much to do!

One highlight this year was having ALL of the Blocks there, with Andy, BillyJoe, and Ellerine.

Right off the bat, we did the "annual family bike ride," which descends through aspens and meadows and over creeks. One of the prettiest settings anywhere for a bike ride!

When Andy arrived, we jumped right into a game wilderness Frisbee golf followed by some intense mountain volleyball. Any attempt to fish or read, got distracted by these sorts of games or with a predictably heated debate over theology with my dad.

Here's some sweet actions shots from Frisbee Golf!

One of the days, we ALL decided to hike Black Mountain for the first time in years! This is a big hike with lots of elevation gain, and some of the best views in the Sierras!

A detailed description of this great hike is on the Sierra Sojourner Blog!

Here's a pic of the family relaxing on Red Lake after the hike.

The next day our legs were feeling a little worked, so we motorcycled up the jeep roads to the flanks of Dundenburg Mountain to enjoy the views. Jeff and Leanna 4x4'd their brand new truck...he drove well, but it still was a little bit scary watching!

After the Virginia Lakes trip, we went north to TAHOE, and met up with Jay and Kira. We pedalled a fast paced ride on the Bench Trail, which has some great technical section and ends with a sweet view of the lake. These bike trails are depicted here.

From here, we drove towards Mt SHASTA. We kayaked the mysterious McCloud River and rode a sweeeeeet freeride trail nearby. The couple days we spent in this area was certainly one highlight of the trip. A full description with pictures and video is on Sierra Sojourner.

Photos from Maui in May!

noreply@blogger.com (SoulRiderGirl) — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 02:49:00 +0000

A typical evening on Maui!

First night saying at the Elvis hotel in Kihei.

Played tennis almost every day!

Sweeeet longboard waves right out from the condo in Lahaina. Thats my dad kayaking.

Surfing with whales and Molokai in the background.

Small, but we got the place to ourselves!

Mom's 60th birthday dinner on the beach.

Hiking in the Io Valley....there's a large piton in a rain forest with a killer creek flowing through the gorge.

Boogie boarding at that famous beach near Hana.

One of the all-time best short hikes! This is past Hana in the Haleakala National Park.

It passes wild fruit trees, water holes, a thick bamboo forest and ends at a 400 waterfall!

Just below the hike is the famous 7 Sacred Pools!

Carribean Cruise

noreply@blogger.com (SoulRiderGirl) — Sat, 20 Jan 2007 16:48:00 +0000

If you want to feel like a really really rich spoiled person, go on a cruise in the Carribean! That was our very first impression. The all-you-can-eat gourmet food (even sushi!), constant room service, and deluxe accommodations felt a bit foreign to us, but we got used to it real fast! Well, maybe not the times we ate dinner dressed in tuxedos/dress. The pools/hot tubs, gym and miniature golf course were more our style!

The best thing of all was that you sleep while the ship is moving, and wake up on a different island each day! The first of the Carribean Islands was Saint Thomas. Jon, Angie, Dave and I taxied over to a rad beach where we snorkeled the reef and laid out in the sun. Then we hooked up with some New Yorker indoor players and played beach vball for the rest of the day.

Next in Saint Martin, the entire family went to another beach resort area. Once again we found a volleyball court on the white sandy beach. We played after snorkeling some recent ship wrecks and swimming around.

On most of the nights, after having an excursion on the various islands, we’d play a game (of mini golf, basketball, shuffleboard, or something like that) and then hang out on our ocean-side deck until dinner. You could go to one of the all-you-eat-places (our favorite was the windjammer), or to the fine dinning experience in the Great Room (which feels like your in the Titanic movie). Here, we’d have the multi-course meals with food like lobster or filet and wine. There’d always be 3 waiters on our table swarming around giving you bread or de-shelling my shrimp. Weird, but fun experience.

Oh, and when you get back to your room, it would be cleaned for the 3rd time that day with funky towl origami decorations on the bed and often a bottle of wine. Then we’d go off to the theater and see a show or go watch people lose money in the casino.

Next up was Antigua. When we got off the ship, we were basically attacked with taxi drivers. We walked all over their capital city looking for a car to

rent, so we could explore the island. Never found it. We explored a little bit, and then decided to get a taxi to another beach. It was pretty mellow. The visibility wasn’t good, so we swam a little and laid around. Then we found a volleyball court and played a couple games before heading back to the ship.

One of the coolest things was waking up before sunrise to watch as the ship comes into port. Not only do you get to see the sunrise, but also more of the island is visible. Our pattern was to get up early and jog around the track on the top of the ship while enjoying the sights, then hit the weight room after we pulled into port.

The next island was my favorite! St. Lucia. This island had some steep and crazy mountainous terrain and was super lush. The people were all nice and smiley too! We booked a 7 ½ hour tour through the cruise line that drove across part of the island and then took a catamaran back. We stopped at fishing villages, at the local volcano, and stopped to get a great local meal. Then we saw the islands most famous features – the pitons – these steep volcanic mountain that rise up 2500 feet above the ocean. Really scenic!

The last day we hit Barbados. We took another catamaran out to snorkel with the turtles. This was way cool, as I have never swam with (and been pulled by) sea turtles. The trip back was extra fun for everyone since they were handing free carribean rum drinks. After this, we walked around, saw a local fish market and went swimming again.

The last full day of the cruise was spent at sea all day. To entertain ourselves we played more mini golf and shuffleboard. Jon, Dave and I entered the dodgeball tournament and our team won it. There was also a big rock climbing wall that was scary! (Scary for me – not for dillers). So we did that a couple times. Now the trip is sadly coming to an end…buuuuumer. The Caribbean is Rad! Im sure we’ll be back!

Las Olas de Shacks Beach

noreply@blogger.com (SoulRiderGirl) — Sat, 20 Jan 2007 16:46:00 +0000

Another beach day filled with plenty of sun, sand, and huge waves! Right now we’re supporting the local bar – sitting out by the hay bales with some pina coladas and cheese!

Oh, the kiteboarders have been going off!!! This Shacks Beach/Jobos Beach area is really cool!

Blue Hole & Rain Forest Caves

noreply@blogger.com (SoulRiderGirl) — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 00:43:00 +0000

The Blue Hole just happens to be right in front of our house! A great snorkeling reef with a giant hole in the reef that drops down into a giant circle of caves, slots, and eery blue sand. With a large variety of fish and good visibility, this was our best day of snorkeling so far!

Afterwards, we went down the beach to try kiteboarding. The wind was down, so we thought it wouldn’t be so scary. I rode for a short bit before the wind died. At one point I accidentally dropped the kite way over to the side, past the beach, above the bank, over the bushes - then it disappeared somewhere behind. Somehow the kite survived getting ripped up. So, I swore I wouldn’t make that mistake again!
Hmm….About 10 minutes later, I did it again.

This time much worse. It flew straight sideways slamming into these sharp bushes up the sandy bank and disappeared. Jon was down there with me, and we jammed up the sand dune to find it. Impenetrable vegetation kept us from even seeing where it was. Finally we found a little trail that dropped straight down 20 feet on the backside of this sandy bank. The kite was all the way up in the trees- now 20 feet above us! Jon started shaking trees, trying to do anything possible to get it down. I was busy getting attacked by gnarly biting ants.

THEN, this barking pitbull came charging out of the bushes straight for us! We were freaked and sprinted full speed up that cliffy bank, back down and straight out towards the water! What we didn’t know at first, was that the dog eventually saw the gigantic kite in the trees and ran off scared.

Nor did we realize the entertainment value for the rest of the group down the beach – all they could see was the 2 of us flying out of the bushes running for our lives! Sweating and shaking trees, we finally got the kite down –

somehow unscathed again! Anyways, every time we go kiteboarding, it seems to turn into an adventure.

We rewarded ourselves with a homemade pina colada later!
Today we drove inland to a section of the worlds 2nd largest network of caves. We all hiked a jungle trail to a large limestone cave filled with stalactites and bats. Oddly, there was a crab on one of the walls – miles from any body of water.

After trekking all over the cave, we headed straight for the beach to wash off bat poopoo! There was a great bodysurfing beach east of Jobos beach. Fun!!

Boqueron & Coconuts: Puerto Rico

noreply@blogger.com (SoulRiderGirl) — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 04:05:00 +0000

For the last couple days, Puerto Rico has been great to us! Well, sort of….. Dave contracted the flu from the airplane and has been bummin’ to the max. Last night Brian and Jon tried to cure him with a local-inspired medicine: a chocolate pina colada & ice cream concoction. Needless to say, he felt better this morning and actually made it to the beach. We drove south to Boqueron beach to a long palm lined swimming beach. Played extreme

water frisbee games and foraged for coconuts. Afterwards we found ourselves eating local food, red snapper mufongo and gumba, on the edge of a wonderful Caribbean ocean-lined sunset. The view was outstanding, but the quiet lack of people in the region was just as amazing.

Yesterday, Jon and I charged the wild currents of Jobos Beach surf spot! Without boards we donned the surf fins….and it was a good thing! There was a wicked undertoe that hauled us fullspeed out into the headhigh+ heavy waves, and almost beyond. As we were struggling

to stay in place, we realized we were also been quickly dragged down the reef away from the headland….all in a matter seconds! We both got calf and foot cramps from swimming and kicking so hard. But it was SO much fun frolicking in the rough ocean and catching some waves! Awesome!

Along with eating some yummy food at the beachfront restaurants, we’ve jogging/exploring down beaches while looking for shells, snorkeling and swimming, and trying not to step on sea urchins (a few of us have!). We’re also staying on a world class, but expert-only kitebeach. There’s been some pro kiteboarder types busting huge air on the waves….pretty cool to watch. We’re trying to find a mellower area for us to board.

Playa Marias, Puerto Rico

noreply@blogger.com (SoulRiderGirl) — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 02:00:00 +0000

First real day here! jogged on beach, swam, had a pina colada at a
beach bar and snorkelled in the evening. before I write more , need
to test this out on cell phone again.

This is from the cell phone

noreply@blogger.com (SoulRiderGirl) — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 23:10:00 +0000

What a clear, crisp day here in santa cruz: perfect for packing.
Tomorrow at 3 am, we'll be on our way to the warm carribean sun! This
is a test, as I am writing and posting fom my cell phone.

Carribean Travels 2007

noreply@blogger.com (SoulRiderGirl) — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 05:02:00 +0000

Soon we will be going to Puerto Rico, and on to cruise the islands of the Carribean - just like the pirates of old!

Welcome to the Soul Rider X Blog

noreply@blogger.com (SoulRiderGirl) — Thu, 28 Dec 2006 05:17:00 +0000

This is for the family and friends who are Soul Riders. Look for upcoming blogs in the future; and dont forget to add your comments!