Nov Update late in Dec

It came and went like a summer breeze. Special thanks to everyone who helped make it a very special day for my new wife and I. November isn't know for rain, but this year has been really wet and around 4pm everyday it seems to pour as if it were July. The day of the wedding the sky grew dark as it rained nearby but not a drop was had in Playa Garza.

Marriage is a new journey for me and I am happy to have found someone to share my life with. Francela brings happiness to everything she does. I truly hope we can defy all the odds when it comes to successful marriages that are filled with happiness. No doubt its a tough journey but with simplicity, communication, and real love I think its going to come easy.

Somewhere in Costa Rica

October brings excitement to our world!

So imagine you're horseback riding in the USA. It would consist of large groups and horses so old that if they even thought about a gallop, it would mean heart failure. The pure thought of something happening outside the "Bubble Norm" would result in lawsuits and business downfall.
Now I bring you to my world. A small ranch outside of Arenal and San Carlos, CR where my Fiance's sister has managed to yet again give us something memorable. We were given our horses and told to follow. Having not been on a horse in years I said what the hell. Twenty minutes later we were all in full gallops and racing through the valleys. Never ending views of mountains and stream in the horizon as we raced to an imaginary finish line. There were four of us and an instructor.
It was one of the most amazing days until reality settled in. As I passed my Fiance and her sister I was victorious in my own head. But wait, Francela's horse is fiercely approaching and takes the lead. A closer look reveals there is no longer Francela riding the horse as the saddle bounces sideways falling to the ground. As I look back I notice she has fallen and appears to be in a daze. As I approach her I notice she is covered in mud as the giant mud pit at the bottom of the valley seemed to have broken her fall. Trying not to cry she says she's alright but I know from the speeds we were traveling that there was no way in hell she didn't take a beating. A small kiss to tell her I am sorry, as I reached for my camera and captured these photos below. Moral to the story is don't run horses downhill, value life everyday, and if you break out a camera it makes everything better! Enjoy the day.





Two days later I took a ride in this thing to finish a video job . I have flown lots in my life. Small and large plans but never like this. Feet above the ocean at about 100mph racing through the waves is enough to give anyone a hard on. It was the smoothest flight of my life. The German pilot seemed to be able to fly in his sleep.

Dia en Familia

Our Saturdays are not spent at the mall. They don't consist of traffic jams or imax theaters. This is a common weekend for us. Hell its also sometimes our daily routine mixed with a little bit of work. I really enjoy this quality of life thing.

Two Leos dancing in the sunset. Francela (right) took it to the next level when she invited Gabby (left) to a dinner party with our DISCO BALL! Later they broke out the hulahoops which was followed by Salsa. I have to remind Francela that , though I am really dark, I am still a white boy with no rhythm . I never would have imagined a life full of dancing and laughing but hell life is full of surprises and now I can't imagine a life without it. I just need to learn how to move my hips :)


The great thing about her is she just does what she feels like and where ever she feels like doing it. It is always with %100 passion.



And for this I am greatful because I could be teamed up with some money hungry cunt who only wants material things....

bienvenidos a Nicaragua

We packed our boards and headed for a 3 day venture into somewhat familiar territory.Three hours North of Nosara, Costa Rica is the border for Nicaragua. Slow rolling Costa Rica turns into Slower Rolling Nicaragua aka NICA. . Popoyo and Rancho Santana are not secrets in the surfing community, none-the-less we couldn't couldn't help but get excited seeing the chest to head high barrels breaking close to the beach.



A friendly hostel at 10$ a person was located directly in front of this break. Dinner rates were about 5-7$ a night. On the final night I splurged and bought lobster/steak for a pricey $10. Did we mention the food was incredible? Anyhow, while Nicaragua is no longer the road less traveled, it sure as hell made our Visa renewals a pleasant one.


Along for the ride was my good Costa Rican friend Alfredo who despite all the negativity with the two countries, decided to check it out. Life is full of surprises when you look outside of the box. I enjoy feeding off of other's energy

Paula and Fabi

In Nov I will become Tio Graham to these two girls. They both are full of life and energy and carry the biggest smiles on a regular basis. I at one point was stuck in a car in Downtown San Carlos with the alarm going off with just the two of them in the back seat. Instead of them freaking out crying during all the siren noises they decided to sing along. While they sang I was shitting my pants not knowing how I would ever get the damn thing to go off. Either way fun stuff.

Link to wedding!

http://www.momentville.com/FrancelaYGraham


here is a link for family trying to plan travels to our wedding..

Please pass this link to family in the UK as well.

Low Season = High Season in my eyes

May came and brought the rain. Well needed rain at that. Things turn green almost over night and the place comes alive. The tourist seem to scatter back to the states to enjoy the summer months making this place heaven. I've never been one to want to be cluttered with anything other than a shit ton of photos and memories that I can tell stories about and take to my grave. Live your life simple but live you life well. It's not hard and not for everyone , but if you are one who desires change then change. The clock doesn't stop ticking for anyone anywhere.

attempt 2

NosaraShack.com from projectgfs on Vimeo.

Attempt 1 gopro HD Nosara CR

This is for my mother. Thanks for the toy. I'm still learning the best way to position it but good things to come. Love and miss you guys, Graham

“If you want to be happy, be.”

Playa Pelada is still today one of my favorite places for many reasons. This just being one of them. Enjoy Easter See you guys soon!

Save Now

PHOTO WHORES GALORE!

And everybody here is a cloud
and everybody here will evaporate



you came up from the ground
from a million little pieces

have you found where your place is?

I Do

Sunset wedding North Pelada. Killing the time as I look forward to visiting the family in April then hopefully a couple of weeks in PAVONES in May...... May 6th is my birthday for any family member that has forgotten. I will be umm.. shit.. Old enough to have gray hairs but young enough to surf twice a day and run for miles :) ... Oh and I take paypal and credit cards if you are worried about getting my gift to me.. :) Visit nosarashack.com to see our daily surf photography. adios, g

zomg mi corazon tiene luz!!! nOOOO!!! MAKE IT STOP!!!

For valentines day I dropped in on this lovely chick making her go over the falls. It's the only time I have ever seen her angry with me. The look on her face was priceless. Thing is she surfs as good as I do and when she did the Florida paddle around on a head high plus set, I decided to drop in anyways. While I was getting a great little tube, I could hear her getting worked going over the falls..... happy v-tines day my dear!!! I don't think I have said I am sorry so many times in my life.. Kudos to you my dear Francela! and for the photo above: We saw and photo and decided why not attempt to do our own version with a little twist.

Below photo for www.nosarashack.com.. the best freaking surf website in Nosara Costa Rica

Fui a Marbella con mis amigos hoy!

Micheal on the left and Alfredo on the right are two funny ass Ticos when you get them together. Alfredo climbed a twenty foot tree and kicked out pipa (coconuts) for everyone to eat and drink. Agua de Pipa ,like everyone here knows, is a natural energy drink and the meat is almost like a meal itself. What better way to start the surf session. I actually ate way too much after this photo. Good thing I shot photos for the next hour...


Micheal is young yet explosive. He rides a somewhat decent board but it's still broken in half. Imagine how he would ride on good equipment.


Alfredo's in the same boat. His boards are old but his style is explosive. Big turns and lots of reverses...

We are currently working on a plan to try and get these guys some good gear.

It's easy to spend your life in routine, but I am pretty sure life isn't routine. I heard a lady mention retired life here in Nosara, Costa Rica was not for her. She decided to move back to the US and start working again. It's a constant struggle for myself as well but working my ass off for nothing back home hardly seems like the solution for me. To each his own though. I am actually pretty convinced that, although my mother and father really seem to miss seeing me, they would be more upset to have me move back.






I surf. I have for many years. I am not the greatest but I know I am not the worst. Surfing has controlled every aspect of my life since I was very young. While I don't label myself as a surfer and my travel destinations are not always surf ones, I live for this shit. If I have a family it's important for them to be a part of it as well. It's a life full of health, nature, travel, people, motion, simplicity, and some of the most incredible sunrises and sunsets. A recipe for happiness in my eyes. I would love to have material things but I know myself. A week of having a brand new house I would get bored with it. I constantly crave new things and excitement verses consistency in this world.

Stay black yall!

ZOMFG! like, my camera is 900 megapixels and I have a 700mm zoom lens at 1.0. It takes photos by itself and puts them online while I sleep.....

nope, and if I had a darkroom and my 35mm I would be doing that over digital mundo. So pardon my color calibration on my 200$ laptop while I continue freeze moments

in time.


So hot, So dry, So Flat, June rains sound good about now..

and this is the word of Graham

Unlike the cold winter back home, there's no snow in the forecast here. Would be nice to see though. The sun is incredibly brutal this time of year during mid day. Sunblock sells for around $10 bucks a tube making it too rich for my blood. Needless to say, I am pretty damn tan at the moment. I always get kicks out of emails and conversations from people besides my family who actually read my blogs. If one doesn't understand my shit for a sense of humor,one obviously would not understand my run-on sentences and pointless ramblings. I live a good honest life and there are very few things I take serious. Our time here is very short. I come from a family of hippies, this is true. They taught me the real meaning of living. Giving, sharing, Loving (currently working on this one!) and how to live a full life. So pardon me if I step on any toes during my writing. It's truly unintentional and I am always open to listen but be warned I can also be very opinionated when it comes to certain things. I am proud to be Gringo because that is what I am but I am more proud to be an earthling. The people of any culture in the end know what's best for their culture not North Americans. If the "real" North Americans were still around they would probably back me on this one. Oh wait, we befriended then killed them. So in the end Costa Rica is a beautiful rich country with great places and humble people. God help the outer influences on them! While the American Project may have started out as a project of reforestation I can argue the fact that still is in the best interest.(I commend you guys who strive to keep it this way) ...

I would love to document where our trash really goes once it leaves here. How safe our water really is. Large development. How the gas station really opened up. What is run by drug money here and so on but I can't because I have started hanging out with the coolest chick ever and all I can do is fucking smile......

Either way have a great freaking day and don't take me serious because I sure as hell don't!~~!!@@#!#$

Bienviendos Nosara

Things people don't tell you about Nosara. Well because I have been spending so much time in Playa Guiones I realized I have lost one of the many reason I ever moved to this country...

I moved here to absorb culture, experience life, surf less crowded spots, and hang out with spanish speaking beauties. In the beginning it all seemed so real but like anywhere any time when we get somewhat comfortable we have these tendencies to resort back to old habits and ways.

Today I realized that I am fully surrounded by North Americans. I mean living in South Florida was more culture than Playa Guiones.. If I had a dime for every Yoga girl and Surf Student here I would be able to fund the next 20 years of my travels. When Ticos spend 80% of their day speaking English you know something is screwed...

If you don't know anything about Nosara its pretty simple. Playa Guiones is in the American Project. Meaning some gringos bought up a shit load of land and sectioned it off and labeled it with the dumbest name I have ever heard. "Proyecto Americano" is simple. 20 Surf schools, giant north american yoga centers, expensive land, a few bars, old gringos with money trying to date young women because they have no chance back home, and a consistantly shitty wave that has no proper form....

This is "High Season" Playa Guiones, Costa Rica... Bienviendos Nosara!

I think it's time to travel and wait for High Season to end~

NIC

For those who don't know the process for Gringos without residency it goes like this: every 90 days we have to do a visa run which is usually either a quick trip to the states or a 3 hr drive to Nicaragua. Panama this time of year is also a smart option because you're probably going to catch it good! We decide to drive to Nicaragua at a place called Rancho Santana (5hr total time from Nosara). The waves this time of year are a bit smaller and it's the off season. Needless to say we still had a great time, caught some waves, had some laughs, and ate some great food.