and no vacation is complete without a trip to home depot

The water was a lot calmer the second day we were here than it was the last time in Maz though the first day the waves were pretty big and sounded like buildings falling down every time they crashed into the shore. I did go out the first day but after watching the good surfers eat shit I was surprised I got up on the board at all. After getting banged around for an hour I decided to rest. Good thing, because the next day (day this pic was taken) conditions were perfect.

Rare to get beginner waves at Olas Altas but we got them. Also, the water is unseasonably warm. We saw one jelly fish. There are a lot of sting rays on the ocean floor though so have to watch out for those. I stepped on two today, and though neither stung me one mouthed my foot. Good thing I haven't washed it lately. The ray spit it out. The waves should be getting bigger next week (3 - 6 foot waves as opposed to 1 - 3 foot waves). Hopefully I'll continue to do okay on the bigger waves.

One of the hazards of surfing (especially jumping on the board as opposed to sitting on the board) is banged up knees. This is after the first day of surfing. They've turned a nice purple color now.

The bike shop off Olas Altas. FH and I rented bikes for two hours to go to Home Depot. The hurricane down here did some damage to his house including the roof, causing a lot of water damage. I spent a day scrubbing mold off the walls and cleaning the floors. Fun to take a bike ride through traffic and tourists except that my bike chain kept falling off. Luckily FH knows how to fix anything.

Home Depot at Mazatlan. Same as the one in Denver but more mexican.

At the far left of this picture is FH's friend Willy, who takes care of shit while FH is back in the US. He is a member of a band and they were playing at the closing of this bar (owners spent too much time smoking pot and drinking to run the bar according to local gossip). The band was good but FH and I have been getting up at 630 every morning since the dudes come around 8 to work on the roof so around midnight we decided to head home.