Happy New Year

It has been an awesome holiday season to say the least. However, it has not been the same without my parents here. They love the holidays and have a tendency to go "all out" with decorations, food, gifts and parties. They were complaining on the phone that it only took 30 minutes to set up Christmas in their little apartment in Spain....as opposed to the two week set-up and two week take down process they are used to at home. Anyway, we are all very proud of them and the example of service they are setting for the rest of us.

The latest on my Costa Rica adventure???? mmmmm...... I hesitate to say, for fear of losing the thousands of readers who visit my blog daily.... I am moving back to the states!
There are many reasons for pulling the plug but basically what had felt right, at one time for me, changed once I got down there and got into it. I will however, continue to run my all-inclusive package tours, this allows me to live pretty much wherever I want. I am not exactly sure if I will be moving back to Salt Lake City, I am currently looking into some options to do the rest of the year, when I am not running trips. I loved every minute of my experience living down there and trying to start a rafting company. I have no regrets and take peace in the fact that I will never look back and say, "I wonder what would've happened if I had tried....." So here is my sum up of my 6 months in Costa Rica this year-

flat tires- 3
stuck in the mud- 2
mangos consumed- muchos
lung infections- 4
food poisoning- 1
trips to mechanic- 5
ocean sunsets watched- 15 (roughly)
waves attempted to surf- 500
waves actually surfed- 2.5
round trip flights to and from US- 5
attempts at a bank account-13

On a more personal note, I am grateful for the experience for many reasons, but if anything I think I am taking perspective from it. I have had friends comment from time to time on how jealous they were of me living down there. There is no doubt the place is beautiful and the activities and adventures were unforgettable, however, I couldn't help but feel often times that despite the fact that I was living in paradise, there was a certain emptiness to it. It's hard to explain, it wasn't loneliness, but more of an idle feeling.....does that make sense? Other than the unbelievable moments spent surfing, looking at the beautiful views, rafting the river, or watching the sunset, there really wasn't much else going on. So "living the dream" was not really "the dream" as you would imagine it.

The Good Old Days

My friend Kaisha put together a music video with all sorts of shots of where we live. Check it out on you tube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZLV3B1dz1U

Paparazzi

Mi casa es su casa!

So this is my place....ok, ok, I only live on the bottom floor.

Sunset view from the back patio.

View from the side of the house looking south.

The godfather gets it done!

I now have a bank account! After twelve tries and many, many hours with attorneys and bank people, I can now accept money in this country! I met with a new attorney in San Jose that supposedly had friends in high places at the bank. He looked like some sort of mafia big shot. We walked in to the bank and everyone immediately recognized him, he talked to some guy for a minute, walked back to me and in a Godfather-esque tone said (english with a thick spanish accent), "They are going to give you an account today, everything is going to be fine." Now I just need my insurance, and I am in business. I applied 3 weeks ago, and it should've only taken a few days, but the government insurance agency is backed up...and so it goes.

Broken Ribs...One Guide Down

Last week was training week for the new guides. Marcus, Zach, and I loaded up the cruiser and headed out with our new driver Alfredo. It was great to get out on the river and remember why I decided to do all this stuff in the first place. Water conditions were really high that day, but we weren't worried with 3 experienced guides and no paying customers to worry about. Things were going really well, we ran Come Gringo (Gringo Eater, pic on left) a class IV rapid right through the sketchiest part and came out with no problems. Then we got to Upper Rio Blanco another class IV rapid. The first wave we hit stopped us in our tracks and we barely got through it, but the next one was even bigger and we just didn't have the momentum to get through it, our raft dump trucked us. A dump truck is when a raft flips up and throws everyone out but the raft doesn't flip over. By the time I got back to the raft and located the other two guys, I could hear Zach groaning pretty loud. He had hit a rock on his side pretty hard in the middle of the rapid. He took it easy for a day, went surfing, said he felt ok, so we hit the river again on Friday. Once he started paddling he started the groaning again, it was obvious to us all that it wasn't just some bruise, he had cracked a rib or two, he couldn't even paddle, let alone breathe without serious pain. He flew out today. We decided to change the name of the Upper Rio Blanco rapid to Bodi Safa. You guys remember the movie Point Break with Patrick Swayze, it's terrible but it's a must see. We had nicknamed Zach Bodi, so we thought it would be a good tribute to him. We had to take this pic from a rock cause there was nobody there to take it, so it's not that great, but we had to document the Pure Life Expeditions virgin run, I hope the rest go much smoother! Marcus on the left, Bodi in the back, and me on the right.

0-11

O-11, I changed my passport this year and I guess I need to register that with the country, you think my attorney would've mentioned that 2 months ago when we were going over all this stuff.....

0-10

Seriously, 0 for 10 on attempts to open a bank account. Tomorrow is my day, I can feel it!

New Compadres

Wow, more has happened in the last 4 days to even begin to tell, it has been interesting to say the least. I have two guys who came down to help me out for a few months. Marcus and Zach are long time guides from Moab and Idaho who found me through people I used to work with down there. Their getting in touch with me has been most helpful and it's great to have helping hands with the madness. So my one bedroom bungalow landlord lady said, "NO WAY" leaving us high and dry and on the streets, however, Kaisha a friend of mine down here from Canada swooped in with the rescue. She has another friend named Tina who owns a beautiful ocean view condo and Tina is not there for a week and half. So we went from sleeping in the back of my truck to ocean views from our beds, and cable TV. I don't know how, but I convinced another lady to rent us her basement apartment, she said, "No Way" to the 3 guys in her place too, but somewhere in our conversation she changed her mind and I have no idea why! Once again where doors are closing others are opening, I am so thankful for the support of great friends here and there, I am truly never alone.

I went to church at my new branch today....where to start.....can't even go there, let's just say that in Elders Quorum today I felt like I was in an episode of "The Office" sitting in one of Michael Scott's crazy spur of the moment meetings.

More pics coming soon....

O-5

I went to the bank to make a deposit into my new bank account and apparently they made some sort of a mistake and I have to re-open an account all over again. If your just catching up on the bank saga, I have tried now 4 times to open an account and thought I was finally succesful but apparently 5 failed right at the final buzzer. I will win, I don't know how, but I am gonna give these people my business if it's the last thing I do.

Just got back from Utah for a week, went home to take care of some things and hang with an awesome girl I met a few months ago named Kim. We had a blast and it was a nice break from the craziness that I have been dealing with here. I am also glad I got to catch some conference and a week of the fall season.

My flight home was crazy, we could not land in Costa Rica so I ended up in Panama at 4 AM, they did take good care of us with hotels and such. I got sick on the flight down, fever, aches, and chills + delayed flights and traveling = perfect storm. When I got to CR I found out that the two guys flying in to work for me were nowhere to be found and they were supposed to arrive a day before me. We finally got in touch with each other that night, I am getting better, and everything is moving forward with or without a bank account. So I am hopefully moving to Dominical once and for all tomorrow. I called my landlady today to tell her that I would be moving in with two other guys and needless to say she was not pleased, 3 guys in a one bedroom bungalow....what landlord wouldn't want that? I told her we would be super clean and that she could kick us out if she wasn't happy...this could get interesting fast.

I hope I don't sound like I am complaing, cause I am having an absolute blast here and I know this is what starting a business is all about. However, maybe someday it would be nice to write something like "everything is going as planned and nothing new here".....someday.

ps- The road to Dominical is closed for two weeks because of landslides from heavy rains, now I have to take the long way (5 hours driving as opposed to 3).....touche!

Going with the flow

So yesterday I had my cruiser all packed up, ready to make my official move to Dominical when the power went out in the house, no big deal right? Well, the property is enclosed by a giant red gate that only opens and closes by electricity, brilliant! So instead of flying over a mountain road mach 10 with my hair on fire to my new place, I was stuck in this house with no way of getting out, no internet and a million things needing to get done. I had only one day to head down there and get moved in because I will be traveling all next week, pushing things another week back, so that puts me about 3 weeks behind planned schedule now. So what do you do? Fortunately and unfortunately this is what living is Costa Rica is all about. It can drive you crazy if you let it, and some days it does. I have gone to the open an account at the bank 4 times now, everytime I go they tell me I need something else. As frustrating as all of these inconveniences can get, I am thankful for them. They help me remember it's really just small stuff at the end of the day. I actually really enjoyed my afternoon and evening, I wrote in my journal, played my guitar, and took a nap in the hammock on the back patio. I don't know when I will get another afternoon like that again. Ole!

Photo Gallery

Another day at the office....

I have spent a good chunk of my time in San Jose (the capital) lately trying to get my truck put together and get bank accounts set up, work with my attorney, etc. There is a great family that has been letting me stay with them in their 6 bedroom house with a pool, yea, I did just say that. But sometimes it can get crowded with the just the 3 of us here. They are americans and their names are Darin & Kim McOwen, they have been very generous with me and I can't wait to return the favor. Anyway, they have this big back patio where I usually work from when I am here. Tonight this is the sunset that I caught from the patio.

Anything for my fans.....

At the request of so many of my fans out there I am finally taking time from my very busy schedule to update you all on my exciting life. Ok, ok, so really Chad is pretty much "it" as far as fans and I think the only reason he wants me to do a blog is so that he can have another blog to stalk while he is trying to act busy at the office.

I am currently living the "pura vida" in Costa Rica. I moved down here about a month ago to make a real go of my business Pure Life Expedtions (www.purelifeexp.com). I have been in business almost 4 years now and decided last year to go full time with it and so far things have gone really well. It's been fun to see how many doors have opened at all the right times. It definitely gives me confidence as I move forward and take huge steps towards pursuing my dreams.

I am currently running 10 day all-inclusive adventure trips around the country, but the goal is to start running daily rafting tours and in-country tours out of a sweet beach town called Dominical that is know for it's surfing. It is growing quickly and has a ton of potential, not to mention it sits close to 4 unbelievable rivers, countless waterfalls, beautiful mountains and the beach!

Here are some questions I get these days?

Do I miss home? All the time, Salt Lake City is an amazing place to live and I love it. I feel like the luckiest guy in the world, I get the best of both worlds. I miss my family and friends everyday, but I feel like right now I am where I am supposed to be, that could change tomorrow, I am just trying to put my life in God's hands.

How long you staying for? Dunno....just trying to take it one day at a time. I definitely would love to set up my business in a way that I don't have to always be here, but I can be here when I want to be here. I think that Costa Rica will probably always play some sort of role in my life, but I see myself probably raising a family in the states. I couldn't imagine my boys not having the opportunity to play football like their old man and stuff like that

Do you want to marry a Costa Rican girl? Nope

Do you get lonely? All the time, but I have great friendships down here, and continue to meet amazing people everyday.