Got up at 5:30 this morning to grab my buddy Brian and go surf Avellanas. We've been working really hard and needed a little time to blow of some steam, but had a busy day planned, so we headed down early.

Along the way, we decided to go "the back way", as it is more fun and scenic. Okay, truth is, Steve decided and Brian quietly accepted with minor reservations. See, "the back way" is a low-quality dirt road that is under construction. It has been raining. A+B=Mud but... we're in a lifted cruiser with mud-terrain tires, a rear locking differential and a good driver behind the wheel... a little mud? No worries!

Right. No worries. No forward progress, either. It probably would have been a good idea to engage 4wd prior to entering the wallow.

I did at least try to winch out, despite the total lack of nearby trees/stumps/rocks upon which to winch. But I haven't finished the winch install (lacking just one cable) and the jumper cable field repair just wasn't cutting it-- they kept grounding out on.... everything. Of course it didn't help any that the solenoids were entirely under water (as was most of the winch). And when I say "water", I mean "mud".

Brian's sweet wife Carrie came to bail us out. Amazing that something so difficult with one vehicle is suddenly made easy with two vehicles.

Adding insult to injury, we ended up surfing in Langosta instead of Avellanas, at low tide, when Langy just doesn't work very well. So we had pretty lousy surfing but at least we washed the layer of filth off and got a little time in the water.

The rest of the morning didn't go a lot better- the power cut off at 11:00 am. Right after we had an hour or so of meetings (which benefit from AC, but otherwise don't require power). So as soon as the meetings cleared out, there wasn't anything to do as the internet and printer and all that stuff was off. Talk about a grumpy office...

A breezy seaside lunch with great new clients improved the day greatly. A deal that has been headed sideways for a few days also looks to be back on track, which also makes us happy. So in the end, another day in paradise (with minor hiccups).

Labels: 4wd, 4x4, landcruiser, mud, photo, tamarindo, weather