Jaco Playa Hermosa

Saturday after the gym closed, Diego was taking a trip to go catch some waves and do some surfing. So I joined him and his friends. The city is called Jaco and the beach is called Playa Hermosa. The beach is definitly a beautiful place, since I am not a surfer and dont know how to surf. I just kicked back and took a few pictures. I knew I had to get some pictures of the Sunset and the beach itself as it was definitly a beautiful beach as its name, playa Hermosa.

Now here are some other cool pictures that I took for my boys. They wanted pictures of the sunset at the beach so I tried to take my best shots.

Here are some cool pictures and a cool video. On our way back to San Jose, we passed a bridge known to be a tourist spot because of its crocodiles that live under the bridge. These crocs are huge. The pictures are cool since the guidewas feeding the crocs.

Here is a cool video of the tour guide feeding the croc as 2 big crocs sneek up on him.

Black Friday

Black Friday , this was Costa Rica's first year having the traditional american post thanksgiving day shopping craze.  As typical fashion would be, too much traffic, too many people, too overrated.  Even though we were at the gym and not in the shopping lines.  We felt Black Friday's madness since many of our members were late for classes.  Here is a picture of the instant weather change coming in on Black Friday.

Happy Thanksgiving

Ok so even though Thanksgiving is not celebrated in Costa Rica, I couldn't help but think of my friends and family and wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving. Now I need to apologize for not making any updates that last few days. It has been pretty busy around here and that's a good thing. We have had more people join CrossFit 506, so classes are getting busier and bigger, but so much fun. So far the gym is going well. I miss home and I miss my family. On the bright side, Costa Rica is a great country to visit if you guys ever get the chance. So beautiful , nothing like green and tropical weather. Since I have been here I have seen it all. A beautiful sunny clear day, then in the blink of an eye, its dark and pouring down rain, followed by a humid heat and all of a sudden clear skies. I haven't taken many pictures lately, but here are a few pictures of Costa Rica.

                               Can you see the Rainbow below? This was after a crazy storm.

                                  This is the view to downtown San Jose, from the balcony.

                        I was trying to catch a picture of the Volcano. But thought the palm looked pretty cool.

This is the view from the backyard of my buddy Daniel's house, where I am staying.

                                          This tree is awesome, so colorful and full of life.

                                          Just a random house , I thought was pretty cool.

                                       
                                       Looking for Volcano # 2

                                It was a beautiful sunny day, and just like that the storm came in.

Billboard

So yesterday we had a big billboard installed at our box. I gotta say it is pretty badass. Classes are going well, getting more and more customers stopping by to see what the buzz is all about. Gotta say its pretty cool. There are several businesses around here that are all interested in joining as corporate accounts.  I am finding out that just about everyone here is pretty much a surfer, a triathlete, and marathon runners but what really surprised me is everyone does yoga.  Check out our billboard and stay tuned for more.

CrossFit 506 is open

Crossfit 506 is officially open. Preparing for a big and busy day.  I had myself some scrambled eggs, bacon and avocado with fresh carrot and orange juice. Got to the gym at 6:30 and first class was at 7am.  The cool thing was that while we were ready to train classes, we actually had a lot of phone calls, email and Facebook inquiries, as well many walk-ins. Since there was a 12 O'Clock class scheduled. I took the time to do my personal workout.
Strength:  5 x 3 Power Cleans
WOD:   5 Rounds of 10 Clean & Jerk (135#), 20 Pull Ups, 40 Double Unders.
Shortly after my WOD, I barely had enough time to put away the equipment and get ready for the 12:00 O'clock class. Which was pretty cool to see 7 people walking in to do a class. It is pretty sweet to see everyone so excited about trying CrossFit. After the class they were all excited to join and asking about class schedules and prices.  After the class was over finally got a break to go grab some lunch. Went with my buddy Daniel to get some grilled chicken, spinach, carrotts and some strawberry agua fresca (blended strawberry drink) the bomb. Got back to the gym and finished up some small details and got ready for the afternoon class which was pretty big. About 10 people showed up, overall I would say opening day was a pretty succesful day. Let's see how the rest of the week plays out. Here are some pictures of the day. Enjoy!!!!!!

Below are some other pictures of the beauty that Costa Rica has to offer. This is the view from the condo I am staying at here in Costa Rica.

Crossfit Cinco Zero Seis (506)

Day 3 is a wrap. So much accomplished yet so much to do. I am just gonna run down some of the things that had took place today to get everything up and ready for tomorrow's. Crossfit 506's official first day.
Here are some random pictures of the day. Had a lot to do today so the least I could do was add some pictures.

Crossfit 506 Day 2

It's my 2nd day in Costa Rica, I am up bright and early. Diego picks me up and off we go to start day 2. Make a quick stop to eat breakfast. Had some scrambled eggs, with avocado and the famous gallo pinto. a Costa rican dish made of rice, black beans, sweet chilli, and a few other items. I have to say it was pretty good. We make a stop at EPA what we would call Home Depot. Get some supplies and off we go to pick up Gustavo. Once we get to the gym, we have a few workers waiting for us. Today we had our sound system installed. Gustavo and I broked down the GHD machines and started to assemble them, finished 6 GHD's then started with the Rogue SPX squat racks.
3:45 I did my first WOD at Crossfit 506
25 burpees 100 m row
20 burpees 200 m row
15 burpees 300 m row
10 burpess 400 m row
5 burpees 500 m row.
I had to try out the new Concept 2 rowers we just assembled. Here are some pictures of day 2.

at 6:30 pm Crossfit 506 had its first official WOD by clients. Here is a picture of some of the action and a picture of the 1st class at CrossFit506.

The class did an awesome job with their first WOD. CrossFit 506 has officially arrived in Cost Rica.

Cost Rica Bound

Saturday night, November 12th, 2011. My birthday, probably one of the more bitter sweet days in my life. It was a special day for me, yet a painful day. I was leaving at 8:30 pm to catch my flight to Costa Rica for a new journey with CrossFit506. Excited for the new challenge that lays ahead of me, but a broken heart I left behind at home. To see my wife and my boys cry and hear their deep sighs, pierced my heart. Knowing that I will not be able to hug them or kiss them for a month kills me, to not play or see my baby Victor, is gonna kill me. But although this causes me pain , it gives me motivation and drive to make CrossFit506 worth every tear we shed.

10:45 Arrive at San Francisco International Airport
11:00 Attempt to check in baggage, little did I know my suitcase was 20#'s over the limit and was advised the charge would be $500.00. So I go to work. Open up the suitcase and take out all the jump ropes and power bands , shirts shorts and other items , throw the suitcase back on the scale still 10 pounds over. Took out some more clothes, more shoes, and all of my supplements. Still over weight, finally the agent says to me, get 5 more pounds and we are good. My backpack is ripping open cause it is stuffed with crap and books, my little power bands bag is over flowing with tshirts, so my other option pull out a walmart bag and stuff more shirts and some boxers. Not a good way to start the trip.
11:15 Checked baggage in and headed to security gates, this was actually easy no hassle.
11:20 arrive at gate C88 , big lines to check in but nothing to worry about my ticket was good to go.
11:40 plane starts boarding for Houston, TX. my seat was 15C. I sat down took my seat and was ready to go. A few minutes later a couple of older ladies need help loading a dialysis machine up on the luggage rack, so I offer my assistance. Both older ladies traveling to Veracruz Mexico.
12:20 Pilot announces we are preparing to depart.
12:25 Plane takes off and we fly over the beautiful night view of the San Francisco Bay. As my mind and heart pound away knowing I will not see my family for 1 month.
12:45 ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
1:45   ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
2:45   ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
4:45   a new time zone, I wake up and we still have a ways before we land. So I go back to sleep
5:25   The Pilot announces we will land in 20 minutes.
5:45    Announcement to buckle up, turn off portable devices and seats back to upright position.
5:55    After a little bit of turbulence and rough winds, we land safely in Houston.
6:05    Make my way to gate E11 to catch my flight to Costa Rica, in the mean time. I find an uncomfortable spot that has a ac outlet to charge my phone and laptop. Check the results for the college games and read up on the once again boxing match robbery of J.M. Marquez. To many fixes in Vegas, and we wonder why Boxing has a black eye and no longer an interesting sport.
7:00 I decided to make this blog so my boys can read up on how my trip in Costa Rica is going.
7:45 my ass hurts from this uncomfortable ground and I am going to get some coffee, now that my wife has me addicted to coffee.  I will be back later for more updates.
9:10 I was on the plane and headed to Costa Rica, .
12:55 3 hours later I landed in Costa Rica. Sure enough rain started to pour.
1:30 Costa Rica is a beautiful county and its true, the happiest place on earth. Everyone has been so friendly.
2:00 Finally made our way to the gym CrossFit 506 man what a great job Diego has done in getting the construction and the pull up rigs installed.
Diego, Tavo , Cuba and I started to break down the equipment and making the box look more like a CrossFit Box. Check out the pictures.
2:15 found out my phone had no service, so I couldnt talk to my boys. Till tonight after I got online  I could finally broadcast video so my boys and mama could see me. Althought I wasnt able to. I was happy to know they got smiles seeing daddy and were able to chat with daddy.

7:30 pm, well as you can see from the pictures we did a lot of work today. Guess not so bad for only sleeping a few hours on the plane from San Francisco to Houston.
9:00 after getting some food and getting situated I was happy to relax and chat with my family. Technology was kind enough to let them see me via skype and facebook chat. It may be online but it sure brings joy to my heart cause I am communicating with my family. One thing I realized is that even when there are times you feel like you need a break from the babies and from the reality of family life. Your heart reminds you that your wife and babies are all you live for.
11:15 ok good night, that is a wrap for day 1 in Costa Rica, will be back at it tomorrow. Got a big day and so much to do. In the mean time check out our progress and stay tuned for the progress of CrossFit 506.