I was actually supposed to be on a plane tonight headed back to Indonesia but that all changed about a week ago after I spoke to my friend Juan in Mexico. As it turned out, there is a historically BIG swell hitting Mexico this week and Juan said he was planning to do some Tow-In surfing all week. I hadn’t seen him or his family since I started traveling so I thought to myself: warm water, good waves, good friends, and not to mention a first timer for Tow In surfing! Why not add another adventure to my journey! So I made two phone calls and within 10 minutes I was committed to Mexico and postponed to Indo.

Juan lives in a small town called Caleta De Campos in the State of Michoacan, Mainland Mexico. He did fail to mention one thing to me during our phone conversation, which was the current war going on in the State of Michoacan between two Drug Mafias. Apparently a new Mafia showed up in Caleta (among many other towns) pretty much taking it over. There were gun battles going on between the two Mafias in the middle of town. I did post a pic of one of the houses that got shot up in the battle. The locals in this small dusty town were scared to go out in public. The situation was pretty heavy accordingly to Juan. The only good thing that happened is that the new Mafia came into town and killed many of the thieves and unwanted locals. Eventually the government sent in the Military to take control of the situation. So the new Mafia is out now and the old one is making they’re way back. There’s still a big military presence in Michoacan.

The closet known surf spot is Nexpa, which is sometimes very good, but often just a “Mush Burger”. This trip so far has proven it! Juan and I have been Tow In Surfing at a secret spot (cobbles) all week scoring perfect peeling rights “alone” while Nexpa has been a Mush Burger and crowded. I am definitely hooked on the Tow In surfing. You get in early, and you get in deep. Haven’t shot any photos yet of the waves as it has only been the two of us and we’ve been taking turns driving the jet ski and surfing. Tonight another buddy of Juan’s is flying in from California named Corky Crandal (aka The Commander) to catch the peak of this historical BIG swell. Corky’s been doing Tow-In Surfing on big waves for over 10 years and is a regular at Todos Santos. He’s kind of what I would call an underground Big Wave surfer. We are going to try to catch a spot called Petacalco that hasn’t been surfed in over 20 years. About once a year there are some bombs breaking way outside in the ocean that are just too big and too fast to paddle into.

On another note, I will say that it does feel good to be back in Mexico. Seems that I have spent the past three years of my life on the opposite side of the world. Just feels really good to be back here speaking Spanish and hanging with Juan, his wife Alfa, two sons (Pablo and Marco), and his four Chihuahuas (Bon Bon, Goggles, Mini Mouse, and Tackita). Both of his kids are so much fun to be around with. All of the pics below are from just around town here. I will post some surf pics tomorrow hopefully. The journey continues…….