Gypsysurf

Two inspiring friends are pictured here. @marcos_diaz on the...

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:50:40 -0400

Two inspiring friends are pictured here. @marcos_diaz on the left, watching a clip of @jon_rose on www.wavesforwater.org from a project in Afghanistan #w4w did. Marcos is the Vice Minister for sport in the Dominican Republic now, formerly the UN Goodwill Ambassador here, a celebrated endurance swimmer (once swam around Manhattan Island twice in 22 consecutive hrs, and also connected five continents by swimming… Google ‘Marcos Diaz swims’) plus a dedicated husband and father, great surfer and humanitarian. Then Jon, well… I wouldn’t be here if not for him and what @wavesforwater does. These are men of action. People who see needs and don’t wait for others to step up. They are tireless and passionate, cause doing good fuels you like nothing else can.

La Zurza, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. If they can smile...

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:14:52 -0400

La Zurza, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. If they can smile you can smile… :)

A lot of great baseball players come from the Dominican...

Mon, 20 May 2013 23:44:12 -0400

A lot of great baseball players come from the Dominican Republic. One factor is the game of ‘Vitilla’ kids across the country and especially in poor areas like La Zurza play. If you can hit a plastic bottle too being thrown at you with a broom stick, connecting a baseball bat with an actual baseball, becomes a whole lot easier… Some lot graffiti thrown in too…

Honestly, never felt more unsafe than when I was surrounded by...

Mon, 20 May 2013 23:27:15 -0400

Honestly, never felt more unsafe than when I was surrounded by armed national police (three behind me in this #selfie and more in front). Our personal body guard, Quevedo, wouldn’t allow us to walk down some alleys cause he reasoned the police would attract attention he didn’t want us, or ultimately him too, dealing with. We didn’t argue…

La Zurza is the barrio, favela, or basically abplace you’d...

Mon, 20 May 2013 23:15:11 -0400

La Zurza is the barrio, favela, or basically abplace you’d rather not live in Santo Domingo. There’s 4000+ people jammed on top of each other, dealing with poverty on the grandest scale, and daily hardships anyone using an iPhone or computer to read this, most likely will never comprehend (myself included obviously). It was an honor to be welcomed in with @marcos_diaz on behalf of the government and @wavesforwater. Meeting with the organizers of Fundsazurza and donating a clean water filter to their committed staff, was the first step towards a more committed project there. #w4wdominicanrepublic is growing, purely out of necessity and good people ensuring those without, can expect more in the future. @jon_rose @bonches78 @pedro_fernandez @mario_vinas @nathybentz @surfindiecita @olgatorresp @manuelselman

Thanks to @marcos_diaz, his personal military body guard...

Mon, 20 May 2013 19:17:54 -0400

Thanks to @marcos_diaz, his personal military body guard ‘Quevedo’, a truck full of Dominican national police, and the people who run ‘Fundsazurza’ - those trying to manage hygiene within the country’s largest barrio, La Zurza, we got a humbling tour of the other side of this Island paradise today.

These kids transform dirty water runoff into race tracks, trash...

Mon, 20 May 2013 10:45:15 -0400

These kids transform dirty water runoff into race tracks, trash into prized possessions, and make you want in on the fun. Their spirit and imagination is priceless. They don’t have what most take for granted, but they offered me more than any millionaire could.

This is Alex. I asked why he had so many rubber bands on his...

Mon, 20 May 2013 10:17:21 -0400

This is Alex. I asked why he had so many rubber bands on his wrist and it seems he was the best at the game they play shooting them from their fingers… He also had a machete behind him though, so good luck telling him if he lost…

Someone please pay me to keep seeing these sights and doing work...

Mon, 20 May 2013 00:36:45 -0400

Someone please pay me to keep seeing these sights and doing work I’m loving… Promise to share more postcards like this X

Fine group of humans, if I say so myself… @nathybentz,...

Sun, 19 May 2013 22:51:08 -0400

Fine group of humans, if I say so myself… @nathybentz, @marcos_diaz, Principal Angelica, ‘Soco’, #selfie, @mario_vinas and @surfindiecita

Do what you love and help along the way… After a fun surf...

Sun, 19 May 2013 22:33:41 -0400

Do what you love and help along the way… After a fun surf in this part of paradise, #w4wdominicanrepublic visited Escuela Inicial Basica, in Bahoruco. Local resident/teacher/now Principal, Angelica, gladly opened her school gates to us on a Sunday afternoon to donate and demonstrate a @wavesforwater filter for their 400+ student drinking needs. Thanks to the incredible support of @marcos_diaz and his wife @nathybentz, plus @mario_vinas and @surfindiecita, we not only helped a community who could use it, but had an amazing time and learned more about their beautiful area and the special people who call it home.

Future Dominican baseball stars? One things certain,...

Sun, 19 May 2013 22:00:40 -0400

Future Dominican baseball stars? One things certain, they’ve got the passion without the essentials… A stitched up sock with sand and rocks within provided their ball, and part of a palm tree husk their bat… They were are smiles and playing for hours.

Spent the morning sharing waves at Bahoruco, in Barahona...

Sun, 19 May 2013 21:48:57 -0400

Spent the morning sharing waves at Bahoruco, in Barahona province of the Dominican Republic. Some of the friendliest locals you could hope to meet, including the pair on the bottom left who are both mute… Apparently it’s not so rare in these parts… Possibly due to incest between blood related families… Not sure, but their issues didn’t hinder infectious smiles and eagerness to help me find handfuls of the unique and incredibly beautiful Larimar stones, which can only be found here.

Photo

Sun, 19 May 2013 20:09:30 -0400

Spent my second to last day here in The Dominican Republic...

Sun, 19 May 2013 19:58:45 -0400

Spent my second to last day here in The Dominican Republic taking postcards with each photo shot. Most stunning part of the country I got to visit and with some of the best people I could hope to share my time. Muchas gracias @marcos_diaz @mario_vinas @surfindiecita @nathaliabentz

Do yourself and my good mate Ben Nott a favor this weekend and...

Sat, 18 May 2013 07:13:28 -0400

Do yourself and my good mate Ben Nott a favor this weekend and go see Drift. Keep it on the big screen where we always wish we could see films like this. So stoked for Benno and all his hard work in bringing an amazing creation to life. http://www.driftthemovie.com/

Thanks again to @camerondietrich and Carlos at Kite Club in...

Fri, 17 May 2013 23:22:32 -0400

Thanks again to @camerondietrich and Carlos at Kite Club in Cabarete. Wishing I had time to learn more than I did but appreciate all the support I got. Great people and good times.

Had so much fun surfing this spot alone today. Then did my...

Thu, 16 May 2013 20:37:13 -0400

Had so much fun surfing this spot alone today. Then did my second kite surfing lesson thanks to @camerondietrich and Carlos at Kite Club Cabarete. Already hooked, but tomorrow is the big day when I connect the kite power with a board under my feet in the water…

Mojito on the beach, fresh oysters for next to nothing, and...

Tue, 14 May 2013 19:34:09 -0400

Mojito on the beach, fresh oysters for next to nothing, and Nelson singing his heart out… Jack Sparrow likes.

Love the colors in the Dominican

Tue, 14 May 2013 19:32:15 -0400

Love the colors in the Dominican