Puerto Escondido - Week in Review from Brian

At this time 1 week ago, the Swans were on a Luxury Bus for 8.5 hours from Acapulco.  What can I say with 1 week under our belt...Puerto Escondido is a fabulous place with great people, delicious ocean front restaurants & and gnarly, barreling Waves....my kind of place!!!  So let me give a rundown from day to day:

Friday (3/20):  best to read Rhonda's entry since I would just be repeating her.  8.5 hours on a bus in Southern Mexico will surely open your eyes!  

Saturday (3/21):  We enjoyed breakfast at our Hotel Santa Fe that we are staying at.  To give you an idea of the cost...my mushroom, spinach and cheese omelette cost 50 pesos (roughly $3.33)...not bad for the high end hotel!  After breaky, we ventured to the pool so Hanalei could play and so that I could connect to Wifi and catch up on a bit of email & taxes.  By this time, we are ready for a family siesta (we are in Mexico, right?).   We enjoyed a beautiful meal on the beach and then headed back to the Hotel Santa Fe so Hanalei could hit the hay.  Well, it was Saturday night so I ventured out for a few hours hitting up a couple spots down the street.  The first and last stop of the night was at Casa Babylon (seen to the left) which was a couple hundred meters from our hotel.  The specialty here are the Mojitos accompanied with great live music.  I also ventured into Barfly which is typically a late night place...so it was rather quiet when I was there.

Sunday (3/22):  

Swano adding to the blog...look out!!!

Hola!  This is the other half, Brian Swan aka 'Swano'.  I journal just about everyday...missing just a couple days per month.  It has been on my mind since we left San Diego on Nov 25th, 2008 that I would start our blog back up that we created back in 2006 when we ventured around the globe for 2.5 months.  The only problem is just that...I kept it in my mind.

We are currently on Day 123 of our 2 year Journey (this timeframe will likely adjust)!  What can I say, I am living my passion...which is surfing the world's best waves in the most beautiful locations while working a mobile business.   If you were to tell me that I would be doing this 4 years ago when I was an engineer for almost 10 years...I would have to say that you were on some serious drugs.  We are living the lifestyle of our dreams...and most importantly, demonstrating to others the possibility that they can for themselves.

Well, it is business time for me, so I will connect with you tomorrow from Puerto Escondido!

Adios,

Swano

Hotel Santa Fe

View from our suite.

Were here!! Finally arrived at the Hotel Santa Fe, and needless to say I was ready for a glass of red wine!! (una vaso vinto tinto) and a shower.  

The pictures on the site did not give this place justice, it is a beautifully groomed little Mexican Hotel right on the water.  We arrived in our Ocean Front Master Suite dropped off the bags and sat outside on the patio for dinner and a gentleman playing the flute.  It was spectacular; we ordered wine, beer, guacamole, ravioli, taco's, salad...you name it we ordered it!  (I mean we were on a bus for 8.5 hours)  and get this, our bill was under $40!!!  That certainly doesn't compare to the prices we were paying at the Fairmont!!!

The staff is amazing and can speak muey pocito (very little) English, so we are getting good at speaking Spanish.  

The Bus Ride to Puerto Escondito

The real part of this journey has begun!!  After 2 weeks at the Luxury Resort, Fairmont Princess Hotel we decide to head south to get a REAL feel of Mexico and of course experience the Mexican Pipeline.

After realizing that our luggage was going to cost $1000 to get it to Puerto Escondito, (45 minutes south of Acapulco on Plane) we decided to take the First Class Luxury Bus Line, Estrella Blanca.  Well it was a bus and we did get there, after 8.5 hours!!  It was actually an awesome experience:  We watched 4.5 movies (all in Spanish), had most of the bus to ourselves and the air conditioning was super cold!! 

If I could explain what we saw traveling south, most people would freak!  Especially traveling with a 2 year old, but it was amazing.  This is the Real Deal Mexico, with little tent like shacks housing a full family, a million Pero's (Dog's) running around, dirt, policia  (police) with machine guns welcoming you through the country and of course some of the happiest people on earth!  The mexican people are truly happy with life.  

The bus would come to a rolling stop and people would jump on with trays of food.  Swano grabbed a fried Bannana for 10 pesos and later some Arroz con Pollo (Rice w/Chicken)  It was great!  

We arrived at the Bus Station and thank Goodness our ride was there!!     

Acapulco Mexico Liberty Event

The Water is so warm!! Hanalei loves the water.

Can you Believe this was a BLACK TIE E

VENT!!  (They were wearing them)

The best part about our journey is that we are also working our business.  Have Phone and Computer will travel.  We realized this back in June of 08' that there was really no reason for us to stay put in one place especially with Hanalei at the age that she is.  

So the only schedule we really have is to be at our business Events that are held 3 times a year.  We just completed our Liberty Conference Event in Acapulco, so we decided to stick around for awhile.  In fact we had no intention of even staying in Mexico, but with Puerto Escondito so close, Swano had to go down and see for himself the Mexican Pipeline.

You can click the title link for the Press Release on event

North Shore of Oahu for 6 weeks

This was the view from our lani at Log Cabins
When they Say "Keep the Country, Country"  they mean it!!  The North Shore of Oahu is amazing and beautiful, but if your looking for nightlife, restaurants or excitement after dark your in the wrong place.  

The Nort' Shore (as the Hawaiian's say) is the mecca for surf and Swano got his fill.

With our new Vagabond lifestyle, I have had to put my uptight, everything has to be right and scheduled aside in order to get the best deal on rentals.  Being in Kauai I had the first 5 weeks booked and realized we paid BRO' Prices for booking so early. Bro Prices meaning(Rack Rate, Haole rate, higher than you would if you were a local rate)  Now this part actually got fun for me since I love to negotiate.   So we have learned to send out emails a few days in advance and wait until the last minute to get a place...l and you get the best rates!!  We got an ocean front 2 bedroom house in front of "Backyards" just east of Sunset for $200 a night for 3 weeks.

The last 3 weeks we stayed in front of Log Cabins which is 200 yards away from Pipeline, and yes we got it the day we were moving out of the other house.  Literally the last hour before we had to be out!!!  Ok, I was a little stressed, but am realizing that EVERYTHING ALWAYS WORKS OUT!!! We got the Mojo, Law of Attraction and the Universe our side and I am beginning to really let it all happen as it should.

Living in Oahu was amazing, 

Living in Oahu for 6 weeks

This was our amazing view from our living room in Oahu.  

We were in front of Log Cabins surf break with Pipeline 200 yards away!!

Day 41 - Hanalei Bay, Kauai

Woke up at 6am today and paddeled out at Hanalei Bay in 2 foot overhead offshore conditions at the Point. After an hour and half of really fun waves with waterfalls and rainbows in the background, I came in for breakfast at our little green home vacation rental @ 5175 Weke Road.

The Beginning

We began our 2 year trip around the world on November 25th, 2008. This was our 5 year anniversary so we decided to begin the
"Swan's Endless Summer Journey" in Hanalei Bay, Kauai where we were married. This is also our daughters name so it seemed like the best place to start.

Hanalei, is a small "granola" hawaiian town. They have a small city center where you can go to the BIG SAVE market and spend 2x's the price you would pay anywhere in the world I think. I think a loaf of bread was about $6 bucks, but hey your on the North Shore of Kauai and there is nothing else up there, so I gladly paid $6 bucks for bread!! My favorite part about Hanalei is how close you are to the beach and town, it is less than a 5 minute walk from the beach to town, which made going to Hanalei Yoga for my Bikram class very convenient.
The beaches are amazing and so is the surf. The first 3 weeks we were there the surf was pumping and Swano was in heaven. Hanalei and I watched from afar the huge waves at the point.

I love Kauai and didn't want to leave....until I got to Oahu.

Rhonda and Brian Swan Awarded the Top 7 of 07 by Liberty League International

Miami, Florida--San Diego based entrepreneurs Rhonda and Brian Swan were awarded the top 7 of 2007 income earners with Liberty League International at their annual gala event held at Miami, Florida. The event was attended by over 2,000 people who experienced not just the prestigious award ceremony, but also learned about the simple system that Liberty League International utilizes to build entrepreneurs and self development gurus.

Rhonda and Brian Swan were in the number 6 slot of the top 7 which is an astounding achievement by itself considering they have been in the business for only about three years. Rhonda Swan was quoted as saying “It is amazing what a few choices can make in your life, we have only been here for 3 years and are in the top 7 of the company"!! I was in the corporate world and could never imagine growing our income that quickly”

Liberty League International is one of the leaders in personal development programs and the event was held for awarding their top 7 income earners to coincide with the annual Super Saturday kick off event.