Arrival

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My first day in Costa Rica was spent wandering around San Jose, changing money, eating Quiznos, and silently laughing to myself at how excited T-Bag gets when he talks Spanish to other people.

We caught a bus out of San Jose on Wednesday, and rode six hours to the beach town of Tamarindo. People like to party here, but not in the methods that Taylor and I are used to. The closest we could find was this dude named Andre who suggested we get three bottle of rum and take it to the bars with us. We are staying at a hostel on the east side of town that is run by a couple of Argentinians. The best break nearby is at Playa Grande, which is a thirty minute walk north, complete with a river crossing. We usually just paddle across with our boards, but we payed a Tico to taxi us over there the other day because we were feeling too lazy and I had just eaten too many of these Larabar things Taylor made me bring.

We met these two kids named Doug and Zoran, who are quite the characters. For all who know Taylor Davis back in Gainesville....Zoran is just like him. Weve decided to adopt him as our body guard for a week or so more. Yesterday we took a drive with a local who hangs out at the hostel a fair amount to a surf break about 30 minutes south. He has this old van that barely runs and we had to repair on the drive over, but all was good.

Today we surfed until sunset, which was really nice. Crossing the river in the dark was a little sketchy, but not too bad. Tomorrow we catch a bus early in the morning with Zoran in tow to a town called Nosara. Cheers!

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Photos

Backpack
This is all my stuff for six months, minus a surfboard!

Roadblock
Typical Costa Rican site.

Riding
The side door on the van doesnt close.

Comments

[H Graham]

Pics
Nice one for "dad" ! How about one for G-pa?

[Cole-Bear]

Big booty
Big Glenn said he appreciates that picture too haha.

[Mom]

Geography
Well son at last I may learn some geography. Looked up Costa Rico map and found Tamarindo. They say it is "Surfer Heaven" so looks like you did your homework well. Neat that you are meeting new and "Strange" people. Just don't let them abduct you. Reminds me of the trip I went to with my gal friends about your age to Mexico. I may tell you about once you return, but as they say "what happens in Mexico stays in Mexico" HA!! Thanks for the pics and blog. A great way to follow you!

[dad]

good pics
Zoran looks well qualified to be a body guard. Feed him well. Also, keep the dad pics coming. I approve. Dad Sent you an email. Piper is looking for engineers.

[Lisa Ball]

AWESOME!
I'm really going to enjoy following your adventures! Have fun and enjoy every minute! Auntie Lisa

[Barb Brown]

First trip to blog
Very exciting and Cal especially appreciated the "special pic for Dad".