Blogs from Guanacaste, Costa Rica, Central America Caribbean - page 61

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Hola, everything in Tamarindo is great as usual. The surf has started to deminish, but the weather is great. Yesterday finished with a bang. We were surfing in Tamarindo and decided to try to walk to playa grande, which I thought to be only a short distance. First we had to paddle across the estuary that seperates the two beaches. The thought of crocodilles in the back of our heads added a little suspence to the situation. After the ten minute paddle we started our walk. After walking five minutes down the beach, I notice the small house that was on the beach at playa grande and it was atleast 5 or 6 miles away. The journey quickly ended as we were still tired from the morning session, however we walked a little further were the ... read more


Buenos dias, It is around 1230 and we just made it back from Playa Avellenas, just past Playa Negra. Yesterday afternoon was another journey through the jungles to get to playa grande. It is clear to see how this infamous beach break could line up and form perfect waves, however we were not lucky enough to experience them. The wind was onshore and created a lot of chopiness, but the waves were big, atleast head high and 1 or two feet overhead at the peaks, and from time to time they would line up. After two hous of surfing a ruff day at playa grande, though it was better than our best days at the local destin spots, we headed back to Tamarindo to find long clean lines coming off the estuary. We grabbed our longboar ... read more


Buenos Dias, Hope all is well in the states. We arrived in Liberia yesterday into an almost surreal setting. The airport itself was nothing more than a large airplane hanger, with beautiful mountains in the background. After traveling 1.5 hrs on dirt and gravel roads avoiding enormous pot joles, we arrived in Tamarindo. though it was dark when we arrived the town is incredible and alive. We awoke this morning at around 530 and headed south to playa negra to get some surfing in. Once there it was only a few yard through some mangroves to get to the beach. The beach itself is unbelievable in its most natural form, no umbrellas and chairs, no multi colored beachballs bouncing around, only the beach and the waves. I hope to figure out how to upload the pictures ... read more

Central America Caribbean » Costa Rica » Guanacaste » Samara December 16th 2005

The journey to Playa Samara from Santa Teresa took a while ... I think almost 5 hours .. I was expecting it to take about half that! The roads in Costa Rica are bloody awful .. most of the journey is on unpaved roads going about 20km/h. Tedious! I travelled up to Samara with Will & Nikki who I met in Jaco with the surf school. We got to Samara and got a 2 story hut on the beach, with one bedroom downstairs and one upstairs. I've woken up really early the last 2 mornings to see beautiful sunrises from my bed ... fantastic! Samara is a beautiful bay, with jungle clad hills coming right down to the beach, and with an island set out to one side of the bay. Samara reminds me a bit ... read more
Sunrise at Playa Samara
Hut on Playa Samara


Preparation is everything or so I’m told. Nothing like procrastination, It’s about 12am the night before we fly out on what I hope to be the first of many journeys to Costa Rica and with unimaginable anxiousness I’ve begun to pack. We depart from Pensacola at 8am and arrive in Liberia around 2pm. We will be staying in Tamarindo for a week and will hopefully post an entry everyday loaded with pics and so the next time yall here from me I’ll be in boardshorts and flip flops. Pura Vida, Rob PS: I am working on uploading pictures, technical difficulties............. read more


We arrive early for our surfing lessons and Karin is starting to regret signing up. The guides assure her that it will be fun and they are right. We grab our long-boards and begin our trek to the beach. The waves are just right for beginners and break much longer than the waves we are used to on the east coast. After a brief lesson on the beach, we take to the water. Karin goes first and manages to get up on her first try. I was not so successful on the first attempt, but managed to surf 4-5 waves all the way to the beach by the end of the lesson. All-in-all the surfing lesson is a great success and I look forward to trying it again soon. After a quick bite for lunch, we ... read more
Grand Opening Party at Arco Iris


Sleep does not come easy Thursday evening. The flights have been confirmed, the reservations have been made, and the itinerary has been planned. The girls are no doubt in deep slumber at their respective grandparent’s house when we awaken at 2:00am to make the drive to BWI. It is our first vacation alone in over two years. I am overflowing with excitement. Karin is a bundle of nerves. Our flight departs early Friday morning and we are on our way to Costa Rica armed with little more than a Frommer’s Guide and a VERY limited Spanish vocabulary. We arrive in San Jose shortly after noon ready to begin our adventure. We are greeted by a mob of taxi drivers who wish to drive us to Sansa (the domestic airport). We finally convince them that we can ... read more
Main street Tamarindo
Arco Iris Cabinas


Just waiting for the right moment to get out of here...Tamarindo, a funny little place, been on the map for a million years, you know the Incas came down to surf on stone boards!...well, its been on the touries maps for yonks but still has a sort of unfinished feel to it....the roads are shit, some pavement but huge potholes, ridges, washouts, exposed drains, tree roots, construction crapola, mud, blood and beer, and thats just the main street of the town...it straggles along the beach, lined with contrasting rundown dumps and new shmicko developments, feels a bit like Noosa about 50 years ago crossed with Kuta beach about the same time....and the service, or lack of it, is astounding, so many shop people, even in the boutiquey places is crap...like their all half asleep or couldn't ... read more


Well, no notes and almost dinner time...finally dragged ourselves out of San Juan this morning...after having a sunset G&Ts but with out the T at The Iguana bar/restaurant ion the beach...great views and a fabulous Thai chicken soup, best Thai food I've had in weeks! (Thanks Di)...but this morning we had to wait an hour or so until the credit card machine got working..all part of the seduction of that place...v hard to leave...and apart from El Salvador (boom boom) the bestest place yet... However, I started out feeling somewhat out of sorts...don't know if it was post birthday comedown or what but given all thats happened, happening and yet to happen I felt like David Bromberg with Someone else's Blues (I swear I don't know why)...so cruising nervously, its sort of strange after a couple ... read more
And we do get off road sometimes!
Beach view with palapas
Waiting for something in a restaurant somewhere!


Since, I didn´t post anything since thursday I´ll fill you in from there with lots of goodies. Thursday night Kate, Jeff, Marcos, Marcos´s host brother, and I went to some shady pool hall where there was a man with only 1 arm giving Kate the rape stare. Costa Rican men, especially those with missing body parts or teeth are unbelievably rude and obnoxious to american women. They take cat alling and lude farneti comments to new heights. however, if you so much as talk to a tica you get that same rape stare yet it has a whole new affect. Friday morning, I had my first exam at 10 am. It had been originally scheduled for 3 pm but we talked the teachers, mainly jorge, the sweetest teacher on earth,(possibly greater than the great john reid ... read more




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