Jun

22

Surf Highlights

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I just came back from my surf trip to Costa Rica and Nicaragua. What a trip! I left early Tuesday morning May 24th and spent the whole day travelling. The first thing I noticed at the airport was, a couple had Balikbayan boxes. Presumably lost? The Philippine Airlines counter is right next door. I just realized Balikbayan boxes are used by other people to other destinations. How cool is that?

This is my fourth trip to Costa Rica. I would think I learned enough Spanish after several trips. My Spanish is getting better. I can speak conversational Spanish and understand most, but it’s one thing to “speak” in Spanish and another to “think” in Spanish. I still think in English and it gets me in trouble sometimes.

You think you have it figured out, then a local would throw in an occasional “colloquial” word and you are thrown in for a loop. For example, a towel is called “toalla” in most Spanish-speaking countries. It’s called “panuelito” in Costa Rica. An ironing table is even more amusing. It’s called “burro”, “caballo”, “tabla” and a few more names in many countries.

I finally arrived in San Jose. I took a short taxi ride to Alajuela to catch the bus headed to Tamarindo. I was told by the local merchant the bus to Tamarindo only stops on certain days. I asked how about today. He said, “no se.” Great! He suggested I take the bus to Liberia and then catch the Tamarindo bus from there. So, I’m finally in Liberia, waiting at a bus stop. I waited and waited for about 2 hours. My bus finally arrives and two more hours in the bus. Ay caramba!

I have many friends in Tamarindo, a small fishing town. It’s now a tourist and surf town. The surf is not that great in Tamarindo, but there are other surf spots in the area that’s worth the stay. I stayed in Tamarindo for a total of three months two years ago. A lot has change since I left. Many new shops, new buildings and to my surprise, even a Burger King. All prices have doubled since I left. I used the Internet Cafe for one hour and I had to pay $6 dollars. I thought I got robbed when I left the cafe. I know the owners. Just kidding, Cinza and Carol.

It’s my second day of surfing. My arms were tired from paddling the day before. Stormy conditions. Is it worth going out? I was thinking to myself, “I’m only here for 3 weeks, I might as well take advantage of the warm water.” So I went with a friend. Then a “medusa” or jellyfish got me. Instant pain, stinging, itching, I don’t know how to describe it. It was all over my neck and on my right leg. Good thing I was wearing a rashguard. It would have been all over my chest. The huge pelt stayed on my neck and leg for about a week. Scratching it certainly didn’t help, but I couldn’t resist at times. I was lucky. One guy had it on his face.

Nicaragua. We exchanged “dollars” into “cordobas” at the border. My friend received old worthless money worth about $30. Lesson learned. If it looks funny, it probably is. We hired a taxi to take us to Popoyo. It was a 2 hour trip on a dusty dirt road. We arrived tired and hungry. We left Tamarindo at 4:30am and arrived in Popoyo at around 11:00am. We learned Popoyo was firing 8-10 foot waves. I finally went to surf after eating and resting for about an hour. It looks even bigger in the water. I was scared. One of a few times. I had to duck-dive 2 big waves when I was caught inside. But, I made it through the other side. My friend broke his board in two pieces. Que lastima! I got one decent ride and I was done for the day. We surfed again the next morning, but the waves were smaller and more manageable. We headed for Playa Madera at noon.

We took a taxi to Rivas, the nearest town. We had lunch there and took another taxi to Playa Madera. This time, it wasn’t a taxi. It was a cattle truck. All 5 of us on the bed of the cattle truck with 3 surfboards tied to the railings. It rained on the way to Playa Madera, but it didn’t matter. We didn’t care. It cooled us down from the hot sun. I have been to Playa Madera before, two years ago. When I went the last time, it was the best surf session I have ever done. The conditions were great, offshore winds the whole time and I was catching waves left and right. I was in surfing shape then after 3 months of non-stop surfing.

This time around the conditions were not that great. Choppy and onshore winds. I waited for the next day. It looked promising the first few hours of the day, but the winds shifted from offshore to onshore around mid-day. I finally went out to surf. Bad timing. A big set came in. I had to duck-dive many times. I lost count. I estimated about 15-20 times in a row. I realized the current was taking me to the side were the rocks were. I paddled back and tried another area further down the beach. I made it finally through the breakers after 15 long minutes. I caught a couple of waves and called it a day.

Back in Costa Rica. Finally, the second to the last day, a swell arrived although it only lasted for a day. Nice waves with some umph. Finally some power. Of course, fewer people out. It was great. I enjoyed it. Several great rides. I’ve decided this was the highlight of my trip plus a few other surf sessions in nearby “Casitas.”

It was good to see friends once again. I’m glad my friend Eve is doing quite well with her boyfriend Giovanni. It was fun hanging out with Kathy, as well as getting to know Eveline in our Nicaragua trip. And of course, “rastah” Walter, the fearless surfer. I wish I could be as fearless as you.

As always Ari gives a few laughs at Nogui’s bar. I was glad to see Isabel again. I miss Luca’s cucina and comida. I miss those nice Italian meals. Luca moved to Panama and his brother is in another beach in Costa Rica. I don’t know when I’ll be back to Tamarindo again, but the place has a special place in my heart. Like they alway say in Costa Rica, Pura vida!

Jun

21

Back From Costa Rica

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Hello. I just came back from Costa Rica and Nicaragua a week ago. I have been busy and I haven’t had the chance to upload the pictures I took nor made entries in my journal until now. I just uploaded 2 picture albums for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy. I’ll talk more about my trip when I have time to write. Ciao for now.

Sep

5

I’m Back Home

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It’s been such a long time since I posted last, over three months ago. Well, after Argentina, I ended up going to Rio de Janiero, Brazil for four days. Went to see Pao de Azucar and Corcovado and also saw a soccer game at Maracana stadium with a capacity of 120,000 people. After Brazil, I had a stopover in Bogota, Colombia for about five hours where I ended staying at the airport the whole time.

I was scared to go out especially with an American passport. I headed back to Ecuador where the trip started. After Ecuador, I went back to Costa Rica where I stayed for majority of the time, almost two months. I surfed pretty much everyday. I also traveled and sometimes surfed the rest of Costa Rica, Jaco, Playa Hermosa, Quepos and Manuel Antonio, Dominical, Puerto Viejo, Cahuita, La Fortuna and Monteverde.

On the way back, on my last leg of my trip, I got a ride from someone I met in Cahuita back to San Jose, Costa Rica. We were stuck behind a huge landslide. The whole highway was closed. We ended taking another route for an additional three hours. The guy barely made his flight. I ended taking a bus from the airport to San Jose. I also went to Nicaragua in San Juan del Sur with a couple of friends. We stayed in Playa Majagual which is a walking distance from Playa Madera, and excellent surf spot with only three people out. Excellent waves.

Pssst. Don’t tell anyone. Well, I’m back to the US. I will post all the pics I took in the next couple of days. Ciao for now.