I was hoping to have a good 4 weeks of surf vaca in Costa Rica after cutting short in December 2018 due to an elbow injury. The elbow was still tender but everything was paid for.
Delta changed their flights replacing the redeye with an 8am departure from LAX. LA traffic isn’t so bad when you depart Solana Beach at 3am. I had made arrangements at Lagodima and asked they leave keys in the outside lockbox and to leave the gate open. And it all worked.
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| The Holden board LOVES Costa Rica waves. |
Returning to Nosara brings back all the familiar spots and people. At the first night dinner at 10 Pies, a couple sat next to me. They looked familiar and after some discussion, we realized we had met last year on the beach.
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| Michael, Denise, and me at 10 Pies. |
The second week was spent at Rob and Ann’s place. Wow, the foliage has filled in! Rob and I had some fun surf sessions in the southern beach. Evenings were cooking lessons and good conversations.
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Rob in the Casa driveway.
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| Enjoying the southern end of Nosara beach. |
I joined the Cymer crew in Santa Teresa for a week. The shuttle company tricked me into buying two seats, saying they wouldn’t do the route unless at least 2 people were on it and that no one else had booked a seat. Imagine my surprise when 4 others boarded the shuttle. Then the shuttle covered the whole peninsula, arriving in ST after 6 hours and 2 bus changes.
The hotel, Casa Cecilia, was nice. The location was on the beach with lounge chairs and hammocks under palm trees. ST was 1 long dusty road – I am guessing over 2 miles long. But a market and some restaurants were within walking distance. A hotel bonus was filtered and a chilled water dispenser available anytime. The hotel manager, Macarena, even offered to give me a ride to the market on her motorcycle.
ST surf conditions were challenging for me. The waves were closeouts with few corners. And very steep. The Holden surfboard was never used and I got plenty of practice with takeoff drops on the Rusty board. Scary.
I was getting worn out by 2.5 weeks of surfing but the Cymer crew was determined to maximize their surf time. My sessions were mostly 1, maybe 2, a day. Chris and Jeff wanted to get in 3 sessions.
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| Bob at an ST sunset viewing party. |
Chris played town host, guiding us to a sushi place, chicken Joe’s, a burger place. One evening Chris cooked at the luxury home. This dinner included some rather tasty rum drinks. Yummy.
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Chris at work.
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| Iconic statue at Chicken Joe's. |
After a week at ST, the Cymer crew took off and I booked again with the evil shuttle company to get me and my boards to Nosara. I managed to get in several Nosara surf sessions with better waves and familiar faces. All was good again.
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| Back at a Nosara beach with Jim and Maggie. |
The returning Delta flight also had changed to departing LIR at 5pm, arriving at 9:15pm. After getting a rental car, the LA traffic wasn’t bad with me arriving at home just before midnight.
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| A lone star at sunrise, last day. |
