Day 7 - I Heart Guiones

Day 7

            John makes the daily "Best Of" shots posted online on this beautiful Guiones wave

I'm all for pushing on early to Tamarindo if this place is just too hard for me to surf combined with the general sense of grumpiness I have about the digs, the beach.  Hurumph!  But John says let's give it a chance and see if we can figure out why this is a legendary place. We are up late- after 7 am- because there's no sun in our room- and it takes us a bit to get it together for the beach as we decide to have coffee first (the one free cup each). We meet Matt and Ben at the restaurant bar and they give us the lowdown on the surf, the food, the place.  We just nod politely when they enthusiastically ask if we love this place.  Nope.  Not when John woke me up every hour on the hour from his discomfit on the thin mattressed, too small double bed.  But we won't verbalize this because that's just not right to rain on someone else's parade.  Now people here on Surfers Over 50: these guys are mid 20's-early 30's, living a nomad life of state side work as little as possible to save enough to run around the world and surf.  So they are cool with their $13 a night hostel room at this hotel, sleeping with 3 or 4 other nomads and sharing a bathroom.  And that's amazing and my mindset was there too.  A quarter of a century ago. 

Down to the beach, which does have parking right to the sand and is OK safe, but amazing that a bad night's sleep still hasn't made this place as pretty as Santa Teresa. Obviously Still Grumpy!  But... the waves are awesome!  John settles me in on the secondary swell and makes sure the 7'6" is good. It is and I'm happy so he paddles out. We both are loving these waves and John is surfing double overheads while I'm catching foamers from the same waves along with some small shoulders in the second break.  We surf for over 2 hard hours and then go to pack up, eat and find some new digs, because we get why surfers want to be here after all.

We breakfast at KayaSol with our car loaded ready to go and chat with some very fun surfers again.  I freely tell them we are in search of a bed John can sleep in.  We must seem like softies to these travelers who are bunking together at $13 a night. We will go to the B and B but first John wants to check out a hotel just a bit up the road that leads to the beach- Giardino Tropicale  http://www.giardinotropicale.com/ ....though I'm sure it will be either ratty or too expensive- my opinion of Nosara lodging thus far.  But NO!  It's just filled with beautiful gardens with markers telling what type of plant or tree it is, a salt water pool (because chlorine is bad for the skin and the environment as it dissipates into the air), and very cool, eclectic architecture in different price ranges.  We choose a room on the ground level with the boards to consider.  It has a frig, digital safe, coffee in room,  comfy double bed + a single bed, a desk, our own private patio with hammock, table and chairs and laundry line.  And the patio by the pool?  Wonderful coffee ALL DAY LONG from this really cushy expensive Italian machine and milk handy in a small cooler.  Super cool dogs and a cat are here for getting some fur fixes.  Filtered water and ice also an easy grab.  There's a family of monkeys cruising around the mango trees plus huge iguanas hanging out around the pool and on the roofs. The place is the most environmentally conscious thus far in a country that has bragging rights on being eco-friendly.  And it's $75 a night with air conditioning.  Cash! Bring cash!  No merchants here like the charges they have to pay on credit cards and they will pass savings on to you if you don't use plastic.

John is thrilled to have had the photographer who shoots all morning long as a courtesy for Surfing Nosara, (real estate, rental agency, etc. smart marketing!), tell him he got some great shots and come by and see them in the office between 1-4 PM.  And John on a beautiful left double overhead makes the daily web page, which of course quickly gets sent out on Facebook and email for all Florida surfers to salivate over.  (did I mention that the WiFi at the hotel is amazing and works over the entire campus? ) We drop into the Surfing Nosara offices and after finding a CD-R for $2 at the Frog Pad (DVD rentals, some CD's and used paper back book store), we get all 36 of his images loaded.  Free. 

Here's the whole sequence of the "cover shot" wave, courtesy of the photographer:

*Travel tip if you're headed to Guiones. The guys at Surfing Nosara  http://www.surfingnosara.com/ take these pics and post the best shots online everyday, but they also shoot hundreds of pics that don't make it online, but are available for you.  Since they'll give you all the images for free, bring a USB stick.  You will NOT find one here for sale. We lucked out finding a DVD - and one that worked at that. This is an unbelievable courtesy these guys do for surfers but like I said- "smart marketing" and it gets you in the door of their real estate office which is slick and clean and full of surf boards and tanned, handsome, surfing agents.

Afternoon session.  John chooses the beach area closer to the point that separates Guiones from Playa Pelata and it is huge and scary again, like yesterday affternoon, but of course, he's amazing and all the locals and other good traveling surfers give him the "nod" of approval.  We dine at the patio pool of our hotel with one other couple and the owners, Marcel (Swiss) and Miriam (Columbian). John gets an actual draft beer here and Miriam recommends the carpaccio.   
We also order one special Frutta Di Mare pasta plate to split and Miriam nods in approval that the portions are huge and it's a wise choice.  The carpaccio is the BEST I've ever had, served with avocado and tomato and tons of olive oil.  And the pasta is full of clams, shrimp and mussels.  We sleep happy tonight even though it's only a double bed.  It's not the size of the bed I think- it's the general feeling of security and rightness that aids sleep.  Plus a great day of surf.

Day 6 -And a Bumpy Road It Is to Guiones

Day 6

Early session at Hermosa- we really like this beach and decide when we return, we will find a place with a kitchen at this end for a longer and more economical stay. We pack up and have continental breakfast at the hotel with the girls and exchange info!  Love making new friends.  They take a cab (!) all the way to the airstrip in Tambor and we pack up to hit the same road.  We opt for the Tambor- Nicoya- drop down into Samara route as some of it promises to be paved.  Unfortunately the first 1 1/2 hours is not and it's pretty awful!  we finally hit some paved road from Tambor to Nicoya, but of course as soon as we exit Nicoya, it's nasty again.  We miss the turn to Samara and our GPS (I'm sayin' that girl is equally confused in CR) takes us down an alternate path that makes us ford a river.  We watch a lesser car take it on with no hassle and it's cool for us too. John seems a little happy to be able to report later that we had to cross a river.  The road is awful- everything you've ever heard about driving in Costa Rica.  It's 15 to 20 miles an hour max and it feels as if we will never get there!  When we do arrive, we don't drive down to Guiones but venture on to the sleepy town of Nosara.  There's not much there and we decide to stop at a large grocery store, get some stuff and ask about lodging and surfing.  No problem finding people who speak English AND surf and we are told we need to go back to Guiones.  Guiones is odd- it has a small section of fairly modern offices, shops and restaurants in a very close area at the top of town, and then surf shops, cabins, rental houses, hostels and hotels are spaced out in a couple of mile range.  We rent me a NPS 7'6" at Nosara Surf Shop from a fairly unfriendly local who really thinks I need the 8' but John insists on the shorter NSP.  $500 deposit here on the credit card here too, but $10 per day and again like a rental car- 24 hr. from time of deposit. 

We decided to wing it without reservations here so we need to find a place to stay. We try to find this B and B we saw on travel forums but it's way up on a hill and we have had enough of that stuff!  We want to be by the beach so we settle for Kaysol Surf Hotel, which was actually recommended, at $60 for a private room with private bathroom.  And that's exactly ALL you get.  It is without a doubt the saddest room I've stayed in ever, including cross country Motel 6's that allow dogs and the many college dorm digs I've been assigned as a workshop artist.  One double bed with sheets a little too crisp. One futon couch that defies sitting on with it's curious slope. One poster on the wall of Telluride, Colorado skiing (?), 2 little travel bars of soap and  2 towels that I'd retire to the paint bin. Oh and please don't take them to the beach, the info sheet on the door says?  And did we tell you the WiFi doesn't work?  First cup of coffee in the morning is free and then every cup after costs. 10% off breakfast.  Heavy bars on the window complete the penitentiary look and no light gets in at all. Refrigerator is the sole luxury. John says to go get the second night money back because one night is all he can do here.  Period!  Nosara even comes with that occasional whiff of fermented fruit and a little poop smell.

We drive down to the surf beach and even this disappoints.  It's got scrubby brush and rougher sand, just paling in aesthetics next to the incredible tropical beauty of Playa Hermosa and Santa Teresa. John does a late afternoon session at Playa Guiones that is decent, but way too rough for me.  Dinner by a pool, which harkens images of the Creature of the Black Lagoon, but the food is actually really good here and we eat fish with an artichoke sauce and a small quinoa salad (which will no doubt be the cause of John's next day revenge). And wait for it.... Everywhere in restaurants there's 13% tax and an additional 10%  service charge that is not considered a tip.  Hmmmmm....  So your meal is almost 25% more than the listed price. I've got a driving headache that requires Advil and my first sleeping pill to conquer.  

P.S. Now I sound like I'm hatin' on Guiones so I'm posting Day 7 immediately because the next day changed the whole ballgame in this AMAZING PLACE!

Day 5 Santa Teresa

Day 5

Its easy to get up early here as we hit the hay around 8 pm and even if I read outloud to John (a habit we developed during our long distance phone call days), he's gone in 15 minutes tops and then I read a different book for maybe a half an hour and I nod out.  The mostly glass villa fills with the 4:30 am early morning light and does that gentle, natural wake up that is supposed to be so good for the soul.  We go surf at Playa Hermosa and it’s going to be another day of waves and fun but also of moving our digs.  After our morning session we return for a breakfast of french toast and coffee, fruit, juice and then we pack up as do Brooklyn 1 and 2.  We dropped the boards off earlier at Manala with an early check in so there'd be room for everyone's luggage.  As we load up we finally see our first CR monkeys.  Yeah!  It really is so beautiful to be surrounded with such an ecological feast- hummingbirds, birds I don't even know, butterflies, monkeys, iguanas, lizards, weird spiders, crabs, shells and of course the requisite hotel cats and dogs...

Manala's rooms are too adorable and our first TV this trip. http://www.manalahotel.com/ 

Good or bad thing?  I'm not sure.  Very ecological too with all electricity, except the refrig, generated off the room key being inserted into an electronic starter.  After a nap John wants to try the cove back at Cabuya as the swell is really high.  As we start that drive I spy some folk surfing at Punte Bargona in Mal Pais and we back up to a road that gets John there.  He is all for a paddle out and I'm not into reef and rock so I'll wait for the higher tide late afternoon but take pics of J here instead.  The waves are all lefts coming off the rock point and my goofy footer is very happy.   There's a gal out surfing with her boyfriend ripping it up on a boogie board.  When she comes in she nods at John and says "Man, he's good.  I want to be that good someday".  Yep, we all do, sweetie.  John surfs over an hour and other than getting rolled backwards by a really huge wave off the log I'm sitting on and getting some nasty rock scrapes, my pride is more dinged than my body as several surfers were watching John and caught me getting smashed.  

On the ride back to our place in Santa Teresa, we stop at Kina Surf shop because I want to try a different board. We trade out for a NSP 7'10".  I test it briefly on a couple of sunset waves a short walk down the road across the street from our room and I like the feel.  It floats me better than the longer board. 

We hit a roadside green market today for fruit and avocado. Appetizer tonight is homemade guacamole on our patio with rum and coke.  I cut them in half, take out the nut and smash the avocado up in the half shell, add some lime. Some chips from the Super Ronnie (#2) and it makes for a much cheaper chips and guac than most places that charge $7 for this treat.  Dinner is pizza with shrimp and tuna along with a another entree of chicken in a sauce with rosemary potatoes.  Great food here at El Pupo, the restaurant at Manala's.  Huge pizza oven where they cook the pizzas on wooden platter!  

Surprise- we are too tired from sun and surf to go to any of the full moon madness happening at the bars and discos. We fall asleep with plans to go on to Nosara tomorrow.

Day 4 And the Swell Hits

Day 4- Mal Pais, Santa Teresa and Southern Nicoya Peninsula Playa Hermosa 

The swell is here and the tides will be perfect later this afternoon.  Our morning attempt at surf isn't happening as we wait to see if we can switch horses for fishing.  Roger, the owner, has his truck jacked up on the road guard and slammed backwards into a stucco wall, clearly a mis-judged attempt at the driveway at midnight with too many cervezas.  It also keeps him from an appearance until after 8:30 am and too late to change our plans- which he cites as needed to be done by 7 am and I quietly mention I was there waiting at 6 am. As was his badly damaged trunk from last night's reverie. But Pura Vida means letting go of the little stuff and our guide, Kay is now there with horses.  

Kay, from Germany, only working this past 3 weeks is from Sunrise Ranch.  She's adorable and the horses are solid trail riders if nothing else.  Meaning they are a bit on the lean side, but it's the end of the dry period and grass is scarce. The walk down the road to the beach is steep for the horses too, poor things.  We get to the beach and it's lovely to be at a different view.  We trot some- John is not a fan of this new pace, only having been on a horse one other time before in his life.  Did I mention I just spent 35 years in Northern Nevada and had horses for at least a decade of that time?  And that my Dad taught me how to ride and that old Iowa farm boy meant the old adage "when you fall off a horse, you gotta get right back up there".  The "or else you deal with me" was sort of unspoken because he didn't have to state the obvious.  Hence, I have little fear of horses and have fallen off my fair share. And gotten right back up. (It's like surfing) We get down to Santa Teresa's harder pack beach and John and I switch horses as he'll sit out the gallop part of the ride, not really feeling comfortable with the horse yet and he was on the taller, more aggressive animal.   Kay and I tear off and the momentary "oh crap", always becomes "oh yeah" instantly as the rhythm takes over. A few yapping dogs are chasing us and where are the owners to keep them in check?  The one who gets a bit rolled under Kay's horse Honey wishes his owner was more careful, I bet.  But its so fun to run full speed on sand and through the surf's foam. This experience is a good analogy too for John and I.  Where he is so at ease on the waves, and I'm still somewhat fearful or careful, I now can say "I'm not ready to gallop yet", and he gets it.  Part of being in a great relationship is learning how to talk and listen, developing a language that works for two. But surfing, riding a horse both have a similar zen like quality of both pushing yourself for the new challenge while still respecting the power of nature.  Next time we ride, he'll try a gallop.  And I'll take that little bit larger wave.

It's hot now and the pool will be welcome after this ride.  Kay is grateful for the $10 tip and even more so, I'm her first client who would/could (skill level wise) run with her on the beach, hence her first CR beach run too.   After some rest, some pool time, we decide to go check out Playa Hermosa. By the eay, there is no less than 3 Playa Hermosas from Jaco north to the Nicaraguan border.  Popular name for beaches here as it means "beautiful".  Hermosa was one of my favorite beaches too in So. Cali. No exception here!  It's an awful ride north of town(s) down a dusty bumpy road, but the beach is gorgeous.  I mean really ridiculous, postcard, Kodak moment, stunning.  John gets me settled on the secondary swell away from the rocks and I'm happy on my Billy Hamilton riding these waves.  Wave count!  And John is having some real fun on a beautiful wave on the outside that is coming in at around 6-7'.  Again this beach is huge, tons of waves and hardly any people on the shore or the water.  There's no fighting for line up position here.  

We surf until sunset and sarcastically say "yeah just another beautiful sunset, yawn! "

Another word on that language/couple/surfing subject.  I've only been surfing for a few years and sporadically at that.  John is well into his 45+ year of surfing.  When we go on surf trips, we have to compromise and play give and take.  Sometimes I have to be trip photographer if it's reef break or too big.  That's a little fallout from starting surfing at 53- not quite as much muscle mass as even 10 years ago (although yoga and the gym are ritual) and I can break easier.
Our surf language includes: 
K: Will I have fun?
J: (Answers vary depending on the conditions) No, hon, this won't be fun for you OR Give it a try and see OR Yes you can do this, easy OR It'll be good for you just to get out and paddle. 
He's also amazing at getting me settled on beach break that is right for me and after one or two waves I say "Get outta here, I'm fine" and he paddles out to the bigger break. Everyone is happy and surf trips stay our priority for travel.

Insert a commercial break here (and maybe this business can become an official blog sponsor).  For Christmas I got John a SurfLock   https://www.facebook.com/TheSurfLock  OR  http://thesurflock.com/.  This handy lock popped up on my Facebook ads and I thought about CR and having a car, so I got one on a great Xmas deal- $35.00.  It's heavy duty, nice capacity for credit cards and keys, locked onto our car wheel and allowed the key to be accessible to both of us.  I highly recommend! 

When we get back, I'm pumped from finally having a really, decent surf day and we are both ready for the yellowfin tuna that the girls scored on their fishing trip.  A bottle of wine, part of the deal, is especially delicious tonight too. Even though we didn't get to go fishing, this day really turned out great for us.  Tomorrow we leave Vista las Olas and check in for one night in Santa Teresa at Manala's.  

Day 3- Mal Pais is NOT a Bad Place

John surfs in the morning at Santa Teresa by Habenera Mex- Grill.  Morning patrol is easy when you sleep in a glass villa and the sun wakes you up nice and gentle. We like just driving down a dirt road to park right at the beach.  These waves were GOOD!  Got a great barrel, good lefts, 3-4 rights.  I am still boardless but that will get fixed today!

Breakfast is an omelette with a touch of veggies and ham. After breakfast we drive to the surf shop, Kina, for a board for me.  It's sort of far past most businesses in Santa Teresa, but family owned, operated and recommended.  Ex-pats are running the place and a decent selection.  We select a Billy Hamilton 8'2.  $10 per day and the ability to trade boards in and out-  pretty standard and I like that this place doesn't run your credit card- they just hold the number in reserve for security.  My first foray at Santa Teresa was so-so as the swell was huge and closed out and we decided to drive back to Cabuya on the eastern side of the peninsula.  There we found a wave, but reef and rock with the tide not quite right yet so we shelled instead for awhile.  But as the tide dropped the reef started to produce a wave John liked so he paddled out and I did too, though just for exercise as it wasn't suited to my experience (or lack thereof).  John surfed with a local who told him this place gets really good when giant swells hit the mainland.  By the way, they are the only two out in this entire cove. The wave was a rock ledge with some boulder rocks that helped peak the wave.The wave raked along the rock ledge, creating a very clean, manicured wave. The offshore wind kept it a peeling left all the way to the rock pebble shore.  Shoulder high, well formed wave.

On our drive back to the villas we are treated to the 2-3 day phenomena of the blooming of the Amarillo de Carillo trees in CR. They bloom once a year for a couple of days in these brilliant yellow flowers and then they leaf out green.  Makes a beautiful contrast in the jungle as well as a really pretty carpet out on the front of our walkway.

For dinner we grabbed Mikini and Marilyn to drive to town for fish tacos.  The pool at the Villas was hopping with a 20-30's crowd. I get the bar and the pool bringing in revenue but when you are staying there and can't park?  Hmmmm.  We also decided to stay another night in Santa Teresa and get a place recommended- Manala's.  It's a bit spendy but the villas are awesome and still cheaper than Villas de Olas so we reserve.  The girls mention they want another night too and after seeing the digs, also reserve a room.   

The fish tacos at Tacos are really yummy and the waitress is a fire juggler and eater.  She's a very stylish, cool Tico-ette.  I love asking people living in this rough little surf town where they are from, what brought them to this area. She is from San Jose originally, but has been here for a year now working with a a group of performers juggling and doing fire tricks, and of course, supplementing with working at Taco's.   

We are to go horseback riding in the morning at 9 am and the girls are fishing, which John would rather do.  No one is up at the pool on our return so we'll see if we can alter the plan at 7 am.  Early nights are easy here.  No TV.  Read for 45 minutes and I pass out.

Day 2- Exploring the Tip of the Nicoya Peninsula

Up at 5 am and down to check out the surf.  Wishing these villas were closer to the beaches.  We go to Playa Carmen, also called CoCo and park on the beach.  

John does a pretty decent session and I body surf, as I've not rented a board yet.  The waves were head high on the sets, fun lefts and rights, peaky. There are maybe 10 people total up and down this huge expanse of beach, 2 are surfing, the rest are walking dogs, and it's very clean.  When we go back for breakfast John chats with Roger's sons who are both surfer pro hopefuls at 16 and 17.  The younger one is way more interested in the “Thumper”.  Not unusual as this board often causes quite a stir- being this hybrid of a shorter fun shape with really clean rails, and he and John end up chatting for awhile about waves and surf spots, which isn't surprising given he's reportedly the better of the two. 

 
John also greets Christopher and Cecilia from France who he met the night before.  But they are leaving today which is too bad, as John would've enjoyed surfing with Christopher who is a financial rep for Billabong.

Back for breakfast and Rosie is cheerful, not bilingual, but a great cook.  Eggs and sausage with toast, fresh fruit, coffee (coffee in the room too which made J happy). 

We decide to ATV that day as the forecast for a swell is later that week and the rest of today's surf just looks thick and sloppy.  Plus this tour is part of the package and sometimes on a surf trip, if the waves aren't happening, its nice to have some other options. ATVs make total sense here and if we ever move to this place, we will own one for sure!  Roger leads, and we are joined by Mikini (rhymes with Bikini) and Marilyn, two young, beautiful women from Brooklyn.  Mikini gets a quick lesson and Roger is leery but she makes the hill so she's good to drive.  We go past Mel Gibson's joint, just as he's flying in on his private helicopter- and down into Cabuya.  We see a possible wave break on this eastern side of the peninsula and mark it for checking out later for possible surf.

An unremarkable butterfly farm, with exception of a bug expert who chats to us about spiders and such, and we hike from there to the Waterfall.   It's a pretty scary path with one way- straight down, but doable.  The falls remind me of the High Sierra's granite pools from Silver Lake, called the Potholes- a favorite camping place of mine if you’re ever on Hwy 88, just south of Kirkwood ski resort. 10 and 15 foot jumps into the pools.  Ice cold refreshing water though it's brown from 3 previous days of much needed rain. There's even a rope swing and we all practice being Tarzan except for Marilyn who can't swim. After the falls a short drive to Montezuma, a hippie haven, for lunch of fish Casado  - Tico standard fare- grilled meat, rice and beans, plantain and cabbage salad.  Coconut milkshake and crepes with banana (an entire banana left whole, no less) and nutella for dessert.  There's a huge French influence here and French Canadians heavily travel the region.

Pretty beat from dust, swimming and bone rattling roads upon our return.  Later we drive to Santa Teresa to rent me a board but get skunked as the recommended place is only open 9-5 pm.  Seems a bit odd when dawn patrol is a must here- but then again there's just not that many people so its probably not worth it.  We ate a big lunch so we just get some ceviche and chips for dinner from the ice cream store.  That’s CR for ya- ice cream and raw fish appetizer at the same place- that only sells those two things.  Tomorrow we plan to surf most of the day.

Another early night but with A/C - yeah! 

Costa Rica April 2013: Day 1 - Logistics of a Nicoya Peninsula Surf Trip on a Budget OR Tolerating the Worst Airline in the World to Squeeze Out One More Night in Paradise

John and I needed a vacay and plans to do so before the current theatre production I was working in didn't materialize. Add to the scheduling nightmare that J's work does a huge pro-bono night and that was end of May and his services would be required at least 2 weeks prior. And my daughter and grandkids were coming in June. Possible productions, weddings, workshops crowded the July horizon. I was definitely getting an aneurism and John was irritable with my crankiness. Imagine! But being the consummate planner and head strong to boot, I figured out if we left the night the show closed we could squeeze in 13 days in Costa Rica. Done!

 Spirit Airlines- what can we say. They still let you wear the clothes on your back and have one purse, small backpack or camera case without charge. But everything else costs-. But we have this figured out. $100 each way for a surfboard bag but here's the curious thing for a company that gives parsimony new meaning- they don't have a height restriction (longboards rarely can fly the Friendlier Skies) nor a weight restriction. They only say " maximum 2 boards per bag". So our 7'6" surfboard coffin with wheels holds 2 boards( The Thumper- a custom fun shape 7'2" that catches every kind of wave possible and a 6'11" big wave gun plus hoards of towels, rash guards, bathing suits, flip flops, all sundry items and snacks. Then the rest of our needs like camera, IPhone, IPad, t-shirts, shorts, sundresses fit into our small backpacks. 2 1/2 hours from Ft. Lauderdale at midnight lands us in San Jose, CR. BTW- we got tons of applause for outwitting Spirit with our board bag strategy.

Immigration was not crowded at that hour and after a small wait for the board bag, clearing customs and there's our name on a small hand held white board ready for our free ride courtesy of the Trapp Family Country Inn where we planned to grab 5 hours of sleep and collect our car. The shuttle was a taxi- but paid for by the hotel and oops- gotta always mention that there's boards aboard. But the board bag was squeezed in by a determined cab driver who was not going to lose this fare- and we took a bumpy ride less than a mile from the airport through that really sketchy part of San Jose. Down a small rough road amongst heavily barred Tico houses and pull up to a guardhouse with gate. Once inside it was hard to imagine the rough slum like streets we'd rumbled on to get here and aside from hearing the jets overhead, hard to believe that the airport was around the corner. This beautiful, immaculate compound with patios, pool and gardens was like another world. We were led to our room quietly and we were pleasantly surprised with two over large queen beds, TV with cable, private patio, large heavy Spanish colonial furniture. A touch worn, but still extremely clean and attractive. OK mattress and we got some sleep. (www.trappfamilycostarica.com)

 Morning we went to the restaurant area for the most beautiful breakfast imaginable and we had the place to ourselves. Fried plantains of course- an obligatory offering at every Tico meal, rice and beans, scrambled eggs, coffee, OJ, toast with tropical jam and slices of pineapple that tasted like pure sugar.

Our host called Adobe to make sure that our car would be delivered on time and also recommended that we get the GPS. It would be worth the extra $9 per day. Jump in the pool since we had 45 minutes before the car arrived, but a couple of laps and it pulled up. Hairo, with Adobe, was a sweetheart and we sat in bathing suits under the veranda and filled out our car rental agreement. And of course, he brought a GPS just in case, which by this time we were sure was going to be a good idea given the area to which we were headed. I've rented cars all over the world and have NEVER been so relaxed or well treated as in the quiet and spectacular beauty of our hotel. Props to Nelson Chacon, Adobe manager, who made these arrangements, under the recommendation of Rich Burnam from SurfingNosara website. (www.surfingnosara.com More on these guys later when we hit Guiones)

Oh its a 2013 Hyundai Tucson 4 WD and voila- the boards fit inside. Off we go after programming the GPS and saying goodbye to Trapp Family Inn- travel tip... This place was $107 total for the night through Kayak and with the breakfast, security and comfort it afforded? Priceless! GPS- also priceless as no roads have any signs or markers. However we planned to take the ferry from Puntarenas to Paquera and the GPS doesn't calculate water routes. Garmin wanted us to drive way up to Liberia and then around and down. Fortunately we figured this out before we went too far past Puntarenas but it got John agitated and he got all "slam, bammy" until I put in 2 routes- one to the Ferry and then Paquera to Mal Pais- our destination. In Puntarenas we found the Ferry after a guy on the street holds up a sign that says "Ferry". When we stop, he gives pretty good details on how it works, getting in line, getting a ticket, then taking the ticket to the fares office to pay which gives you the boarding ticket, getting your car lined up in the loading queue. All that info for a measly $3000 colones- $6 people. So we gave him $2. But it was good intel for the money and we made the 70 minute crossing on the 2 pm Ferry for $28.00 ($30 if you count our knowledgeable buddy).

The first thing one notices upon embarking in Paquera is a simpler, less fearful quality. Houses don't have huge gates and imposing bars at every window and egress. It's more agricultural and Brahman cows are everywhere- including around corners of steep, narrow, graded roads which Garmin dubs "unpaved". It was after 4 pm now and we had about an hour left on these bumpy, twisty roads. Our first view of the Pacific caused us both to squirm a bit with excitement.

 Mal Pais and Santa Teresa are pretty much the same town defined by a cross in the road. Mal Pais goes south, ST goes north. We head for Vista de Olas for our Living Social* 4 nights with extras. Up a really steep, no I'm not kidding, steep road that makes us glad we have this vehicle, we pull into our digs. Roger, the owner, meets us and the bad news is our A/C is on the fritz in our villa, but it will get fixed mañana. That's a scary forecast in CR, but this time, it was true. However, it’s an interesting sort of customer service malaise to not offer some sort of recompense for this lack. These are, after all, $175 a night digs, though we didn’t pay that courtesy of Living Social.com.   It's Costa Rica, end of the dry season, 85 degrees plus with no A/C?  But it’s “Pura Vida” here so no one gets too worked up. We followed suit. The crowning glory of the joint is an infinity pool with view of about 25 miles of Pacific coast. With swim up bar. The downside of the entire region is food, drink etc. is the same as the states. An expat who pays to use the pool tells us she blames Mel Gibson and Tom Brady, who both built huge compounds. The same thing exploded here as when Harrison Ford bought part of Wyoming. Everyone wants to emulate the celebs. (www.vistadeolas.com)

Dinner is BarBQ and part of our package for one night of our stay. They give you the meat to grill yourself along with salad bar and potato. The Mahi-Mahi is fresh and yummy. The filet Mignon is huge but beef here is very lean and lacks the marbling for flavor we red meat eaters crave. The other guests are semi- aloof and we note that as odd. The villas are lovely with comfy King beds, coffee makers, refrig, a safe, and combo indoor outdoor shower. And the place abounds with the family dogs and 2 cats- Kung Fu and Panda. Kung Fu is super friendly and spends part of the night curled up on the bed. Sleep comes easy as it’s been a long travel day and surfing is on for tomorrow!
*No kidding people! You have to watch Living Social for these surfer deals. We paid $600 for 4 nights in Mal Pais (regular $175 per night ) PLUS Dinner at their restaurant 1 night ($50 value), bottle of wine ($30), ATV tour ($75) , surf/horseback riding or zip line for 2 ($100) and 1 night of happy hour (4 beers or 2 cocktails each). Well worth the money!