Monday, March 16, 2009

Trip Report: Nosara, Costa Rica





Okay, so this may not fit the traditional description of a trip report, since II and I have been down here numerous times before. But heck, let's go.
Trip: Playa Pelada, Nosara area, Guanacaste, Costa Rica
Method: Surfing, primarily. Some diving, fishing, and running on the beach
Route: There are 2 good ways to get here from the states- flying into Liberia, and flying into San Jose. From both of those places you can rent a car, and from San Jose you can take a shuttle flight to Nosara (the quickest, easiest way if you don't have a lot of baggage).
Date: March 2009, as well as many other times in the past. We usually go once in March, and sometimes around Christmas, and II typically manages to weasel another trip down here in the summer. The wet season is May-October, which is hit or miss. Sometimes you get decent weather and can surf (albeit a bigger swell) other times you get dumped on (II and his buddies last May. Whenever I heard from them they were playing cards inside or riding the bikes around in the mud.
Difficulty rating: The surf is great for beginners (very consistent white water) and the waves are good for intermediate to advanced surfers. Guiones is a big beach break with lots of little peaks, but it's generally pretty soft. Pelada has some funny reef breaks during big swells.
Plusses: Not commercialized (yet), monkeys and iguanas in the trees, relatively easy to get to, surfing in a bikini, cheap mangos and avocados, amazing sunsets, consistent surf, II's mom makes us yummy baked goods, great medical care
Minuses: Involves international travel, getting more expensive/crowded as time goes on, stingy things (ants, scorpions, stingrays, etc.)

Details: Well, we really like it down here, to say the least. II was smart enough to buy a piece of property down here a few years ago that borders the biological reserve, and his mama managed the building of a couple houses on the property. We rent them both out when we aren't around.
So a couple times a year we come down, pull out our boards, and enjoy hanging out in the tropics. We have hosted lots of our friends and family members here over the years, and love sharing this place with people. Nosara/Playa Guiones/Playa Pelada is a great area, still full of family-run businesses, small hotels, and no chain stores. There isn't even a gas station. We spend our days away from electronics, talk to the people around us, enjoy the nature, and generally get back to life the way it should be.
On the bummer side, I twisted my ankle walking to surf the first day we got there. I skinned my knees and now my right ankle is puffy and bruised. 2.5 wks before the AR50! So we have decided not to go on our planned 3-day beach walk (sad!) and I'm just laying low, doing lots of icing, and crossing my fingers. It doesn't feel that bad, but at mile 40, who knows what might come up. Please send healing vibes in my direction!

2 comments:

seth said...

The 'official' rule on surf trips is if someone gets hurt, they have to take pics of the waves. Bring 'em on.

jen said...

Wow, gorgeous! You guys have quite the little spot there. Very cool. :)