D3 Costa Rica: Pavones back to San Jose
Pavones is exactly what you think of when you imagine a Costa Rican surf town. The drive in is bumpy, dusty and long but once you’re there, it’s worth every pothole. The town has a cantina, a few restaurants, a soccer field and a world-class point break wave, one of the longest lefts in the world. The people are friendly, the vibe is mellow and dogs and horses roam the beach.
We stayed at my sisters’ new Yoga retreat, Pavones Yoga, which is still under construction but has the most magnificent views. From her balcony you can see across the Golfo Dulce to the Peninsula de Osa and watch surfers riding the long lefts into the bay.
According to locals, it had been the best January and February they could remember for surf but unfortunately for us, we were only catching the tail end of a swell. We still caught plenty of waves and had our fun but we never got to see it at it’s best. Guess that only means one thing, we’ll just have to go back.
Jenny on a Pavones Left
We had a long drive back to San Jose but were upgrading from the Montero to a new Toyota Tacoma. And while it had comforts we had long forgotten, A/C, a horn, music and a suspension system that actually worked, it had no personality. It was sad to leave the Montero behind but we were grateful for how it handled.
All good things must come to an end. Unbelievably, another trip has come and gone. There are always ups and downs and things never go as planned but I walk away with great memories and look forward to the next adventure.
Pura Vida.
Jenny
D3 Costa Rica: Arenal to Tamarindo
We had planned on staying an extra day in Arenal but decided to head to the coast early, in search of waves. The plan was to stay in or around Tamarindo, find some waves to surf and cool places to paddle. The drive was another hot, long one. The scenery changes so much from the lush, green vegetation of the mountain highlands to the hot, dry and dusty conditions of the northern coastal zone. By the time we made it to Tamarindo we were tired, dirty and jostled, after hours of driving along the bumpy, dusty roads.
Busy City and Busy Sunset in Tamarindo
After driving through many small, quiet towns, Tamarindo is a shock to the senses. The town is now brimming with hotels, surf shops, hostels, souvenir stores and numerous high-rise buildings. It changes every time I visit, and sadly, it’s always for the worse. I remember spending time there when I was in high school and it was a beautiful, laid back surf town. The road in wasn’t paved which kept the majority people away, there were only a couple of hotels and restaurants and the long beaches were mostly empty. All that is left now are the fond memories… the Tamarindo I knew before is long gone.
The vibe now is similar to Mexico during Spring break, the lineups are crowded with surf schools, groups of college students roam the dirty streets and internet cafes are a dime a dozen. We hadn’t made plans for a place to stay, hoping to camp but the campground I knew before was replaced with a 10-story residential building, so our choices were limited. With all of our gear and boards, we didn’t feel comfortable leaving the Montero on the side of the road so we opted for a hotel with secure parking. Our mood was sullen, we were tired, dirty and depressed by the state of the town, all we wanted was to get into the water and catch some waves. It was dark by the time we settled into our place, so we grabbed dinner and made plans to get out of town first thing in the morning.
The next morning we met with Danny, owner of Costa Rica Paddle Surf, grabbed some boards for Morgan and Shannon and made a beeline for Playa Avellanas, never looking back. It felt good to get out of Tamarindo, although it still hurts me to see how far it has fallen. Not all progress is good.
-Jenny
Danny from Costa Rica Paddle Surf
D3 Costa Rica: San Jose to Arenal
February 9th, 2011.
Morgan and Ryan arrived Monday evening into San Jose. Ryan flew from Hawaii and Morgan flew in from Nicaragua, where she was filming Holly Beck’s latest surf camp. Shannon arrived early Tuesday morning after a red eye flight that took her from San Diego to Denver and finally into San Jose. She found her way to the couch and passed out while the rest of us worked on getting our things packed. We (well, Ryan really) loaded up the Montero, making sure the new racks would support the weight of all the boards. We made one last sweep of the house to make sure we had everything and woke Shannon from her deep sleep and set off.
We were a sight to see: an 85’ Mitsubishi Montero with some obvious signs of many years of off –road adventures, carrying 5 standup paddleboards, 1 shortboard, 3 paddle bags on the roof, and inside, the 4 of us, our bags and Orlando, our pet monkey along for the ride. We drove North from San Jose, heading for Lake Arenal, an artificial lake known for strong, dependable winds during the dry season. It is a well-known windsurfing and kite-boarding destination because of those winds so we figured it would make for an epic downwind paddle. The lake, which at nearly 30 square miles is Costa Rica’s largest, sits at the base of Volcán Arenal, the country’s most active volcano. On clear nights you can watch the lava spew out of the volcano and roll down the mountainside.
We arrived in the town of Nuevo Arenal in the late afternoon, scoped out some locations for where we would start and finish the paddle and made our way to Mystica Lodge, where we were staying. The next morning we drove down to the launch spot and to my dismay, were welcomed by a massive sign warning us of crocodiles. Not exactly what I had been looking for, I couldn’t help but wonder if we’d look like a tasty meal to them. We set up our boards, did our little pre-paddle dance, and paddled away. We didn’t exactly know where we were headed but we had a pretty good idea…we just had to aim to the right of the windmills and look for a little red flag.
getting ready to paddle across Lake Arenal
The paddle itself was beautiful; we passed islands and inlets and despite the wind not being as strong as we had hoped, managed to catch a few bumps. I could see the potential on a windy day; it would be an all time downwind run. After some deliberation as to where our finish spot was, we managed to spot the little red flag and made it to shore. Ryan met us with the car, we loaded up the boards and packed up for the next part of our journey: Tamarindo on the Northern coast.
-Jenny
Downwind paddling Lake Arenal