Today we learned how to surf! Laura had been before, years ago, but I had never tried it. There were a few schools right along the beach which was about 500 meters from our hostel, and the one the staff recommended, Choco's, was the least expensive too. We really went just to check it out, but they convinced us when they told us we could use the board for 5 hours after our lesson to practice.
Frank, our instructor, showed us a couple of ways to get on the board and then we were out in the water. The waves weren't very big, but big enough to get up and get going, and there was a pretty strong rip tide as well. Between keeping a hold of the board in the waves, trying not to drift halfway down the beach while waiting for a good one, and surfing itself I was pretty tired after about three hours. Here's a nice shot of me standing up to high and about to fall off at the end of the day :)
While "practicing," we met two brothers from St. Louis here on vacation. They had also taken a lesson, but apparently their instructor showed them a couple of things on the sand and sent them out in the water. Frank, on the other hand, got out in the water with us to tell us when to paddle, when to stand up, and how to fix anything that went wrong. The poor guys hadn't been up on their boards once, so we gave them a few helpful hints and they were able to ride a couple times before heading to a restaurant right next to the school on the beach for some lunch. Laura and I caught a few more waves and called it a day.
Me in a tree rinsing off - yes, there is a shower inside a mangrove tree. I want one at home!
As we were walking back to the car, the St. Louis boys offered to buy us a beer for helping them out. We had already decided we would have to sample all of the local Costa Rican beers before we head to Panama (there are three biggies - Bavaria, Pilsen, and Imperial), so we had an Imperial and chatted for a bit. It was getting late, however, and our next destination was about 4 hours' drive north and then south again so we headed out shortly after.
There are two ways to get to Santa Teresa, our next stop. One, a coastal route from Samara, would require us to drive across three or four rivers on the way which, in dry season and at low tide are apparently quite doable even in a small car. Being rainy season and still three hours from low tide, we opted for the slightly longer more circuitous route which took us back north through Nicoya and then east/southeast down to Santa Teresa. Along the way there were monkeys in the trees that overhung the road which was really neat to see. If we hadn't been moving so fast I might have been able to snap a picture. Also, the last hour and a half of the 3.5 hour long drive was on totally unpaved, dirt and rock roads that wound through the mountains toward the coast. At one point we had to stop to wait for a group of cows to get out of the middle of it so we could continue which was comical because they are quite stubborn. Again, wish I was able to get a picture, but it was too dark by that point :( It started to rain just as we were pulling onto the dirt road leading to our hostel. At least we were able to park nearly right out front and get our things inside. There was another killer thunderstorm that lasted for several hours, and the hostel has a tin roof which was really neat to hear.
The plan for tomorrow is to see some of the local sites and make our way to Santa Elena/Monteverde where we will be spending two nights. At the moment, this girl is beat and off to bed.
Hasta luego!
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