Many Rivers to Cross to Playa Santa Teresa, Costa Rica

Tuesday, July 24th, Playa Santa Teresa:

Today, we arrived in Santa Teresa from Guiones.  It was quite a journey to get here, with 6 major river crossings.  For each crossing, Kahlo would get out and walk the river to find the most shallow passage. Then, I would say a prayer, put in 4wd high and go for it.  At some points, the river was well up to the driver's door.  Surprisingly, we didn't have any stalls or water in the car.  My biggest concern was water in the exhaust, but i kept on the gas the entire time to avoid it.   On one of the river entrances, however, we bottomed out and the plastic shrouding on the front of the car came loose.  I secured it with zip ties in 9 spots, however, part of the shrouding broke off.  Looks like our car rental fee will be a little higher in Costa Rica.

One of many river crossings

Bicyclist showing how it's done.

Another, deeper crossing

River Crossing Video.

The road to Santa Teresa was all dirt and rock and extremely rough.  Now, I know why car rental rates are so high here...the cars get worked on the roads.

Once we pulled up to the beach in Santa Teresa we saw perfect waves and were stoked to surf the next morning.  At the first place we stopped to check into possible accommodations, we ended up getting a great discount.  The hotel was actually 4 individual houses with full kitchens, air conditioning, swimming pool, incredible architecture and only a minute walk to the surf lineup.  Normally, $200 per night, we got it for $125.  I know, not a bargain, but pretty much the going rate for Costa Rica beach-front lodging for a family of 5.

Bo surfing the fish.

Kahlo coming off the top.

Mama on a sweet right.

Micah and Bo paddled into waves
on their own.

Papa surfing a right on the longboard.

The woman managing the property was named Maria and she and her sister were extremely friendly and extremely accommodating.  They actually started to cry when we left 2 days later.

Kahlo and I surfed 3x a day here.  The waves were overhead with steep drops, but the offshore winds kept the faces up and exposed so there were infinite opportunities for cut backs and turns.  We had some of our best waves of the trip here.

The first morning we awoke, we noticed that the pool had 11 dead crabs in it.  We found out that at certain times, the crabs drop into the pool and lay there eggs.  However, the chlorine kills the crabs.  The pool guy says that sometimes he will scoop out 5 buckets of crabs at one time.  The eggs left the water very murky but the pool guy took care of that.

Our deck at Cabinas Sta Teresa 

Mi amor getting ready to charge the surf.

Surprise!  Micah had a visitor in his luggage.

The air-conditioned Master Bedroom.

Leslie at the outdoor/indoor shower.

Clean, refreshed with a glass of vino tinto.

Kahlo cutting back.

In the newly cleaned pool with the boys.

Amores!

Our casita in Playa Sta. Teresa.

On Tuesday afternoon, there was an incredible rain, thunder and lightning storm.  It rained harder than any other time on our trip. Lighting was flashing, rain was pouring, thunder was shaking and the howler monkeys nearby in the tree were going crazy making noise and frantically moving across the branches.

Massive downpour. 

Raindrops and a beer.  Good times!

Thunderstorm Video.

Surfers know that rain will sometimes calm down surf and make it glassy.  So, as the storm slowed down, Kahlo and I grabbed our boards and had such an incredible surf session. Initially, I was cold from the rain, but when I stepped into the ocean, it was surreal.  The ocean was like bathwater, and it instantly warmed me up.  That was such a great feeling to have the ocean water warmer than the air.  Towards sunset @ 6:30, the sun peeked out from behind the clouds and produced one of the most magnificent sunsets I've ever seen in my life.  Unfortunately, we surfed until dark and never got a picture of the sky.

So far, Playa Negra, Playa Santa Teresa and Playa Tamarindo (in that order) have been our favorite Costa Rican surf spots.  Tomorrow, we leave the coast and head towards San Jose.  Our trip is coming to an end, but the memories will last a lifetime.

Oh My Guiones @ Playa Guiones, Costa Rica.

Monday, July 23rd, 2012:


Yesterday, we drove down south to Playa Guiones near Nosara.  Navigating this town is quite confusing because there are roads going in every direction.  Guiones is a cool town with quite an assembly of ex-pats.  Guiones has a hipster Encinitas vibe with yoga studios, pilates, organic food stores, homemade ice cream store, dread-locked rastas, beach cruiser brigade, and lush plant life.

balcony view of our room at the
Harbor Reef Lodge.

Getting homemade ice cream in Guiones.
I got caramel oatmeal!

 The quaint town of Guiones.

shopping downtown at the mini super.

One of the coolest things about Costa Rica and Guiones is the ability to ride dirt bikes and quads everywhere without helmets.  Almost everyone has a moto here and it is the main form of transportation in and around town.  It really makes me miss my motos back home. I get a bit of moto envy when I see Ticans riding by shirtless, in flip-flops with no helmets.  It makes sense since most of the coastal roads are bumpy, dirt roads so your top speed is only 30-40 km/h anyways.

Iguanas abound!

Coatamundi or Lemur?  One of about 20 who crossed
the road in front of us.

Secluded Nosara beach.

Boys on the balancing branch.

The surf down here was big, pounding beach break.  Kahlo and I paddled out yesterday and it goes like this.  Drop in on scary wave, race down the line, make a couple of turns, then launch off the back of the wave.  That is the payoff.  Now, get ready to take 3-4 outside waves on the head, then paddle under 8-10 more waves to make it to the outside...repeat.  I was exhausted and being aware to choose my waves carefully.  Every other wave was a closeout, so you wanted to time your "payoff" just right so the suffering wasn't too bad.

One of the highlights of Guiones was paddling the Mangroves with a rasta named "Chuco".  Leslie, the boys and I signed up for a 2-hour SUP tour in and out of the mangrove passageways.  It was very cool, we got to see a fair amount of wildlife.  The highlight was definitely seeing the leatherback turtle digging her nest on the beach to deposit her 200 or so baby turtle eggs.  As the mama turtle was digging, there was a flock of vultures gathering in the trees nearby.  The leatherback started 2 holes but abandoned them after being hassled and taunted by the vultures.  The third hole she kept at.  In addition to vultures, the eggs are threatened by foxes, dogs, and local humans.  The eggs are a delicacy and everyone is trying to get them.   Kahlo posted a video on FB of the mom digging the holes.

Sign up for adventure with Chuco.

Orientation at the river mouth.  The Chits can paddle, yo!

Chuco leading us through the mangrove swamp.

the fam cruising along. Bo leading the way.

Mi amor, paddling extraordinaire!

Boys getting crazy on the log.

Chuco cut up some fresh fruit on the beach. 

Nourishment.

Leatherback mama turtle.

Paddling with an amazing view and glassy water.

From Guiones, we are on our way south to Playa Santa Teresa, Mal Pais, and Playa Carmen.  We are hoping for some clean, workable surf.  Traveling down here is always an adventure but we've been impressed with the signage so far and the locals are always ready with a smile and a wave.  It's been a trip of a lifetime so far and we are excited at what's to come.

Only 3 more days down here.  We're sad and excited at the same time.  Sad to leave, but excited to be back home and near our friends and family.  Leslie is very excited to be able to cook again in her kitchen.  Hugs to all.  We love you.

~Steve, Leslie and the boys.

Howler Monkeys, Fireflies, Bats, OH MY!

Saturday, July 21, 2012:  At night in Playa Negra, it was quite hot so at Midnight I decided to go for a swim.  When I came up from the depth of the pool, I noticed a flash to my left, then a flash in front of me.  Quick darting motions were then all around me.  Bats were skimming the water's surface and scooping up insects that came in for a drink.  They were flying within feet of my body and I was trying to remain as still as possible so I didn't intercept their feeding trajectory.

Then I looked up.  Little flashes of light were everywhere...fireflies! They were contrasted amazingly against the backdrop of the green vegetation and against the dark sky.  If you haven't seen fire flies, then this is a little bit of magic and very entertaining.   As a California native, this is only my second sight of these glowing wonders in my entire life.

Finally, from the forest came the deep, guttural, growl of the Howler Monkeys starting with one vocalization and then a chorus of them.  The eerie sound causes the hair to stand on the back of my neck.

So, I am experiencing all of these sounds, and sights, the smell of freshly fallen rain, the waves crashing nearby, and I am sitting in a pool that is near bath water temp and air that is about 75 degrees.  

This night was an exceptional electrification of the senses.  Thank you Costa Rica for your incredible gifts!   I hope we will be back soon.

Ahhh, back on the coast in Costa Rica!

Thursday, 7.19.12


[Note:  If you click on the first image, it will create a slideshow of the pics for this blog entry.  This gives you a more zoomed in view].

I'm pretty behind in my updates, so I'm going to try to sum it up so I can talk about current events and not stuff from the past.

We had a smooth, and short flight to San Jose, CR.  It took only 1.5 hours from Guate City.  A huge stoke for us is they didn't charge anything for the boards this time! We paid $125 to fly 3 boards from LAX to Guatemala City.  One of the coolest things upon arriving in Costa Rica is this.  We walk out from baggage claim and start to think about calling our rental car company when I see this guy holding a sign with "Stephen Chitraroff" on it.  I felt like I was in the movies or something.  This was a first for me!  It was the rental car  guy, so at this time I definitely have to recommend Mapache Car Rental...very helpful.

One of the many spectacular river crossings.

Bodhi feeling the Pura Vida!

Once we got the car rental squared away we headed North into the highlands.  We took the scenic route and we are so glad we did!  Granted, it is much slower but we saw a really cool part of the country in doing so.  Our destination was Lake Arenal near the Arenal Volcano.  We headed to Witch's Rock Volcano Brewing Company to stay for a couple of nights.  Leslie chose it because she knows how much a I like microbrews.

View of Lake Arenal from our room.

In the brewery restaurant.  Free breakfast!

Hotel Pool...so crowded!

Kahlo chilling on our porch.

Leslie at our room entrance.

This place was very cool...skatepark, pool table, swimming pool, brewery with great foods, organic garden, tennis courts with elevated views of the lake.  Another bonus is that there were Jui-Jitsu champions that were hosting a Jui-Jitsu camp there.  Bodhi, Kahlo and Micah got to learn some moves from some serious masters of the sport.  The boys were totally into it and they're all trying to do choke holds on me.  I knew I should've taken some lessons!

Kahlo getting schooled a bit.

Bodhi practicing his choke hold.

The Jui-Jitsu Crew.  Thank You!

The bummer part is the stomach flu hit me hard on the first day, so I was pretty much wiped out for about 48 hours.  Getting your health back after being ill is one of the best blessings in life.

Our first outing was the Monteverde Cloud Forest.  This place has one of the most biologically rich ecosystems with forest that are teaming with epiphytes...ferns, mosses, liverworts, lichens, air plants.  It is so green from the rain and fog that enshroud the park that when you actually see color (like a blossom) it totally pops from the backdrop.  We were fortunate to see some white-faced capuchin monkeys, tons of exotic butterflies and birds.  The forest was humming with cicadas which makes the rainforest sound like it is breathing.

Our guide showing us the rainforest
canopy at Monteverde.

Wild Ginger Blossom.

Avatar Tree

Bodhi doing a papa imitation.

Stick Bug.

Leslie showing off the massive solar collectors.

Bo playing Tarzan.

Epiphytes are huge sponges.

Color popping from the backdrop.

A primeval forest.

In a foggy cloud.

Leslie at the canopy bridge 30 meters above the forest floor.

Capuchin monkey launching into a tree.

close up of capuchin monkey.

Shot from the Hummingbird cafe. Proud of this one.

On our way out of Lake Arenal, we stopped at a secret waterfall, with rock jumps and water slides.  It was a short hike to an incredible scenic display of water features.

From the waterfall, we drove to the coast.  Our first stop was the popular surf town of Tamarindo.  We stayed at another Witch's Rock Hotel because it was right on the beach and closest to the surf spot.  As soon as we got in, Kahlo and I unpacked and assembled our boards and got in the water for a sunset session.  The mild, hollow surf was a welcome relief to the pounding beach break of Guatemala.

Tamarindo has wide, white-powdered beaches with both gentle and aggressive surf to satisfy both of our families needs.  There wasn't a strong current to deal with and the crowds were manageable.  Bodhi and Micah took the boards out for a session with Kahlo as the surf instructor.  Leslie had a great day long boarding with the locals and had some epic rides.

Today (Thursday), we drove a few kilometers south of Tamarindo to Playa Negra.  We are paying the premium price for surf side accommodations, but it definitely worth it.  Kahlo and I squeezed in a sunset session that was a blast.  Playa Negra has crystal clear water and head-high to overhead waves that slowly peel with huge ripable faces.  The off shores were howling today, so the wave shape was very high quality.  The Brazilians are definitely in full-force in CR right now.  They are aggressive surfers who make you work for your waves.  So, my watch is set for an early 5am dawn patrol to avoid the crowds.