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.
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| One of many river crossings |
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| Bicyclist showing how it's done. |
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| 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.
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| Bo surfing the fish. |
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| Kahlo coming off the top. |
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| Mama on a sweet right. |
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Micah and Bo paddled into waves
on their own. |
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| 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.
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| Our deck at Cabinas Sta Teresa |
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| Mi amor getting ready to charge the surf. |
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| Surprise! Micah had a visitor in his luggage. |
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| The air-conditioned Master Bedroom. |
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| Leslie at the outdoor/indoor shower. |
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| Clean, refreshed with a glass of vino tinto. |
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| Kahlo cutting back. |
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| In the newly cleaned pool with the boys. |
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| Amores! |
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| 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.
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| Massive downpour. |
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| 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.
Man, what an amazing trip you are having. It's such an inspiration. It seems you are making every moment count. Leslie you are getting so friggin dark. I am sure you have been enjoying not having to cook every meal but I certainly understand your desire to be back in your kitchen. Looks to me like the casita teresa was well worth the price. Its super posh. Sorry you have to end your trip. But glad you had it and shared it on the interweb.
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