Surfing Costa Rica

I had a rough first day. I surfed for a couple of hours, got sunburned, got really drunk, lost my wallet, and fell asleep in an alley about 100 feet from my room. It was pathetic.

But after canceling a few credit cards and re-hydrating, I made it back in the water the next day for a total of about five hours. Once the initial nausea passed, I was loving it. My only complaint was that the group I was traveling with became the crowd. They were pleasant enough, but still, a crowd is a crowd. That aside, I had fun waves everyday surfing Costa Rica.

Jaco beach is a beachbreak and breaks most of the day except at low tide. There were fairly large tidal swings when I was there and the water and air were both about 80 degrees. The town of Jaco is kind of dumpy, and if you’re a single guy, which I was, you have to beat the hookers off with a stick....or not, I suppose. I didn’t feel like I was going to get mugged or anything, but petty theft wasn’t uncommon. I still wonder if I really “lost” my wallet. Several other people on that trip experienced some minor theft. But the great surf made it all worth it.

I checked out several other spots while surfing Costa Rica. Bocca Borranca is a super-long left point break. We got there by hiring a guy with a van who stayed with the van and our belongings while we surfed. The wave was the most beautiful poop-brown wave I’ve ever seen. The run-off from the river mouth gave it that color. It was somewhat crowded with our group and young body-boarding ticos, but it seemed like everybody got some waves. Some rides of mine lasted about 45 seconds. A guy from the group said the rides were twice as long the year before.

Playa Hermosa was more of a beach break, but bigger and more powerful than Jaco with some strong shorebreak. I got some fast breaking waves, but the wind came up and pretty soon the surf sucked. The paddle out sucked, too.

Costa Rica has plenty of good waves and a better reputation than many other surf destinations south of the border. Unlike on my trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, where I spent many days sick with dysentery, I didn’t watch what I ate too much on this trip and still didn’t get sick. I know Nicaragua and some other Central American countries are the new places to explore, but surfing Costa Rica is a great place to start.

What spots did you surf? Where did you stay? Did you stay away from the prostitutes?