Aquaholics Surf Shop

Friends Visiting Us In Costa Rica

Posted on 03/11/2008 at 04:00 pm by Nanci Boutet
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Hi Everyone,

Sorry these have been so sporadic. The Internet here has been horrible. Often it takes from 5 to 8 minutes to open an email and another 8 to 10 to load the reply page. Needless to say, if you're corresponding with me, if it has nothing to the email other than a greeting, please don't send it. It takes about 2 hours to check 11 messages and delete my junk. (If you forward a joke, I'm deleting those as junk.) It's too long of a process in a hot and dusty café.

I also can't seem to locate my cable to download photos from my camera, so I'll have to add the pictures when I get home - April 1. I have some great shots.

February 29th 2008

Mark and Ellie Arseneault came for school vacation week and we surfed everyday, mostly two sessions. We surfed our brains out.

Sunday, they arrived at Negra in the afternoon and surfed low tide onshore. They were so amazed by the warm water, waves and sunny weather. Monday we went out at Marbella, and Ellie got some BOMBS! (Ellie just came out of a back brace for a vertebra problem).

Monday was a little overhead, and sucking walls. Ellie and Marc (Boutet) were fearless, going all out. Mark Arseneault was thoroughly enjoying the walling lefts that were lining up for him. Marc Boutet was dropping in on everything, holding back nothing, until he put his fin into his heel, slicing a nasty gash into his foot. Sharks are a problem at Marbella, so I STRONGLY encouraged him to go in (beating or no beating) since he was bleeding. Marc had been riding a 9'2" Rusty Desert Island, which was getting him in early and deep, and it seemed like the magic stick out there, the rest of us took our time to get it figured out, but it seemed to get better with the rising tide. It was a blast. Amazingly, it rained most of the day. Our winter is summer here in Costa Rica, and rain is rare in the "summer".

Tuesday, it was STILL raining. We went to Nosara, It was almost sunny but the wind goes onshore early there, and as luck would have it, the wind was just turning onshore when we got there. We paddled out anyway, and had a lot of fun. It was a little mushy but it had some size (a little overhead) so we surfed a couple of hours before heading south a little to see a few pretty beaches. We went as far as Playa Carillo. We sat for a little while on a log at a palm lined beach, contemplating how Keith Richard had climbed one of these trees and then fell on his head (it's easy to go up, getting down is the tricky part), then headed home. The drive took about an hour and a half. The trip seemed short because we had so many wildlife sightings, monkeys, beautiful horses, big skinny cows and bulls and TONS of lizards.

Wednesday, we went back to Marbella, but the size was smaller, about waist to chest. It was nice for an easy, relaxed session, but I think we all like the thrill of wondering if we're going to have our butt handed to us.

Thursday we surfed out front (Playa Junquillal) and it was fast and fun. Ellie said it was her favorite... then again she said that everywhere we went... After our morning, Mark and I went across the street to the old LaKampu to clean up all the broken glass, since our "rent-a-dog" Lupe cut her paws two days in a row. Vandals had been breaking bottles by the case. Marc and I now go over almost every evening to enjoy the sunset on the "patio".

Friday, we surfed Avellanas Rivermouth. As usual Ellie showed no restraint, that girl is amazing. I feel like a chicken around her! We surfed a few hours and it was Marks day to shine. He was picking off the lefts at will. Avellanas Rivermouth is a peak that breaks both ways, but the left is uncrowded and competition for the left is not too bad. After our session, we went to Lola's Bar for a drink. Lola is a 725-pound pig that the little jazz bar is named for. There are home made tables and chairs, canvas umbrellas and a white rock beach all under a few dozen royal palms with music playing on tree-mounted speakers. Monkeys often laze in the large tree near the parking area.

Saturday, as Mark and Ellie were leaving, we stayed close to home. We surfed Callejones and it was Ellie's favorite. The waves are always pretty good there and that day was no different. It was head high to a little overhead. The lefts were as good as the rights, so everyone was happy.

This week, we have finally had a swell of size. It showed up Tuesday (of course, since Frances was supposed to show up Wednesday and she is still recovering from her broken neck so she is supposed to surf only small easy waves for now).

Tuesday night was a little overhead and my nieces Chelsea and Margie showed up with a couple of friends. The wind was slightly onshore, but we all paddled out anyway. It was a rocking time. It was fun and fast. Barrels were being pried open all over the place. Everywhere you looked, someone was getting tubed!

Wednesday morning we looked out front, but it was big and burly. Experts only. Chelsea and Margie's friends went out in front. We went to the lot, but that wasn't working. We decided to give Callejones a try. It was pretty big, but we saw some people getting some nice rides, so Marc and I paddled out. Marc got one right away, and it was a macker left. I paddled out pretty easily and stroked for a right. I caught it, but slipped on my takeoff. I started to paddle out, but it seemed like I wasn't getting anywhere. The girls, Chelsea and Margie said it was triple overhead. I paddled for about 40 minutes, and decided I wasn't making any headway, so I rode a foamball in. It's pretty hard to breathe in a foamball! There was a Spanish guy, Thomas standing onshore talking to the girls. They were talking about how gnarly it looked. Thomas said he almost drowned. I really didn't feel like it was that bad, just too long of a paddle. Marc came in and confirmed what Tomas said. It was all over the place.

We left to pick Frances up and drop the girls off in Tamarindo. We drove to Liberia, but Frances never showed up. There was a mix up of the dates.

Thursday we thought we should look elsewhere, as Junquillal looked big and out of control. We went to Avellanas. Marc paddled out at Little Hawaii's while I stretched. He had it all to himself. It was scary big. Triple overhead. He took a couple and came in. He wasn't sure he was taking in the right spot. And he was tired from paddling so much.
I surfed the Rivermouth. It was big, but it looked easy. It was. I picked a few off over off to the side, as the peak was too crowded and there seemed to be too many bodies in the way. It was fun.

We drove in to pick up Frances Thursday too, but she called and cancelled the pick up, seems leap year is a tough one for her. We'll try again Monday.

Today is Friday and the waves were amazingly fun. We surfed Junquillal and it was GREAT. Marc had his butt handed to him a couple of times, but Junquillal is an unforgiving wave, and he goes hard. It was big on the sets, but manageable. There are a lot of world-class surfers here and it's fun to surf with them, because it makes you push yourself. Too bad I don't have a surf shop here, I hear there were a few broken boards here yesterday!
I'll add the corresponding photos when I get home or find my cable. I hear the snow has been horrible. Sorry for you all who don't love it. If you have a plow and happen to drive by the shop, break out the street for me will you (in case Seeley hasn't been by)? Tee hee.

March 10, 2008

Sorry these updates aren't going out with any kind of schedule. It's really hard to find a reliable and reasonably fast connection. I had a chance last night, but I hadn't updated and I thought I'd add a few thoughts. Marc Left last Wednesday and we found a good new trick. When you arrive, pay your exit fee at the exit tax window. There's no line because it's not busy and you'll save yourself the wait when you're leaving. You present your passport and pay the $26 and you're all set.

Bob Paradis and Yvonne DeCory of Saco came in last week and they have an elegant rental in Playa Grande, just across the river from Tamarindo. Casa Michael, the normal rental is now $3,000 a week! It's the house my brother rented 7 years ago for $400 a month, and Marc and I rented for a few years following before we bought the land in Junquillal. Last time we rented it 5 years ago, we paid $900 a month. The economy is going nuts down here.

Saturday morning Frances and I drove up to Grande to pick Bob and Yvonne up for an overnight road trip to Negra and Junquillal. We arrived at Playa Negra in time for lunch and Frances promptly grabbed the longboard and went to surf Sandy beach, a sand bottom break just South of Playa Negra (Negra is rock/reef). Bob, Yvonne and I were playing beach volleyball because the wind was onshore (and we love beach volleyball and it'll be a while before we can play in Maine). While we were playing, the wind switched offshore. I took out the longboard and caught a few delightful head high set waves. The swell direction was perfect and the rides were long and nicely lined up. Negra is such a perfect wave when everything lines up.

Sunday, Frances and I returned Bob and Yvonne's boards to Playa Grande while they picked up their rental car in Tamarindo. The wind was offshore all day and we thought we were going to get a great afternoon session. Just before high tide, the wind turned onshore, making the waves messy and disorganized. I looked at Hotels in Playa Grande, but it looked big and nasty. I decided to join Frances, Bob and Yvonne at La Casita at Tamarindo Rivermouth. It looked messy too, but not nasty. I surfed a few with Frances (who was having a delightful session, she wants me to mention that she was actually getting in the groove again and getting some nice face rides) and as I was catching my last wave in, I hit myself in the head with the nose of my board. I thought I broke the tip, but it's all good! I'm not even sore, luckily. Bob and Yvonne met a woman whose husband was en route to the medical clinic to have the fin removed from his leg. He was surfing BIG and MESSY Grande. He took a bad tumble, broke his board and put the fin into his quadriceps. Glad I opted out of that session.

Monday morning I had a hard time getting my butt out of bed, but finally decided to get up and mosey across the street to the break "out front". No coffee, no sunscreen, no new wax. I paddled out into a beautiful morning swell with a size range of about chest to a little overhead. There were about 6 guys out. Right when I got out, a nice peak came right to me. I took a few strokes and got an amazing wave. It was such a fun ride, I almost got out and came home, it was that good. I figured that would be as good as it gets. I paddled back out and got a few more, but the tide was dropping fast. It was a blast anyway. Monday morning Frances and I took a road trip to Santa Cruz to pay the taxes on Marc's and my lot on the beach. We owed for 3 years. Each year's amount was a little over 7,ooo Colones. Total amount; about $50 USD. According to The Tico Times , that is about to change. The government is changing the Registry and system as well as the tax base.
We went to the "Coopertiva de Mujeres" a women's co-op where the local women get a kitchen job if they need one to get on their feet. They have a few men there to cut wood for the wood fired ovens. It's a very rustic restaurant where they cook typical Costa Rican food. The typical meal is chicken, beef or pork, rice, beans, salad, home made tortillas and chayote picadillo, a squash dish that I love. We stopped at a couple of banks (always a nightmare in Costa Rica) and headed home wishing for a Siesta. When we pulled into the driveway, we could see that the swell had picked up and the wind was onshore, so Frances wanted to swim to get a little workout. We walked over and saw a couple of guys out. It was HUGE. And THICK. We swam for a little while, but it was a very high tide and there were logs and a lot of debris in the water, so we got out. We were watching the surf, and I decided to get my camera. It was messy and scary. The guys were getting thumped. I saw some amazing drops and I have a few photos, so log in after April 1.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

I had to drag my butt out of bed again today, and as usual, I got my customary one nice (very nice) wave. Offshore, head high with bigger sets and lining up with bowling sections. There are some really amazing surfers here. Every time the swell is good, it's worth the paddle out for the front row seat watching these guys get long impressive barrels. I'm going to check our property to see how high the tide came in and then I'm off to the internet place to try to send this.
Stay warm...
nants