Living La Pura Vida!

I just returned from a week in Costa Rica and am already trying to figure out when I can go back, and if moving there is actually feasible. As soon as I'm done with this post I am going to the newsstand to buy a lottery ticket. I am then going to purchase Spanish Rosetta Stone, as my French was pretty useless in Costa Rica, except for chatting with the obnoxious French waiter/maitre d'/busboy at Voodoo Lounge in Tamarindo. Do not eat there even if every other restaurant in Tamarindo is closed for some bizarre reason. It was the worst food I ate on my vacation, and when I expressed my dismay, Monsieur simply responded, "That's why we're full." If only there was some way to not pay the automatically applied 10% service charge. Fortunately, that was my only bad dining experience in Tamarindo. Excellent fish and wicked strong caprihanias at Seasons, decent sushi, nachos as big as your a_s, and delicious frozen margaritas at Eat at Joe's, and outstanding $6 (5900 colones) casado (typical Costa Rican plate of meat, poultry or fish served with rice, beans, plantains, and salad) at FT's, directly across the street from Witch's Rock Surf Camp (WRSC).

As for WRSC, I can't say enough good things about this operation. The highest praises go to Joe Walsh for having the dream and the drive to buy a school bus and travel from San Diego to Costa Rica with his dad, friend and girlfriend (now wife) surfing along the way. Eight years later, he has a surf school, 18-room oceanfront hotel, restaurant and bar and employs 60 people, including surf instructor extraordinaire, Edgar Sanchez. My son and I took 2 lessons with Edgar. Robbie stood up on his first try (see pic). It took this girl several attempts, but after Edgar suggested I might need to return to the very hot beach to practice on land a bit more, I quickly got my act together and voila - I was up! WRSC offers a 1-week surf school with accommodations, breakfast, board rental, instruction, trips all for around $900. Check out the WRSC website and Joe Walsh's blog for more info.

While in Tamarindo, we stayed at the Hotel Cala Luna, which is actually considered Playa Langosta, which is just below, Playa Tamarindo. I say below, but it was actually an uphill drive on an unpaved, rocky road, which is par for the course in Costa Rica. You'd be foolish to rent anything other than an SUV with manual transmission, as down shifting to first gear was often required to get where we were going. Plus, there are no guardrails, so the prospect of driving into a roadside ditch is very good. Fortunately, we were able to avoid any such disasters. Also with regard to renting a car in Costa Rica, opt for the GPS. We did not. Bad move. We never got lost, but we either over or undershot every destination. There are signs, sometimes, but they are usually grouped together in no discernible order and it's practically impossible to read them all without coming to a complete stop. And, the distances provided in Pauline Frommer's guidebook and the locals' estimates of distances were all off. And be sure your vehicle is adequately stocked with barf bags. While I managed OK on the trip from San Jose to Arenal, the road around Lake Arenal to get to Tamarindo was awful. Incredibly beautiful, but the constant winding up and down narrow mountain roads was enough to make me want to toss my cookies. Meanwhile, Robbie read Diary of a Wimpy Kid in the backseat. Aren't kids amazing?!

Before heading to Tamarindo, we spent 3 days in Arenal, which was pure outdoor adventure. We stayed at the Hotel Mountain Paradise for the bargain price of $99/night, which I was able to snag on BookIt.com, which was offering a one-day 50% off sale. We had a spacious room with a large bathroom and a gorgeous view of the volcano out our back door (see pic). Breakfast was included. This was no lame continental breakfast, but rather a full spread consisting of made to order eggs, french toast, pancakes, sausage, rice, beans, fresh fruit, juices, coffee - by far one of the best hotel breakfasts I've ever had. We filled our days, which usually started at 6 a.m., with hiking up and around the Arenal Observatory, touring the Hanging Bridges of Arenal (plant lovers' paradise), ziplining through the trees at Arenal Paraiso, and crawling through muddy water and small spaces in Venado Caves.

If you make the trip to Venado, just keep driving through town until you go right off the paved road and onto a rocky unpaved winding uphill road that seems to be leading nowhere. Don't bother looking for a sign. You'll eventually get there. And be sure to eat lunch first. We were starving when we got there, and there were only small snacks and drinks. This was Robbie's favorite activity as he loved squirming and climbing through tight, dark spaces. This is not for the claustrophobic, arthritic or really out of shape. This adventure requires some serious bending, shimmying, crawling, sliding and climbing. The food in and around Arenal was not memorable, and frankly none of the restaurant names come to mind right now. There is, however, a restaurant just past the volcano park entrance heading toward La Fortuna that has a giant fake cow in front. Very good casatos and rice with chicken. There is also a Mexican restaurant in La Fortuna just past the Burger King, which was fair at best. If anyone has any good suggestions for when I head back to Costa Rica, please let me know. Pura vida!