Back
to Malpais
Forward
to Manuel Antonio & Malpais 2
Cool ferry from Paquera w/ soccer on TV, no surprise there.
Ferry ride was entertaining but I wouldn't want to do it very
often. 
I hardly know my travel
companions. Melisa from OR is awfully cute and Andre from BC is
amped but cool. Easy drive to Hermosa which was firing head high
barrels for seven kilometers. Holy sh!t, we almost went out.
Puffed & watched the sunset instead, 
then back to Jaco where
Andre's cabina suggestion turned out to be excellent. Elizabeth
& Tessa in cabina next door are fighting over gringo, that's
new! Went out to bar Onyx with them anyway, Liz disappeared to
call boyfriend in England (shades of Swingers!) so met surf girls
Heather & Alicia from central CA near my sister Sheila,
that's a coincidence, even more bizarre they are staying in the
same cabinas, played pool, very fun. Alicia is ace pool player.
Got home about 2am, mota w/ neighbors, went to bed, fun day.
Rousted by Andre Thursday @ 6:30, I'd promised the girls they
could ride w/ us to Hermosa, they did. Hermosa firing barrels
again, I got 3 or 4 "interesting" waves before scary
cleanup set, seriously almost drowned, that was the end of my
day, Melisa has photo. Heather may want to travel south. Came
back to Jaco & shopped for badly needed towel & extended
car rental. Melisa had to burn photos to CD, took forever
but eventually we were on our way. Nice long ride to Golfito,
beautiful road except for 45 km between Quepos & Dominical
which was so bad it hurt. Trippy ride on dirt road thru jungle.
Found hotel & I just had to check out local culture,
bad idea,
played pool and darts and then danced, long story short got
pocket picked by drug dealing whore, no I wasn't
buying, cost me $40 to get it back plus what I spent, probably an
$80 day. What a racket. Helpful guy who just happened
to be right there got wallet back for $ but I suppose I'm glad he
was. Well, pool was fun & I won both games plus the darts to
boot. Must be more careful in future.
Friday AM shook off effects of previous evening but was in bad
mood for hours. Guys at adjacent service station talking all
night, A/C useless w/ no controls. Hardly slept a wink. Bank
machine doesn't work. It's also now April which makes me a bit
sad, time is passing. Packed up & ran out of Golfito. 2 hours
to Pavones is just about right, pulled in about 8:30. Got
perfectly nice cabina 
& hit
the water. Waves shoulder to head high, very fast. My
technique isn't up to it, especially backside, and I get
frustrated although I do get a few. Disappointed w/self although
crowd definitely a factor. Can't drop in on anyone within 100
yards, they are flying. Went back to casa, in foul mood
so napped for a couple of hours. Felt much better when awake,
checked out "town", Pavones is a great place! Very
simple, surfers only plus a few Ticos, gorgeous trees everywhere,
surf is right in front of soccer field, lawnmowers don't need
petrol. 
Weather extremely
comfortable. Hung w/ the folks, slept again, checked out sunset,
not worth surfing, Pavones blows out easily. Went to Italian
restaurant, very good lasagna but spendier than expected, Pavones
has an upper crust. Had a puff then went to see Bad Boys (2?)
film @ house/bar, that place is cool!, geckos all over
"screen".
Saturday AM surf was OK, got some quick lefts. In and out of the
water quick 'cause I forgot sunscreen. Came back & slept,
then to our favorite breakfast place, fruit & granola
excellent. Couple in cabina next door enjoying slaps &
squeals, very eyebrow raising. Despite good looking surf (later
regretted leaving) drove to Panamanian border town Paso Canoas to
camera shop, what an adventure there but finally got dollars out
of ATM, converted to colones on street, eventually bought Samsung
camera, nervous at 1st but I guess it'll be OK. Too bad there
are no photos of that place, it was crazy. Pouring rain off &
on all afternoon. Got back & hung out at beachfront bar,
excellent pollo dinner, went out for evening session which
seriously sucked, I'm underwhelmed with this world famous spot
and about ready to move on. Pavones is the most tide dependent
spot I've ever seen. 
Andre
wants to accompany to Dominical. Sat around & read moto mag en
Espanol. Hung out w/ Melisa at bar on beach (which I love
by the way), lots of interest w/ part 2 of bar fight over baby (I
missed 1st part while surfing sh!tty waves).
Slept Sunday til 8am, then we drove to Punta Banco 
for some
high tide reef surf. 
Hardly
anyone else out, very nice crew. While surfing right reef by
myself, yes by myself, leash let go, long swim, I should
exercise more! That leash is toast. (Haha leash still going
4/29) Went back out with the "crowd". Some good
lefts with only 8 of my closest friends including Carolyn? from
HB who knows the guy I bought my longboard from just last
December. I am SO glad to have a camera again! 
Promised
Melisa I'd get pic to trade for mine at Hermosa...here it is. 
Came
back, fave breakfast place closed so went to local soda for beans
& rice & eggs. Exhausted from morning session. Went to
beach for sun & then crashed even harder at cabina. Should
have done laundry since it never really rained. These cabinas are
entirely open to bugs, but it doesn't seem to matter that much.
They are there though. Bat in cabina. 
(no,
it's not in the pic) Finally woke in time for sunset, 
Andre
& Melisa are being very nice. 
Came
back, puffed a little then went to see "The Hot Girl"
at the house/theater. Thoroughly enjoyed dinner (chicken skewers)
& the movie wasn't that bad either. One last beer @ local
soda & off to bed, not a particularly eventful day but I love
Pavones. It is so unspoiled here.
Monday morning woke up around 7, after checking Pavones (small)
drove to Banco reef, another good session & no leash mishap.
Waves reforming on inside, easy and lots of fun. Ate fave fruit
breakfast & pulled it together for drive. Bizarre guy w/
skateboard...who brings a skateboard to CR? And he doesn't surf?!
That is wack. We are on the road again...next stop Dominical.
I love the ferry 
with the
lawnmower engine without even the benefit of a spring loaded
cord. 
It costs
600 colones, or about a dollar. Stopped in Golfito for Internet,
no word from "new" Heather. Back thru fantastic jungle,
Melisa
spotted tucans in the trees, she must have feather sensitive
vision! Also dig the "bridge" which the locals have
bypassed in favor of river crossing. 
The
Terios is far better than expected, not a bad car at all, never a
worry no matter how steep or deep it is. Got to Dominical around
4, 
wow it is
kinda expensive here, finally found small cabina 
(w/
pool!) 
for $10.
Dominical is little cluster of surf oriented businesses 
but
there's a police station here too. Hung w/ Canadian party guys
& then went to dinner @ Catalina, very good. Great main room
with broken boards covering entire ceiling 
and Elvis
shrine 
among
other attractions. Illinois & NC State playing NCAA finals,
State won eventually. Hung out w/ Canadian group 
and then
with Ticos, 
one very
nice, she was sincere I think & didn't try to pick my pocket
:-) 
Afterwards talked to Andre & Melisa, 
they hate
their room & plan to leave tomorrow, OK w/me but now I
suppose I'll miss them...
Woke up extremely early Tuesday to small walled up surf. 
Went back
to bed, didn't make it out in AM. Long Internet session, heard
from Heather who may come down here after all although Boca
Barranca sounds like a good call for big swell later this week.
Per instructions then spoke to Heather, good bet she's coming
down & maybe we'll go back up north afterwards. Finally
tried but can't call my cell from CR, hope Alpine is alive.
Canadian girls recommend Manuel Antonio, most beautiful beach
they've seen. Later, surf still sucks so need to manufacture
excitement. Hung out w/ Andre & Melisa as they were waiting
for the bus, then went for walk on beach. Disappointed by trash @
rivermouth. Bugs are seriously out of control here, I have
probably 30 bites per leg. Came back to cabina where met 3 girls
& 1 guy, they are medical students studying Espanol, Nasreen,
Julie & I can't remember the others, hung out w/ them all
afternoon. 
Finally
got laundry done.
Continued hanging out w/ girls in PM. 1st was dinner & guaro
drinks @ Coco soda w/ medical students. 
Karaoke
& general silliness. 
Jessica
from AZ is friendly but nothing comes of that. 
Way too
many cigarettes. Walked girls home and then hung out far too much
longer.
Wed. AM woke to long low tide walls. Wasn't up for that, very
hung over anyway, guaro is bad food, back to bed. Got up &
drove to so-called south reefs, simply dreadful, didn't go out
but I may have been in wrong place. Came back & had not very
good breakfast, feeling lousy, back to bed again. About noon
Heather showed up, got cabina next to mine. 
She
charged head high wind blown Dominical, I wasn't up for that.
Went to San Isidro for bank, nice twisty road through more
jungle. Rain consistently thru afternoon. Back to bed again, I
wish I felt better! Got up around 7:30, went to e-cafe w/ Heather
& then to San Clemente for dinner but couldn't really eat
anything. Back to bed for the most useless day of the trip so
far.
Woke Thursday feeling a bit better. Per Heather, low tide still
killing the waves. She went out anyway, I did not. Slept until
8:30. Wind on it by 9, what's going on? Checked out Pta.
Dominical, nothing happening there either. I am sick. Felt
terrible, couldn't eat anything although I tried. Dominical a big
disappointment and getting sick doesn't help. We are out of
here!
Drove to Hermosa past hundreds of thousands of date
palms, I am not kidding, for crissake who eats dates anyway?
Arrived at Hermosa around 2, got decent room for $20 @ Cabinas
las Arenas, 
view
directly to surf, cool! 
Heather
charged big & messy Hermosa, I think the sight of those waves
made me worse, 
I was in
bed all afternoon. Finally got up @ sunset, hung out at reggae
restaurant next to cabina, 
still
can't eat anything. Watched Billabong Odyssey there, very cool. I
went back to bed, Heather tried to wake me @ 9pm for Hermosa
party scene but it wasn't happening for me. Sounds like I didn't
miss much anyway.
Woke Friday to more long low tide walls. Feeling a little better
but not good enough for that. Heather didn't charge
either. Got up @ 8:30, ate pancakes, thinking I might be able to
surf today, this has been a long layoff. Surf did not improve @
Hermosa, it's blowing out at 9am here too. Heather is thinking
she can stay for free w/ "Roger" the manager of the
Arenas, I'm planning on moving on to Jaco w/o her, then her plan
falls through & she's joining me after all. OK, off we go. 
Turned out I was glad to have her along, as cabinas in Jaco are
apparently not easy to find on a Friday. Finally tracked one down
@ far north end, Cabinas Claritas, w/ decent bar & restaurant
but far from "action". Well, I have shoes & cab
money! View of Jaco surf from cabina, this is a good pattern.
Supposedly mine alone but I don't see Heather going anywhere.
Walked length of Jaco, shopping endurance test, 
but at
least I ate ice cream 
&
fried chicken, best thing I've had in days. Came back &
surfed preposterously lousy session at Jaco but at least I got
out in the water. Weird pockets of hot & cold. Napped until
8:30, then went to Onyx, sort of a good time but certainly not
spectacular, then to Monkey Bar where it was if anything too
crowded, finally went home around 1, I think I need to be on my
own again.
And now I am! Dragged my a$$ out of bed around 7:30, still not
feeling tip top but I'm surfing. Heather didn't show last night
but her stuff is still in room. Checked Roco Loco on way to
Hermosa, looked great but too scary for solo surf, I need more
cojones. Hermosa completely walled. Drove past Hermosa to Tulin's
which was way big & way scary. Gringo
"local" Lonny from Florida exiting water @ Tulin's was
scared too, was headed to "the island" (Herradura) and
inivited me to come along, I'm intimidated and drive south to
Esterillos which pretty much sucked although at least I got more
waves than the Ticos. 'Exciting' kickouts on the inside. Saw
Lonny on way back, he wound up going out @ Roco Loco, sh!t I
would have been up for that. Came back to cabina, Heather's stuff
is gone. Slept for two hours, I am definitely not 100% yet. Got
up & ate huge burger @ cabinas restaurant, they play the worst
music on the planet, I mean post 70's Beach Boys and Kansas, I
don't like this place. Went to beach, shopped for awhile &
ate great sherbet for 3rd time @ fave place, can't show pic too
often. Returned
to cabina & surfed bumpy closed out Jaco, 1 right is all I
can show for it. Cabina proprietor has rotten attitude &
business model--who pays a deposit for a $20 cabina? This morning
low tide and early wind thing sucks, I am seriously considering
shutting it down & checking out a volcano. Have to say
though, it's nice to be alone. 
Back to
cabina for, you guessed it more crash time, then out for Saturday
night in Jaco.
Started at Monkey Bar, exactly what I expected. Checked out Onyx
from street, didn't bother. Went to upstairs bar in Santa Monica
clone bldg. but lame and overcrowded. Met Rasta dude Alejandro
who helped me out with my health. That was fun! He insisted I put
it in shoe, I don't think I'm attracting much attention around
here. Back to Monkey Bar, Alejandro's my new best friend, I
bought 16's of Pilsen for everybody. At Monkey it's very crowded
and sure enough they play that
gasolina song eventually. I detect a very funny pity thing
going on. The Ticos seem to pity me because I'm pale (and tattoo
free), and I pity them because they're short. Ha! It all works
out, they like me. Heather is there 
& I
explain thinking re: end to surf. Forget to thank her for
removing stuff from cabina. I talk to many girls but my heart's
not in it. Stop by Beatle Bar, that is so funny, exactly
as advertised, probably 50 to 100 ladies of the night. Wonder if
Nosara's is the same. Come home, mas mota & write! I feel
100%! It's been awhile since I felt good. Gotta say, I think the
waves could have been better on this trip. El Nino SUCKS. Manuel
Antonio tomorrow it is. 1st dream of film...Buddy travelogue
about the vacation mentality, sort of a surf Sideways. Up way
late thinking.
Slept late Sunday & didn't care. Rash guard is gone, stolen,
well I suppose it's good they didn't take the booties too. Ran
into Lonny @ breakfast (which was outstanding & I was hungry)
who said Hermosa was OK but declining @ 6am, that's awfully
early. Didn't miss much there, but I gotta say, Hermosa is
special, I will return...at high tide! 
Back
to Malpais
Forward
to Manuel Antonio & Malpais 2
I hardly know my travel
companions. Melisa from OR is awfully cute and Andre from BC is
amped but cool. Easy drive to Hermosa which was firing head high
barrels for seven kilometers. Holy sh!t, we almost went out.
Puffed & watched the sunset instead, 
then back to Jaco where
Andre's cabina suggestion turned out to be excellent. Elizabeth
& Tessa in cabina next door are fighting over gringo, that's
new! Went out to bar Onyx with them anyway, Liz disappeared to
call boyfriend in England (shades of Swingers!) so met surf girls
Heather & Alicia from central CA near my sister Sheila,
that's a coincidence, even more bizarre they are staying in the
same cabinas, played pool, very fun. Alicia is ace pool player.
Got home about 2am, mota w/ neighbors, went to bed, fun day.
bad idea,
played pool and darts and then danced, long story short got
pocket picked by drug dealing whore, no I wasn't
buying, cost me $40 to get it back plus what I spent, probably an
$80 day. What a racket. Helpful guy who just happened
to be right there got wallet back for $ but I suppose I'm glad he
was. Well, pool was fun & I won both games plus the darts to
boot. Must be more careful in future.
& hit
the water. Waves shoulder to head high, very fast. My
technique isn't up to it, especially backside, and I get
frustrated although I do get a few. Disappointed w/self although
crowd definitely a factor. Can't drop in on anyone within 100
yards, they are flying. Went back to casa, in foul mood
so napped for a couple of hours. Felt much better when awake,
checked out "town", Pavones is a great place! Very
simple, surfers only plus a few Ticos, gorgeous trees everywhere,
surf is right in front of soccer field, lawnmowers don't need
petrol. 
Weather extremely
comfortable. Hung w/ the folks, slept again, checked out sunset,
not worth surfing, Pavones blows out easily. Went to Italian
restaurant, very good lasagna but spendier than expected, Pavones
has an upper crust. Had a puff then went to see Bad Boys (2?)
film @ house/bar, that place is cool!, geckos all over
"screen".
Andre
wants to accompany to Dominical. Sat around & read moto mag en
Espanol. Hung out w/ Melisa at bar on beach (which I love
by the way), lots of interest w/ part 2 of bar fight over baby (I
missed 1st part while surfing sh!tty waves).
for some
high tide reef surf. 
Hardly
anyone else out, very nice crew. While surfing right reef by
myself, yes by myself, leash let go, long swim, I should
exercise more! That leash is toast. (Haha leash still going
4/29) Went back out with the "crowd". Some good
lefts with only 8 of my closest friends including Carolyn? from
HB who knows the guy I bought my longboard from just last
December. I am SO glad to have a camera again! 
Promised
Melisa I'd get pic to trade for mine at Hermosa...here it is. 
Came
back, fave breakfast place closed so went to local soda for beans
& rice & eggs. Exhausted from morning session. Went to
beach for sun & then crashed even harder at cabina. Should
have done laundry since it never really rained. These cabinas are
entirely open to bugs, but it doesn't seem to matter that much.
They are there though. Bat in cabina. 
(no,
it's not in the pic) Finally woke in time for sunset, 
Andre
& Melisa are being very nice. 
Came
back, puffed a little then went to see "The Hot Girl"
at the house/theater. Thoroughly enjoyed dinner (chicken skewers)
& the movie wasn't that bad either. One last beer @ local
soda & off to bed, not a particularly eventful day but I love
Pavones. It is so unspoiled here.
