From Costa Rica...Week 1

We've been traveling for just about a week. It's been an amazing time so far. The first night in town we stayed at a hostel in San Jose, leaving really early the next morning for the coast.

After a 7 hour bus ride (which was supposed to be about 5 - but as they say around here: muy tranquilo!) we arrived in Tamorindo - the heart and soul of Costa Rica's surf culture. It's a bustling town full of Americans, surfers, vendors and hotels. We stayed two nights at some pretty cheap cabins that happened to have a pool. Being from Seattle, the heat is whipping me out on a daily basis. But the pool and the surf and the water is keeping it cool. We surfed the first day in Tamorindo then hiked to Playa Langosta (aka Lobster) for some tougher waves - which were pretty much beyond my abilities. I hung for a bit but watched Jeremy from the shore. It's a lot tougher than La Push. After hiking the hot mile back with the boards we had a fun filled night that ended up with a midnight swim, which proved to be eventful - but more on that later.

After a couple of days in Tamarindo - we decided it was time to see the less tourist part of the beach culture. We rented boards, bargained for a cab and headed 25 kilometers south to Playa Avellanas which turned out to be a totally different world. Small secluded cabins in the woods which were full of iguanas, monkeys and many resident dogs. I spent much time trying to determine how to smuggle said beach dogs back with me.

The beach was a 200 yd walk from the cabins and while all the super good surfers complained about the waves being flat and small, it turned out to be perfect for us. After a four days of sore surfing, new friends, and much fun, we headed back to Tamarindo.

It's currently thundering overhead and I'm going to go take a dip in the pool. we leave at 7am tomorrow for Lake Arenal for windsurfing, hiking, volcano viewing, zipline riding and ...thankfully.. a relief from the heat.

Love to all. More soon...
Emma