I went out surfing today for the sunset session here in Santa Teresa.. or technically Playa Carmen. I paddled out with my buddy Mike from North Carolina, and on my 3rd or 4th wave, I caught the ride of my life (so far).

Down the line.. lucked out, a loooong section, I just kept going, and going, no stress.. soooo mellow, I could see the wall of water next to me.. God, what a feeling. Nothing can compare to this. Not even windsurfing on a wave. You always have the sail. Here you are frozen in time.. nothing in your hands..  indescribable. Its the ultimate high.

More experienced surfers might not think much of a nice down the line head high ride. But this is the first time I score one of these, and on my new shortboard to boot. I had been struggling so much trying to get used to the small board. Yesterday I got killed so many times on the wave. Hit the bottom twice, almost slashed my right arm with the fin.. its still sore. Put a crack on the board.. I provided the entertainment for my friends. And today, the ocean let me have a taste of the good stuff.. *just* enough to keep me hooked.. enough to keep working hard for that next ride... and then the next one.. and then the next one....

After that ride, I paddled out, and didn't quite get lucky again.. that's ok. Windsurfing has taught me that's how progress happens.. you nail a trick once, and then come out empty handed for days.. then another one.. maybe twice.. then nada for a while.. and then one day maybe 3.. and so on.. so I feel I am progressing. I was out there after that, sat on my board waiting for that next wave, watched another perfect sunset. I couldn't help but feel a deep gratitude.. not to an imaginary deity, but just happy to be alive, and to be here, and to be given the chances that I have been given, and to be healthy in one piece, and the opportunity to meet special people. I felt so blessed by life and everything. What a buzz.

Anyhow.. enough with the new age crap. As much fun as I am having here in Sta Teresa, it seems the time has come to pack up and keep moving. After all, this is only the second spot in my journey so far.. 3rd one if you count Playa Hermosa separately from Jacó.. and you should. So since my surfing friends are taking off, I will tag along with the Austrian gang, and my buddy Michael from Montreal, all the way down to Dominical. Later maybe Pavones. I guess you can't come to Costa Rica and not go to the most famous spot of them all right?.

Oh one last thought.. I am still a windsurfer. I miss freestyle.. but on the wave.. sorry guys.. surfing is where its at. The new challenge will be to find a place where I can do Freestyle windsurfing AND surf waves. Ideas welcome.

Aloha! 

Ok, remember I said I was coming down here to see my friend here? .. well, look at what I found him doing, the little bastard!

Anyhow.. first impressions on Costa Rica. Its expensive. No two bones about it. In fact, many things are more expensive than Canada, or even Maui. Doesn't make sense. I mean, I am all for fair prices and Ticos have the right to a good lifestyle just as North Americans enjoy, etc, etc.. but the infrastructure is *still* at central american levels.. for north american prices. So somebody is pocketing the difference. 

And its not just the money. The whole local attitude has left me quite disenamored with the place. Everyone is very aggressively trying to sell you something, and you almost have no right to just say no, thanks. Yesterday's episode took the cake though. We got off a ferry only to find out that we had missed the connection bus to Montezuma. Of course there were a couple of taxis waiting to offer their services.. for a 100% premium from what the boat captain had said was a fair taxi fare. They made no efforts to conceal that the whole deal was about them knowing we needed the transport and that we had to take it or sit there for 3 hours for the next bus. 

All the tourists that were on that boat, 10 in total, banded together and we just said that no, it was too much, that we'd rather take the bus. I mean, it was a matter of principle since it was so obvious we were being gouged. The whole thing devolved into a tension between the two sides, us sitting on one side of the road, and them next to their cars on the other. At some point I even overheard them talking (I guess they thought the Canadian flag on my backpack precluded me from speaking Spanish ;-) , and it was really infuriating to hear them use derogatory terms towards the gringos and how they were going to get us for all we were worth and shaft unholy things up our .. anyhow. You get the point.

In the end we ended up hoping on a bus for about 4 kms to another place where we were able to secure a pickup truck where we rode on the bed .. quite fun ride actually. And honestly, we were happy to stick it to the taxi drivers who would probably have to wait till the next ferry for another batch of potential customers.

Anyhow, all this drama to give you an idea of what Costa Rica has been like for me. Perhaps its cause we have been following the tourist trail, and falling in all the usual tourist traps?.. but certainly the vibe has been quite different from Brazil for instance, where I felt that while the locals were working in the tourism industry, and nothing wrong with that, I never felt like I was being taken advantage of for the most part. Here.. they say Pura Vida.. I think they mean, Pura Plata!.