Villa Acacia Playa Hermosa

... to come up, Jason, another surf guide, decided to drive us to El Oeste. El Oeste kinda breaks like San Onofre but the wave itself was pretty challenging. We surfed til sunset and scored some great waves. The water is so warm in Costa Rica that you are literally sweating in the water. Beats wearing that damn wetsuit anyday. Salud everyone! Off to get some dinner and check out some local bars. Pura Vida! Adios!!

... for 50$ pr. day, meals, drinks and internet included. (In Boulder, I paid over 50$ a night for a very tired hostelroom w/o my own bathroom...) I have been to other countries around the world in the wet season, and have been fine, with almost no rain at all. But when it says rainy season in Costa Rica, they do mean rainy season.... It's been raining cats and dogs last night, so my diving trip to Isla Catalina was cancelled, and I had to stay ashore. It really ...

... be so unprepared for the power of the ocean, it's unbelievable. The hotel is very nice, I have a fill ocean view, my own little pool, and the food has been amazing - fruits, fruits, fruits, and either chicken or seafood at night. There are chickens everywhere, walking through the streets, peoples' yards, etc. The cook at the hotel is awesome - even got me to try rice and beans, with eggs! I think that I am going to traverse the jungle, which is just across the "road" from ...

... I walked up and down the beach, watching the newbie surfers in the small waves. Finally exhausted from the heat, I had a burger and liquids at Shake Joe's burger shop and napped in the hammock. Now this is living. My guide describes this as one of Costa Rica´s favorite beaches. It is easy to see why. It is still relaxed with a small town feel. There are no buildings over two stories high. The people were ...

... and we can use their kitchen to cook. We ate dinner at a restaurant called Pescado Loco, which means crazy fish. I had a fish taco. The beach is clean but busy. It is the last week of summer vacation for the Ticos. I boogie boarded and I went through the washing machine a few times too. There are ...

... just don't sell them here. We headed "home" to Las Olas for our last 6 nights to enjoy Aaron's cooking and the extra power of the waves of Playa Hermosa. Unfortunately, the swell was dying here too, with only small weak waves. Cameron (part owner of Las Olas) and Christian (employee of the month) took us surfing down the beach further where it picks up more swell. There is a turtle conservation farm where we surfed and our visit coincided with the release of over one hundred ...

... untouched by mass tourism. I chose to go to this place because it's considered one of the windiest places in Costa Rica from November until May and yeah ... the statistics were right! It blew from the day I got there to the day I left and probably it is still blowing strong today. For those of you who are new to this blog and are wondering what I'm talking about here's a little confession ... My name is Philipp, I'm an addict, I'm a ...

... the booms and crashes subsided. We had to wait a fair while before a boat came to pick us up in the pouring rain, but at least there was no more signs of the lightning, or of crocodiles. We had Subway for dinner, but Sam was pretty miffed when we got duped by a 'read the fine print' deal and ended up paying far more than we thought we would - damn it!! Happy with our first stop on the last leg of our Central American adventure, we await the rest of our travels here with eager anticipation!

... were now back on a section of road we'd crossed back before the mini-super. Retracing our steps to the only thing that could possibly have been considered a fork, we found a place where the road stopped, and trickled off into two tiny dirt trails. We took the left one, as instructed, which let us out on a beach, with absolutely no buildings in sight. Sighing, we turned back into the jungle to try the other trail. It was the only option left we could see at this point, as we'd ...

Since yesterday was the first day of Hanukkah, I celebrated by going to a traditional Jewish supper. There were about 20 of us from all over the world, but mostly from the Middle East. There was a prayer and communion before, then we mowed down on some good grub. It was really interesting to be in Costa and celebrating Hanukkah with people from all around the ...