More Surfin Safari
Trip Start
Jan 01, 2007
1
64
141
Trip End
Ongoing
Loading Map
Playa Tamarindo,
Costa Rica
Thursday, May 3, 2007
We have heard that the southern border crossing between Nica and Cost Rica can be slow so we get an really early start. 9am LOL.
Beacuse there is four of us traveling it was almost as cheap to grab a cab to the border as it is to take the two buses and it saves about an hour. So in the cab we go. (the cab was $15 for 4 people and took 45 minutes)
At the border we wander over to immigration and notice a line of about 30 people waiting to exit Nica. This is the longest line we have seen at any border and they only have one window open. We queue up in the hot sun and get through the system about 45 minutes later. Receipts and passports in hand we head to the Costa Rican border. After a 10 minute walk through the blazing sun we come to a shade tent with a picnic table and a border guard at it. He looks as our passports and tells us to go to the other side of the picnic table. All except Mark. It appears that the Nica border immigration forgot to stamp his passport and he has to go back. What! At this moment there is a lot of confusion because we are one side of the table and he is on the other and there are dozens of people coming from the other direction. After realizing it is futile to argue with the large man with a gun Mark heads back to the Nica immigration office while we wait with the bags.
He tells us he did not make any friends back there because when he got the he walked to the front of the line, stepped in front of the next person and said "I need a frickin stamp!".
A Beautiful Sunset in Tamarindo
Suprisingly this worked and he was back in 10 minutes. (don't try this at home kids) The border guard for Costa Rica claps for him and we all cheer as he shows his stamp. Jessie and Mark even posed for a picture with the guard.We continue up the road confused as we do not see another building. That couldn't be the immigration office they didn't stamp our passports. Then we see the massive building and the massive lines wrapping around it ahead. We jump in line and Kay goes to do a head count. "This line only has 50 people and is shorter than the other so we should be good here". Great. Unfortunatley both lines go to the same office. Over an hour later we are through immigration. It has taken 2 hours and we are now in line for the bus. Seems like we have been in line all day. I feel like I am at the DMV!
We get on the 12:15 bus to Liberia and head into Costa Rica. At Liberia we have to get another bus to Tamarindo at 2:15. After a quick snack we get in line, go figure, and board the chicken bus to the beach. One of the last people to board this bus is a strange gringo/local couple who are drunk. I need to give you a mental image of these two because it is too funny. The Gringo guy, who we will call BUTTMAN, is wearing a ratty t-shirt with jean shorts that have a huge tear in the butt where you can see that he is not wearing anything underneath. He is also wearing a hat on sideways and has a lovely blackeye. I'm guessing he deserved that one. The Latino girl, who we will call the SHAKIRA KNOCKOFF, is wearing jeans capri pants a crochet white bikini top and some sort of beret.
Birthday Party
She is also about 5 feet tall with badly bleached long curly hair and a face full of pockmarks that only a mother could love. These two stagger through the bus and sit on the floor in the back. They also have a couple of beers sticking out of their pockets. If you have not noticed a theme in our travels it seems that I somehow attract the freaks, wierdos, nutjobs, village idiots and garden variety wackos. They are attracted to me as if I have my own gravity that only pulls in these freaks. Some try to talk to me and others just seem to cross my path in near misses that are close enough to leave an impression or make you nervous. Sort of like those random asteroids that may or may not hit the earth and destroy it.
The bus ride takes about two hours and every time it stops our drunk friends yell things at the driver and generally annoy everyone on the bus. I'm waiting for someone to give him a matching shiner but before that can happen we arrive in town and they get off and fade into the background. Hopefully never to be seen again. (yeah right)
We arrive in Tamarindo and check out a few places before settling on Cabinas Doly. This is a nice place right on the water which has private rooms with shared baths at a discounted rate of $16 bucks a night. We had to agree to two nights to get the rate (though we ended up staying 3). The owner, Doly, seems a bit edgy and according to the Lonely Planet is not that nice. However the price is right and we are on the beach. After a quick bite to eat we head to bed after a long day of travel.
May 4
The next day we rent surfboards so we can hit the sweet waves of Tamarindo.
Birthday Party - Frank opening his present
They are lovely 4-6 foot slow rolling waves with a left and right break that start a couple hundred yards off shore. They are slow breaks that roll in sets of 4 and allow for a long ride.Sweet! How do you like my cool surfer lingo? When I get to the place where I can rent a board I ask for the most beat up one they have, one that I cannot damage. He hands me a massive yellow board with a foam top that he says I cannot hurt. Cool, I do not want a repeat of Playa Maderas. So Mark has a a cool 6'6 board built for speed and fast turns and I have a giant school bus built for children. Mine is at least 8 feet long bright yellow and full of dings but I proudly carry it down the street because now I am a surfer. After some photos on the beach I head out into the surf and get ready to try and ride some of the whitewater coming from the waves to get some practise. To my suprise I am able to stand up on the very first wave and ride it all the way into shore. I jump of pumping my fists in the air and looking to see that they saw me. When I look around Mark is on his own wave and Kay and Jessie are head up the beach in the other direction. Well I know I did it! I am so excited I head back out and keep catching waves and riding them for long periods. Long Boards are much easier to learn on and mine is about the biggest you can get. After a while I actually get out to real wave, not just whitewater, and catch them and ride the break into shore. Yes I am really surfing and loving it. This is so cool! After a couple of hours I am tired and need to take a break.
Birthday Party again
Earlier in the day, around 10am, Kay and I are walking around and we see none other than BUTTMAN getting into a taxi with a beer in his hand and looking worse than before. Twenty seconds later we see the cab kick him out and he throws a beer can into the bushes and heads our way. We quickly walk to the other side of the road to avoid this idiot. He appears to have a serious problem and is going down hill fast.
That night we enjoyed a beer while watching the sunset and played cards into the night. We had wanted to go to the pollo frito (fried chicken) place for dinner earlier but it started to thunder and lightening and pour rain like cats and dogs. After waiting an hour or so we had to eat so we walked into the rain for the food and it was worth it. On the way back we stopped by the local convenience store/liquor store to get some water. As we enter the shop we pass the Knockoff Shakira and Buttman is standing in the door. They are still drunk and buying more beer. They are on one heck of a bender.
May 5
Today is my 36th birthday! Holy crap am I really that old. Kay and I head out and get breakfast at a lovely place right on the ocean and enjoy the good coffee and soft music. We then head to the beach where I surf some more. After a full day of surfing yesterday my arms and legs are tired and I am having a hard time surfing. I realize that yesterday I was only 35 and much younger. LOL. A couple hours later is it time to return the board so I head out and give it back. Mark did the same thing and on his way to the shop almost had his board smashed by none other than BUTTMAN getting out of a taxi, drunk as usual.
Border Crossing
See how we keep crossing paths.Kay went out to grab a bunch of things for dinner as we are going to have snacks and drinks on the beach while watching the sunset. After a shower and some birthday wishes from Doly, she is much nicer than Lonely Planet says, we head to the beach. On the way to the beach we see BUTTMAN and Knockoff SHAKIRA being talked to by 3 police officers. I'm sure they are innocent and all will be fine. In front of the hotel there is a little Tiki bar thing that we have taken over as our own. Kay spreads out salami, proscutto, olives, some cheese, roasted peppers and some fresh French bread. We also have a bottle of rum and some juice for mixers. It is quite a spread. While eating and enjoying drinks those same two idiots sit down 100 feet away from us on the beach. I swear I am a magnet. Finally after a near miss as Buttman walked by us, apparently to buy some drugs from a shady guy around the corner, they disappear from our lives forever.
While eating Mark and Jessie hand me a wrapped gift with a card. I am very suprised and happy at the same time. I open the card and then the gift which is a frisbee, that they got for free with a bottle of water, and a pile of Oreo cookies. They also threw in some Parmesian cheese packets and red pepper packets from Pizza Hut. We all got a good laugh. Thanks again Mark and Jessie. After it got too dark to see our drinks we headed inside to our usual table and played some cards, ate some more and had a few more drinks.
We stayed up way too late and drank way too much and laughed till our stomachs hurt. I would not have changed a thing. This has been one of my best birthdays ever and one I will never forget.
Thank you Kay! I love you!
Frank
