Ola Amigos,
Yep that’s right, I have moved from my base camp of South Africa and travelled halfway around the world to land up in Central America, more specifically Costa Rica. And what an amazing place it is! The group is arriving tomorrow and everything is set in place in Santa Teresa for an epic trip.
Santa Teresa lies on the West Coast of Costa Rica (Pacific) and is in the area of Mal Pais. It is a small surfing village running along one main road and consists of surf shops, cabinas, shops and lots of local restaurants. I have been here for a week now and it is the kind of place one can very quickly refer to as home. Due to its size you quickly work out which route you prefer to get to the beach, which supermarkets have what you need and which your favourite restaurants are to ‘chill’ at. I use the word ‘chill’ as life in Santa Teresa is very laid back and no one seems in any rush to do anything (food service is actually quite quick!). The heat and humidity is exceptional and I think this leads to the laid-back lifestyle, with lying in a hammock being the ideal thing to do most of the time!
Despite this there is a good little buzz going on here, with plenty of people cruising on the beach, enjoying the sun and going for swims and walks. There is a good mix of both local and foreign people, and the language barrier is easily overcome as most of the locals are willing to speak English if you at least try to speak a bit of Spanish in return.
Well let me not go on for too long about the town and get on with the plan for the next six weeks. We have seven riders who are coming out with the main focus of surfing. We are situated right on the beach, and the water is very warm! So it is ideal for both learning to surf and improving your surfing. Other than surfing the group will, amongst other things, be going on a week-long road trip, doing Spanish lessons to help break the barriers and doing yoga to keep fit and flexible for surfing and to appreciate the healthy lifestyle over here. I will get more into that later on (think loads of fresh fruit and NO take-aways!!).
The drive from the airport here is an amazing one, with a great ferry ride out to our little piece of Peninsula. So, off to San Jose in the morning (we are 7 hours behind UK time), meet the group, spend a night in San Jose and back to our little haven of Santa Teresa on Thursday. Exciting times ahead, and I will keep you posted letting you know we have arrived safe on Thursday evening (my time). Really looking forward to the next six weeks!
Pura Vida,
Chris