Costa Rica - Sexto Dia

Today was our last full day in Costa Rica. Sad face. We woke up even earlier today for our lessons, which was awesome!

Surfers Log: Quinto Dia

We arrived for our last lesson with Oscar at 7:30am (bad vacationers, up so early). We had new surfboards again today, smaller ones. I'm now on a 7'10" board. We paddled out right away. Ugh, paddling is tiring! But completely necessary (unless your getting towed by a jet ski like that girl in Blue Crush). Mike did not do so well today. He didn't have any great rides, quite a bit of wipe outs, and got stuck in the impact zone quick a few times for quite a while (ouch). I on the other hand, did really well. I caught one gorgeous wave early on. I paddled out, dropped in, and turned left (because I like to be difficult) and rode the wave halfway to the beach before I realized I'd have to paddle all the way out again. I caught two more waves and wiped out on both pretty quickly, but I am definitely improving which is the important thing. I'm sad that our lessons are over. I don't usually enjoy waking up early... OK let's be real, I am not a nice person in the morning, but for this vacation waking up early was a lot easier because I had something completely awesome to look forwards to.. SURFING. The next time we are in Nosara we will definitely be calling Coconut Harry's and Oscar!

Getting up...

Dropping in...

Riding the wave...

The other highlight of our day today was getting massages, much needed massages. We went to SpaCio down the road from Casa Romantica. I don't know if it was because I was so sore from all the surfing or that the masseuse was really fabulous, but this was one of the top four massages of my life. The downside was that there were some really loud kids playing the pool right outside the window of my massage room. Oh well. I still feel a lot better after the rub down.

Then we headed to dinner at La Luna in neighboring Playa Palada. We walked there via the beach and arrived just in time for sunset which was gorgeous. The food was OK, but I must say that the best dinner we've had has been at the hotel! Because we were right on the beach and sitting outside on the yard, it got buggy very quickly. Mosquitoes love me but it's definitely a one sided relationship. We started the walk home but now it was dark, and even with our flashlights we were turned around and lost. After trying to find out way back on the beach and stumbling across tons of creepy crawly hermit crabs, we then found ourselves in an abandoned hotel being attacked by no less than four guard dogs. Luckily the caretaker rescued us and we conversed in broken Spanish until we figured out how to get back to Playa Guiones. Ahhhh adventure. 

On the way to Playa Palada on Playa Guiones

The end of Playa Guiones

The beginning of Playa Palada

Our bed/table at La Luna

The view from La Luna

Adios Sol!

Twilight

And now here we are, enjoying an Imperial by the pool on our last night in Costa Rica. Tomorrow it's back to NYC.

Until then...

Costa Rica - Quinto Dia

Our Qinto Dia in Costa Rica and our schedule remains the same. Eat, surf, sun, eat some more, sun some more, eat some more, sleep. Nice. I'll spare you the boring details from today, as it's more of the same. But, I did take a lot of nice pictures of the beach and of our hotel. I also have some awesome surf pictures that I stole from Nosara Shack and Surfing Nosara on facebook. 

Ok I lied, there will be some details. Last night's dinner at Harbor Reef was pretty good. We got a salad that had hearts of palm in it, mi favorito, and got a half Hawaiian half meat lover's pizza. The food was good and somehow our bill ended up being only $25, which was a welcome surprise. There were a couple of starving stray cats lurking in the restaurant and I felt incredibly sorry for them as I was missing my own sweet Whsitler Kitten so I fed them some meat off the meat lover's pizza. That made them very happy.

Surfers Log: Cuarto Dia

Today, Oscar took us out to catch REAL WAVES! Yup, no more white water for us intermediate surfers! Of course, it took us 45 minutes just to paddle past the breaking waves (we are scared wimps I tell ya) and then another 15 minutes for Oscar to convince us to catch waves, that we wouldn't fall, and that we wouldn't break any bones like I was convinced we were going to. I usually hate when I am wrong but this time I am so happy that I was! Oscar told me to paddle for a wave. I did. I felt it catch the board. I felt the drop. I stood up. I rode the wave! I RODE THE WAVE! OMG I RODE THE WAVE! Words cannot adequately describe that feeling, when you know you've caught the wave all by yourself and you managed not to fall and break any bones. I eventually did fall (inevitable) but when I came up I saw Mike had caught a wave too! The look on his face was priceless. I was so glad to see him having such a fantastic time. We were ready to paddle out for more but we had been such nervous ninnies for so long that we were out of time! Tomorrow my friends, tomorrow. Tomorrow I will catch multiple awesome waves and I will not be a big baby about it.

Oscar at the shop this morning, getting the boards ready. He looks so cool in his shades.

For lunch we went to Rosi's Soda Tica again and it was still delicious and cheap. We stopped by Cafe de Paris for breakfast tomorrow, since we are having a supermegaearly lesson tomorrow that starts before the hotel breakfast is served. We spent the rest of the afternoon on the beach soaking up the sun and reading books. We are good vacationers. 

We decided on dinner at Casa Romantica tonight since the forecast called for rain, and we didn't want to get stuck in it walking to or from a restaurant. The food was excellent! I don't know why we waited so long to eat here. We stayed at our table for almost two hours enjoying each others company over good food and a glass of wine. Mary Lou and JC, our courteous hosts took good care of us, as always.

Tomorrow is our last day of surfing lessons. To reward ourselves afterwards we are getting massages and going out for a nice dinner in Playa Palada.

Until then... 

Catching a baby wave on my beginner foam board

 

"Styling" according to Oscar... "Concentrating" according to me

Mike catching a baby wave on his foam board

Heading out for some waves on real surfboards! We are gnarly.

We found a scorpion in our shower! It was dead, but still...

The gorgeous jungle path from the hotel to the beach.

The water from the jungle path.

Playa Guiones in the morning.

A really awesome tree on Playa Guiones

The cemetery at Playa Guiones, not a bad place to spend eternity.

A photographer catching the surfers.

Casa Romantica!

See the iguana?

Surfboards at the entrance to the jungle walk at the hotel.

Lounging at the beach, covered in sunscreen, with our rented chairs from Coconut Harry's.

Ahhhh sun and surf. This is the life!

Costa Rica - Cuarto Dia

Finally I am caught up with the blog!

Today we started the day in our typical way, breakfast at the hotel and our surf lesson.

Surfers Log - Tercer Dia

When we were arriving at Coconut Harry's from the jungle path we heard and saw a howler monkey! He was hanging on a tree branch over the road. We were literally only ten feet away from him. It was totally awesome. Today we got real surfboards! And by real, I mean the kind that don't have a foam top. Score! Double score that I could actually carry the board all by myself (those foam boards are HEAVY). Oscar took us out into some rough water so that we could get comfortable in various conditions. He taught us how to turtle roll, which is my new favorite maneuver. You grab the board with your feet and forearms and roll over so the bottom of the board faces up, perpendicular to the wave so it washes right over you. This is much easier for me than pushing up on the board, but that's my weak upper body strength at work (or not). We practiced everything we've been working on; popping up, catching our own white water, and turning with the "real" surfboard which was so fun. At the end of the lesson Oscar told us we were good students. I told him he was a good teacher. We agreed to compromise that we were both good in our respective roles. Only two more surf lessons left. :(

After the surf lesson we came back to the hotel and went to the beach via the jungle path for an hour of relaxing. Then it was off to lunch at Beach Dog Cafe, right next to Coconut Harry's. The prices here were a bit high for lunch ($30 for two sandwiches and two smoothies) but their location is right off a beach path and the food is really ridiculously delicious. I ordered the chili lime steak sandwich and Mike ordered the sweet chili chicken sandwich with slaw, so that we could both have a half of each sandwich. Unfortunately, our waitress got the order wrong and brought two chicken sandwiches. Though they were delicious, we were disappointed that we didn't get to the the steak sandwich.

To vary up our routine, we decided to do an adventure activity today! We signed up for the the afternoon zip line with Miss Sky. We did a zip line last year in Monteverde which was super fun, but it was raining when we went so we got very muddy and lots of rain pelts in the face, no so pleasant. This time our zip line was sunny and hot. The participants and guides ride in the back of a truck (like a hayride) up to the location of the first zip line from the office. We then took 13 zip lines over valleys and a river. The guides were jokesters and pranksters but they did make sure we were safe and having a good time. On the drive back down to the office we saw two howler monkey families! SO COOL! This would be the third time we saw monkeys on our trip (the first was on our first day walking to Coconut Harry's). 

All Geared Up!

The view from the drop off point, a little overcast but you can see the water.

Me getting ready to go!

Two of our hilarious guides.

One of the howlers.

A family of howlers.

When we got back to the hotel we had a snack of chips and salsa and enjoyed a refreshing dip by the pool. Now we are showered and clean and ready to go to dinner at Harbor Reef. I will let you know how it is!

Before we head to dinner, in matching and very trendy cobalt blue.

Until then...

Costa Rica - Tercer Dia

Another lovely day in Costa Rica! Day Three was pretty identical to Day Two, gotta love vacation!

We started the morning with breakfast at the hotel and then walked to Coconut Harry's for our second surf lesson with Oscar!

Surfers Log - Segundo Dia

Today we learned how to turn! There are right hand waves and left hand waves so you need to know how to turn on the wave so you can ride it as far as possible. Mike and I are both regular footed, which means that our left foot is in front while riding. Typically, for regular footed riders, right turns are easier because you can see the wave whereas left turns are more difficult. Of course, I decided that I preferred left turns, hah! This lesson was really tiring and we ended 10 minutes early. Like in skiing, all accidents happen when you are tired! Better safe than sorry.

After the surf lesson we returned to Casa Romantica and sat by the pool until lunch time. For lunch we went to Rosi's Soda Tico for some good casados. This is by far the most economical lunch we have had with two casados and two bottles of water for only $16! The fish I ordered was amazing!

On the way back to the hotel we stopped by a mini super to get some bottles of water and snacks for the hotel room. Then we went to the beach for a couple of hours in the afternoon and lazed about before getting ready for dinner.

For dinner we went to Cafe de Paris. The food here was excellent! We ordered a large green salad, chiptole shrimp, and tagliatelle with shrimp which was by far the best. The menu was a little pricey, but at least the quality of food was reflected in the price. Another bonus to this restaurant was that they served bread with garlic aioli. This is the first restaurant we have been to that offers some sort of bread for the table to start with, and it was much appreciated. By the time we left the restaurant was really busy.

Once again we came back to the hotel and went to sleep to prepare for our next day in paradise.

Until then...

Costa Rica - Segundo Dia

On our second day in Costa Rica we surfed, ate, lazed about, ate some more, and went to sleep.

We woke up bright and early on Easter Sunday, ate breakfast at our hotel (included in the price), then headed down the beach to Coconut Harry's by the beach to meet our surf instructor for the next week, Oscar. 

Surfers Log - Dia Uno

Oscar took us and our soft top beginner boards down to the beach for the start of our lesson. The first 20 minutes or so of the lesson was the three of us sitting in the sand discussing safety rules, waves, and winds. Then we practiced some "pop-ups" on our beached boards before heading out into the water. Once we were in the water all that theory gets put to practice. We were catching the white water and practicing our pop-ups with assists from Oscar just fine. Then we moved onto catching our own white water and listening to Oscar's coaching about when to stop paddling and stand up. This didn't go so well at first, but we did get better as the lesson went on. By the end of the 90 minute lesson we were both catching our own white water and standing up with the coaching of Oscar to tell us when.

After the lesson we went back to Casa Romantica and ate cold leftover pizza because we were starving after all that surfing. We got dressed and headed up to Coconut Harry's main shop to talk to Steve, whom I have been having an email correspondence with for the weeks before we arrived, to set up some other activities like zip lining and snorkeling. Then we walked back down to Coconut Harry's by the beach to get some beach chairs to rent for the week. We stopped by our room and then walked down the jungle pathway to the beach with our chairs, towels, and books in hand where we relaxed for a few hours enjoying the sun and surf. 

Playa Guiones is one of the most gorgeous beaches I've ever visited, and I've been to many beaches! The beach is a 5km long crescent with no houses or hotels directly on the beach. 170 acres of land in Nosara is considered a Green Zone and cannot be built on, i.e. is preserve. This makes for a lovely beach environment and awesome jungle trails to the beach and between sections of the town. Our hotel is the closest you can get to the beach and has an awesome jungle pathway leading directly to the beach lined with hibiscus and cacti where butterflies and lizards can often be seen.

People on Nosara Beach

After our relaxing late morning on the beach we walked to KayaSol for lunch. I was jonesing for a salad and theirs hit the spot. Mike ordered the fish tacos and I got the grilled chimichanga, both of which were excellent. So far this is our favorite lunch stop.

For the rest of the afternoon we lazed around the hotel pool reading and drifted in and out of sleep determined to be the best beach vacationers ever. Soon we started to feel like a couple of lazy lugs so we ventured to the beach for a sunset walk (I like long walks on the beach at sunset). We worked our glutes and admired the high tide surfers wondering why we weren't as good as they were yet.


Nosara Beach at Sunset

Before we knew it we were hungry for dinner. We showered and walked to Beach Dog Cafe only to find that it was closed for the Easter holiday. Venturing up the road in search of something open, we heard live music and came upon Casa Tucan. The food was nothing spectacular and we were definitely ripped off by the bar ($5 for a local beer on tap!) but the live music was nice, there were lots of other people around, and we were grateful to have found some place open.


The "hippie ex-pat" two man band

Back to the hotel we went and collapsed into bed, sleepy as anything from all that sun and surf, to rest up for our morning surf lesson.

Until then...

Domincan Republic - Packing Whoops

I returned from my glorious six day five night trip to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic on Saturday. We stayed at the Club Med resort which was absolutely perfect. I highly recommend it. Besides the rooms being comfortable and spacious with a balcony and a view, the food being delicious and all inclusive, the activities provided were the best! We took sailing and windsurfing lessons, tried our hand at archery, and even endured the heat on the tennis courts. The night-time activities are fun too with live music nights and a DJ nightclub on the beach. We never had to think of anything to do, everything was already planned for us. We just chose the activities. No stress.

There were only two disappointments on my trip and neither one of them had to do with the actual trip, but mistakes I made myself.

The first, I completely and utterly over packed, which is usually not a problem for me. But this time, I failed. Want to know what I packed too much of? Clothes to wear during the day! Who wears clothes in the Caribbean during the day?! I wore a bathing suit with a cover up every day. I brought two bathing suits and two cover ups and alternated them between the days so I wore each one twice. Did I wear any of the three pairs of shorts I brought? No. Did I wear any of the tank tops I brought to go with them? No. Did I wear any of the three sweaters or two pairs of jeans I brought (apparently I forgot what 90 degree weather feels like)? No. I'll tell you what I DID wear (other than the bathing suits and cover ups). I wore each of my five dresses/skirts for night-time (dinners and dancing always call for dresses) and I wore half of the exercise clothes I brought (it was much too hot for me for most of the exercise classes). I only brought four pairs of shoes and wore all of them; night wedges, night sandals, flip flops, and tennis shoes. I even managed to wear all the jewelry/accessories I brought to go along with my night outfits. Bathing suits and night-time clothes only from now on. Lesson learned.

Of course, to go along with my over packing, I under packed a few things (or just plain forgot them). I have horribly uncomfortable reactions to bug bites. I remembered to bring my prescription anti-itch cream (good last minute toss in the suitcase) but completely FAILED to bring bug spray! Luckily, the gift shop had bottles for sale... for $17.00!!! I sucked it up and bought one, because I desperately needed it. Lesson learned.

I also thought that bringing the book I was currently reading (Haruki Murakimi's Norwegian Wood) and another book (Barbara Kingsolver's Pigs in Heaven) would be enough reading for the plane rides and the beach. I was wrong. I finished the Murakami on the plane before we even landed in the Dominican Republic and I finished the Kingsolver the day before we left. I really tried to put the book down, but I just couldn't. I was forced to buy a trade paperback that I didn't have much interest in reading at the Punta Cana airport for $10 when they usually cost just $8 in the US. Le sigh. Lesson learned.

If you're planning on sitting on the beach for the majority of your vacation, don't pack clothes to wear during the day and bring enough reading material. Oh, and hot and humid equals MOSQUITOES. Bring bug spray to spare your skin and your wallet.

Block Island for 4th of July

New York's Long Island, Connecticut, and the Rhode Island mainland provide easy access to one of the greatest day tripping and long weekend getaways in the Northeast, Block Island, located just 12 miles off the coast of Rhode Island. The island is only a short ferry ride away but once you arrive it feels like a different world. The only season to get the full Block Island experience is in the summer, when the beaches are perfect for sunbathing, the roads perfect for biking, the trails perfect for hiking, and the lobster perfect for eating. To experience a perfect day or weekend all you need to do is get off the ferry, everything you need is on the island waiting for you. You can rent bikes and kayaks at one of many sporting goods shops. If you're not the athletic type, you can shop and dine in the little marina village and for exploring hop on a motorized scooter available for rent. You can hang out at the bar on the docks and listen to live music. And if you're staying overnight, don't forget to book a room at one of the island's many pristine B&B's.

I ventured to Block Island from Montauk, NY on the Eastern most tip of Long Island on the 10am Viking Ferry on this year's perfectly sunny 4th of July Saturday. The ferry reservations were booked online making the process at the docks seamless. Viking provided a parking pass and a space in their lot for the day as there is not much parking at the dock. You can bring your bikes onto the ferry for an additional charge, which if you plan on biking is the way to go, however there are numerous places to rent bikes from once on Block Island. The ferry has comfortable seating in the cabin (perfect for napping on the way back) and upper deck outdoor seating as well as benches along the sides of the cabin. The best seating on the boat (for view, not for comfort) is the two small benches at the bow of the boat (that's the front for those of you who are not familiar with nautical terms). Of course this is where I chose to sit as the view is perfect, and the light sea spray is quite refreshing (it's also a great place to get a picture!).

Once you disembark from the ferry via the gangway onto the dock in Block Island, you see boats everywhere. Block Island's marinas are obviously the hippest place to park your boat. Some of the boats are three boats deep and couldn't get out if the docks were set aflame. No one seems to care that they're stacked upon each other, everyone sits on the back of their boats drinking and listening to music just lazing the day away (not a bad way to live life if you ask me). The ferry ride is only an hour long, so once you've got your sea legs, you're back on land. As you leave the boat and dock area, make sure you know how much time you will need to get back to the dock as the last boat out for the day is THE LAST BOAT OUT. If you miss the boat, you will have to stay the night or charter a private boat back to where you came from.

Once out of the marina, you can rent a bike right away or catch a taxi which will take you to your B&B, the village, a small watercraft rental shop, or a motorized scooter rental shop (sometimes these double as bike rental shops also). We opted to rent bikes right away as we were not staying overnight and felt like being active. The bike rentals are for 4 hours or the whole day, which of course is irritating as the next boat doesn't leave for 5 hours! We were able to finagle the summer employee from Europe to give us the 4 hour rate for the 5 hours (shh!). The bikes come with a lock and most come with a basket or rack with bungee chords so you can strap your bag to the bike (make sure you take it with you when you park and lock the bike). Also make sure to inspect your bike before you ride away. The bikes are used frequently so they tend to get dirtier and broken faster (the front break one of our bikes was not attached properly, another had a wobbly basket only held in place by the seat).

Once the bikes were squared away we set off immediately to the North Light House. On the way we passed some kids selling lemonade and baked goods and stopped for a cup (we passed more throughout the day, it's a popular past time for kids on Block Island). On the way to the North Light House you pass the National Wildlife Refuge and Sachem pond which are both great scenic locations. As you approach the North Light House be aware of the LONG WAY DOWN HILL! You have to ride (or walk) your bike back up it! However, it's super fun to ride down and the minimal traffic makes it fun and relatively safe for cyclists to cruise down at full speed. Just try not to get any bugs in your teeth... The North Lighthouse can be accessed only by a rocky beach so we locked the bikes on one of the ever present bike racks and walked down to the light house, which was not yet open for the season (opened the next day) but proved to be a very picturesque sight. Also, do not be deceived by the apparently calm water, there are strong riptides and swimming is strongly discouraged. After picking up some litter on the beach (there are garbage cans right there people!), and getting the sand out of our shoes, we hopped back on the bikes and trekked up the HUGELY HUGE HILL on the way to the Southeast Lighthouse. On the way we stopped for lunch at a beach front joint to refuel, we needed it after that hill!

The Southeast lighthouse is situated on the bluffs at the Southeast (obviously) end of the island and provides a great view. 300 yards from the entrance to the lighthouse is the entrance to steps (152, we counted) with access to the beach at the base of the Mohegan Bluffs (one of my favorite stops of the day and unfortunately not long enough... had to get back in time for the LAST BOAT OUT). The beach can only be accessed by climbing down a steep rocky trail so wear appropriate footwear. Bring a towel for an extended stay and lay out under the bluffs.

After leaving the Southeast Lighthouse we had to move pretty quickly to get back to the marina in time for the LAST BOAT OUT! The loop from the Mohegan Bluffs back to the marina is very hilly but absolutely breathtaking. Dotted throughout the landscape are small sweet water ponds with water lilies in bloom. They're all completely natural formed which makes them that much more awesome. The last stretch back to the marina passes an old cemetery situated on a hill, which I hear is great for gravestone rubbings. Make sure you've picked up a map as the roads on this end can be tricky, but generally just follow the people in front of you and you'll arrive safely back at the marina.

Once we got back to the marina and returned our bikes we decided to stop at the bar on the dock. It was super crowded with people drinking and dancing to the live band. We opted to wait on line for our ferry, but were still within ear shot of the music. Once back on the ferry (we made it!) we went in the cabin found a row of 5 seats, and took a nap. We were exhausted. On a 7x3 mile island we biked about 14 miles (wow!). Once back in Montauk we had plans to see the 4th of July Fireworks at the beach and have dinner at Cyrils. Now if only we had found an outdoor shower...