Surfing in El Salvador to surfing in Costa Rica in 2 days...

A bit of a turn of events has lead Doug and I to now find ourselves in Playa Tamarindo, Costa Rica.

Our expected weeks in Nicaragua were cut short when we entered the country only to discover that Nicaragua is now one of the countries under the Visa umbrella with Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador (new since our lonely planet had been printed). Seeing as our visa for those countries was about to expire (2 days later), we had to quickly leave the country in order to avoid a fine. As a result, Nicaragua is on the back burner (for now) as we have to stay out of the country for at least 72 hours. So begrudgingly´, we now find ourselves enjoying leisurely days of sunshine and surf in Costa Rica.

Tamarindo is a bit more developed than what we would ideally like, however the surf here is perfect for beginners, and we just cant get enough. Getting here was a bit of an adventure, as the beach town is about a 2-3 hour chicken bus from where the Nicaragua bus dropped us off. Luckily for us, as we stood at the bus stop looking hot and bothered, a young guy drove up and offered us a lift to the beach if we would just pay for the gas. We happily accepted and enjoyed a 1 hour car trip with a great new Costa Rican amigo, the wind in our hair, and singing 70´s and 80´s songs at the top of our lungs (which he apparently loved). The best part was speeding by the chicken buses (that we were meant to be on), and seeing them chock full with travellers, bumping along uncomfortably, and stopping every km or so. Ahhh....simple blessings.

As mentioned, the surfing here is fantastic and perfect to help build our confidence on the board. Unfortunately we have both sustained some pretty bad injuries since taking up the sport. Doug lost a battle with his board and ended up with a huge bruise across his inner thigh, while I managed to scrape a couple of layers of skin off my stomach. Even though the bruise is gone, I still manage to look like I was dragged under a car from knees to tummy for a block of so.

I did enjoy a morning off surfing today due to a foot injury, which gave me an opportunity to play with our new camera and take some good action shots of Doug in the water. Not too shabby for a beginner!...and later he returned the favour by taking some of me.

Our plan is to stay here for another couple of days before moving onto our next location....something different perhaps...like a little beach town where we can surf and enjoy the sun...

Here´s some quick pics from the first few days of our time in Playa Tamarindo, Costa Rica...


If you can´t see the above gallery, check out the link here - If you can´t see the above gallery, check out the link here - PlayaTamarindo