Catching a Wave in Costa Rica

By Paul F Davis

My trip to Costa Rica was awesome!

I arrived in San Jose on a direct flight from Orlando via American Airlines. Upon meeting my younger brother from Honduras (where he had been teaching English for the past six months) at the airport, together we took a shuttle to the rental car company to get a rental car.

The Budget rental car company tried to contractually charge me an additional $20 upon return of the car for cleaning the car, which I refuted and was able to get the manager to drop from the contract. I also declined the car insurance, which upon reading the small print I saw eliminated all promised coverage anyhow. Upon making a phone call back home to the States, my American Express card, for an extra $25, covered my insurance for the rental car in a foreign country.

Be careful with rental cars in San Jose as thieves are many. The common practice is for someone to jump out while you are parked at a light and knife your tire. Than miles later when you are stranded and abandoned these "friends" suddenly appear offering you help.

The banditos didn't get the best of us as the good Lord was on our side and our flat tire occurred at the gas station on the corner, where we quickly got our tire repaired by the serviceman.

Once we were back in action, we headed to Jaco. This was about a 2 to 3 hour drive through mountainous and tropical terrain. You feel like you're driving through a rain forest as the topography is very lively and lush with greenery. Clouds hovering below mountaintops and every species of plant life imaginable, along with friendly people outside of the cities in the small villages and barrio along roadshide.

The highway and street signs are very confusing and problematic en route to Jaco and most destinations in Costa Rica. Hence you kind of have to shout out the window periodically to a local to confirm you're going the right way. There weren't any signs saying "Jaco" so we had to repeatedly ask various people to be sure, partly to be sure nobody was lying to us either along the way.

Once we arrived the Best Western Hotel on the beach where we had thought to stay was full, but they made a good recommendation for the Beach Del Mar a block or two away that proved to be less expensive and right on the beach. We made friends with the hotel staff and my brother actually got a job there for a couple months when I left Costa Rica.
We hid our money in the air conditioner unit and thankfully had no problem with thieves at the hotel, although some kids from the U.S. weren't as lucky as a pedigroso (Spanish for thief) just before dinner one night jumped through one of the teenager's windows and pinched $100 from them. Since 70% of the hotel guests are teenagers on tour from America with their chaperones, this was something that greatly bothered the manager. He immediately called the police over who have a station right next to the hotel.

Considering 130,000 Americans live in Costa Rica it is relatively safe as long as you stay in the right areas and aren't a troublemaker yourself. Jaco is a lovely beach town on the Pacific Ocean. The surf is fantastic, bigger than anything I've ever encountered in Florida. No rocks or reef to cut you up either. I caught some of the best waves of my life! I had never before been in a wave's barrel before! Just dropping in on a wave and seeing it overhead was an adrenaline rush for this Floridian.

By night we ate cerviche, a fantastic fish and seafood dish marinated in lime and lemon with a hint of onions and cilantro. The people there are all very friendly. The deals also are many if you do your homework. We found a nice hotel, the del Mar on the sea for about $75 a night including breakfast.

My brother so fell in love with the place he decided to live there and is still soaking up the sun, fun, and no doubt making friends with all the senoritas.

Paul F Davis - World Traveler and author of Poems That Propel The Planet

www.PaulFDavis.com