Zen in the Southern-most Tip of the Nicoya Peninsula

“Zen is not a religion, nor a dogma, nor a belief. Neither is Zen a search, an investigation, or a philosophy. The fundamental basis for the practice of Zen is the principle that everything is as it should be, nothing is missing. In this exact moment, everything is perfect.”

After five hours of slowly climbing and descending the steep and unkempt roads of the Nicoya Peninsula, Sergio and I finally arrived to Casa Zen Guesthouse & Yoga Centre in Santa Teresa. We were awe-struck by this so-called ‘hostel’. Situated in the heart of Santa Teresa, and only steps from the playa, the location is impossible to beat. Locals drop-by daily to offer us everything from sushi-rolls to fresh empanadas de carne. For us budget-travelers, the hostel is equipped with a large, state-of-the-art kitchen. More importantly, however, Casa Zen promotes an incredibly laidback and friendly vibe. I’m even considering attempting a morning yoga session, after complimentary breakfast and coffee of course.

Common area at Casa Zen

Santa Teresa is a coastal village on the South-Western side of the Nicoya peninsula in the Puntarenas province. Here the jungle hugs the sparsely populated white sand beach as far as the eye can see. The town consists of a single unpaved road lined with restaurants, cafés, grocery stores and hotels. To our surprise, the road was in worse condition than that through the mountainous interior of the peninsula. With the newly-acquired, first-hand knowledge of what these roads were capable of doing to Sergio’s 4WD Daihatsu Terios, we rented a couple of quads to explore the area surrounding Santa Teresa.

Playa Santa Teresa

The road through Santa Teresa

Keen to decide for ourselves whether the coastal road of the peninsula was not passable during the rainy-season, Sergio and I hopped on our semi-automatic ATVs and headed North toward Playa Manzanillo. After crossing several thigh-deep rivers, climbing unimaginably steep hills and navigating the seemingly endless pot-holes, we came to share the locals’ conviction of the coastal road – that is, if you can even call it a road. It rivals Buckwallow’s technical mountain biking trails in Ontario. Nevertheless, it is the most scenic and tranquil road I’ve ever seen; without a soul in sight, we were watched by howler monkeys and iguanas as we followed the road through the jungle, over the foothills and on the edges of cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

Foothills of Santa Teresa

The next day, Tuesday October 29^th, the two of us woke at sunrise to check-out Montezuma’s infamous waterfalls. After splitting a loaf of freshly-baked bread in Cóbano we continued on our quads to the South-Eastern coast of the peninsula toward Montezuma. The hippie town of Montezuma is much more centralized than that of Santa Teresa, with all the shops and restaurants located within a 5-minute walk of each other. This is my favourite coastal town in Costa Rica. It is not under-developed, nor is it too touristy; in my opinion, it possesses the perfect balance between a bustling town and a remote, uninhabited Costa Rican beach.

Montezuma

Montezuma Waterfall

In flip-flops and without mosquito repellent, we were ill-prepared for the trek through the jungle and wading through rivers to get to Montezuma’s waterfalls. After absorbing the beauty of the waterfall, and a considerable amount of mosquito bites, we were happy to retreat to a local café and enjoy some coffee and fresh jugo de naranja. Before leaving Montezuma, I spotted a palm tree with several coconuts within reach – perfect mixer for the bottle of Flor de Caña rum we had back in Santa Teresa!

Coconut harvesting!

Sergio replenishing his electrolytes

After smashing a coconut between a couple of stones and replenishing our electrolytes, I threw another into my day-pack for the rum and headed, using the coastal road, to Mal País. Mal País is located just south of Santa Teresa on the Western side of the peninsula by the Cabo Blanco Nature Reserve. Playa Mal País is perhaps the most isolated, beautiful beach I’ve ever visited. Getting there requires either hiking through the jungle or climbing over steep rock outcroppings. The town itself merely consists of a fish market from which we were stoked to purchase fresh Mahi Mahi for dinner.

Playa Mal País

Mahi Mahi from the fish market

Upon our return to Casa Zen we celebrated our day's success with Mahi Mahi fillets, salad and, of course, a few drinks of Flor de Caña mixed with the water of handpicked coconuts and limes. No question I've found Zen here in the Southern-most tip of the Nicoya Peninsula. If this isn't 'pura vida', I don't know what is.

Handpicked coconut, lime & Flor de Caña

Our ATV adventure in the Southern-most tip of the Nicoya Peninsula

Having a blast 

Omens in the Journey to Santa Teresa

“And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”

                             

                                                                          - Paulo Coelho, in “The Alchemist”

After two weeks in Playa Avellanas I was keen on seeing what other breaks Costa Rica has to offer. Although, it was a little sad to leave the gang at Dracos Surf Camp and, perhaps even more so, to know that I would no longer be eating the gourmet meals prepared by sous-chef Justin Floyd. I suppose it was inevitable that sooner or later I would have to turn back to rice and beans…

Santa Teresa was the logical choice after surfing the web and conversing with the ticos, i.e. the locals. Not only was it highly regarded for its various large breaks, it was located less than 200 km south of Playa Avellanas. This, I thought, should make it easy to get to. Accordingly, I got a friend to drop me off in Tamarindo so that I could arrange for transportation.

Within an hour of arriving to Tamarindo it dawned on me that getting to Santa Teresa was no easy task. The road following the coast line was not an option during the rainy season due to impassible swollen rivers; getting to Santa Teresa required travelling through the mountainous interior of the Nicoya Peninsula or taking a ferry. Furthermore, shuttles do not typically run during the low-tourism season, which understandably coincides with the rainy season. This left me with public transportation – at least 3 buses, a couple of cab rides and a ferry that would amount to a minimum of 11 hours. When confirming the route with a tica, I was further disappointed to discover that the route outlined online was incorrect. I had no doubt that this trek would be a nightmare, especially with a surfboard. But it was my only option.

Nicoya Peninsula. A represents Tamarindo & B represents Santa Teresa.  The blue route depicts the inland trek from Tamarindo to Santa Teresa.

With this enlightenment I decided to spend the night at Blue Trailz Hostel in Tamarindo and set out for Santa Teresa early morning. When discussing my dilemma at the hostel, a Spaniard by the name of Sergio mentioned that he was planning on driving to Santa Teresa in two days time and that he was more than happy to have me tag along – a golden stroke of luck. Not only did this save me the burden of lugging around a surfboard and the worry of getting completely lost in rural Costa Rica, but I got the opportunity to make a friend with ties to both England and Spain. 

Not till later did I find out that two friends, Rhiannon and Will who I met in Tamarindo and accompanied to Playa Avellanas, recommended that Sergio stay at Blue Trailz hostel in Tamarindo. A buddy of mine from back home lent me “The Alchemist”, a novel by Paulo Coelho, shortly before I left for Central America. It instantly became a favourite of mine, offering countless lessons to learn from.  The most powerful of which was that you should live in the singular pursuit of your dream and, consequently, “all the universe conspires in helping you achieve it”.  This was surely an omen encouraging me to continue on my journey.

The two of us woke at 5:00 am on Sunday October 27^th, packed the SUV and set off for Santa Teresa. The weather was perfect – sunny and not intolerably hot and humid, as per usual – but the roads were not.  It took us nearly five hours to cover 201 km.  Fortunately, we didn’t blow a tire until we arrived to Santa Teresa, after which we drove for another half hour to find our hostel before worrying about it.  Could this be another omen?

Pura Vida

The inland route from Tamarindo to Santa Teresa

Throwing on a spare tire in front of the hostel

Sergio happy to have made it to Santa Teresa in time to watch some fútbol

Enjoying the finale to Stieg Larsson's trilogy and some complimentary coffee

Playa Avellanas, Costa Rica

Hola amigos,

A couple of weeks ago I met an expat by the name of David Abel outside a small café in Tamarindo.  Originally from Idaho, he moved to Costa Rica in his early twenties and hasn’t looked back since.  When asked what he does for a living, he replied, “to be honest, as little as humanly possible.”  Little did I know how fortunate I would be to have run into this lad.

On Saturday October 12, 2013 a few friends and I packed-up our surfboards and knapsacks, stoked to be off to Playa Avellanas.  Playa Avellanas is a small, isolated surf town just south of Tamarindo on the Nicoya Peninsula.  Consisting of a small convenience store, surf shop and hostel, its claim to fame is Lola's - a restaurant on the beach with a pet pig that can occasionally be seen swimming in the ocean to cool off.

All loaded up and ready to go to Playa Avellanas

Playa Avellanas

Lola's Restaurant

Lola

We stayed with David at Dracos, his beach house that doubles as a surf camp.  With a pool, kitchen, bedrooms and a large living space, this was quite the step-up from hostel-living.  Dracos also fosters a family feel with the seven of us cooking and eating dinners together, surfing together and hanging-out together.  Our roommates - three dogs and a 9-week old kitten - are a constant source of entertainment.  The largest of which, Draco, is a 180 pound Spanish Mastif and Great Dane mix after which the surf camp is named.

Dracos Surf Camp

The pool


Day bender

Draco, Scooby-Doo or a Horse?

Trinity and Mimi 

The pristine beach of Avellanas can largely be attributed to the estuary that prevents people from building homes and businesses close to shore.  However, it also makes for quite the trek to get to the beach.

The walk to Dracos Surf Camp

Daily trek through the estuary to get to the beach

Jeff with his rad surf board rack

Me and my baby

Can't be thankful enough to David for hooking us up here in Playa Avellanas.  I've been having a blast and am stoked to be staying here for another week.

Pura Vida

Surfing, Fish Tacos & Sunsets

Hola todos,

Today marks the end of the first two weeks of my adventure, and I am glad to say that each day seems to trump the last.  As I'm more than a few glasses of vino tinto deep, please forgive me for any typos and poor grammar.

The past week has been a fantastic surf week - from early morning sessions to beautiful sunset soul sessions.  I've progressed from a 9'6" long board to a 6'6" fun board.  The purchase of the latter signifies the beginning of a four-month surfing odyssey, which I'm incredibly stoked for.  While terrified by the large, dark submarine silhouette only four feet from my surf board at 06:00 hours a few days ago, I cannot stress how excited I am to be surfing every day.

First surfboard! (6'6" x 20 1/4 x  2 1/2; fiberglass)

Surf wounds (large and gnarly)

As many of you may know, previously I have not been too keen on fish...  But about a month before I set off for Costa Rica, Matt and Luke Pastuszok and I caught a beautiful salmon in Georgian Bay, which we could not resist on marinating in a classic maple Canadian glaze and cooking for lunch.  This was the first experience of mine trying fish - and it was amazing.  A few days ago, Justin of Halifax, Will of California, Rhiannon of Colorado and I bought a red snapper from a small fishing shop in Tamarindo.  With home-made guacamole, hot tortillas, freshly-caught fish and a couple bottles of wine, these fish tacos have been the best meal of the trip.

Red Snapper

Left to right: Justin, Will, Rhiannon & Jeremy
Home-made Guacamole & Fish Tacos!

Today, the co-owners of Blue Trailz Hostel took us to a look-out point above the Pacific ocean where we shared many stories and several bottles of wine.  After seeing a scorpion and spending some time with their dog, we went to their beautiful casa where we exchanged stories, drank more wine and had several pizzas.  I cannot even imagine what the following months will be like.

In the back of the pick-up truck on the way to the sunset look-out.

At the casa of the Blue Trailz co-owners.

Keep in touch,

Jeremy

Tamarindo, Costa Rica

Hola,

I thought it'd be easiest to keep my friends and family updated on my Latin American adventures by keeping a blog.  So here I am, with the first post of many from Tamarindo, Costa Rica.

On Friday September 27, 2013 I finally arrived in Liberia, Costa Rica after years of anticipation, a day or two of planning, and nearly $2000 in health insurance, vaccinations and prophylactic malaria medication.  In trying to use public transport to get to Tamarindo, I realized that my knowledge of spanish is not quite up to par.  With people who spoke no english whatsoever, I was forced to use my limited spanish skills to ensure that I was getting on the right bus.  It wasn't until two hours later and I arrived in the beautiful surf town of Tamarindo that I knew I chose correctly.

Tamarindo, Costa Rica

Blue Trailz Hostel in Tamarindo

Other than being pretty touristy and thereby expensive, which has forced me to survive off a diet consisting of mangos and bananas, Tamarindo is a pretty great place.  I've been surfing everyday and definitely seeing huge improvements.  Before long I should be ripping the infamous barrels of Teahupoo...

Anyhow, that is it for now.  Stay tuned for more updates over the coming weeks!

Cheers,

Jeremy

Lunch at Playa Grande
(Thanks Maz for the dad-straps, definitely key)

Playa Grande