“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.
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| 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 27th,
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
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| The inland route from Tamarindo to Santa Teresa |
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| Throwing on a spare tire in front of the hostel |
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| Sergio happy to have made it to Santa Teresa in time to watch some fútbol |
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| Enjoying the finale to Stieg Larsson's trilogy and some complimentary coffee |
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