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Surfing Costa Rica's Pacific Coast
By Mike McDougall, Thu Dec 8th
The Pacific coast of is fast becoming one of thehippest spots on the backpack merry-go-round. It’s a surfer’sparadise in Central America’s most laid-back holiday spot. Areassuch as the Nicoya peninsula and Dominical furtherto the south are the real hotspots where the beaches are sublimeand trees and rocks tumble down to meet the fine, white sand –Costa Rica has a reputation for its magnificent flora and faunaand there’s nothing to be disappointed about
on that score here.Pelicans and frigate birds wheel overhead as the booming callsof howler monkeys resound from the nearby rainforests. For thosenot satisfied by the ocean alone there are also numerous hikesin the region and due to Costa Rica’s relatively small size youare never far away from the eco-tourism centres further inland. Sticking out like a spare limb into the temperate waters of thePacific, Nicoya has a myriad of unspoiled beaches wherethe breakers roll in consistently offering great surfing for alllevels of ability whether you’re a pale rookie paddling out forthe first time or a sun-gnarled veteran. It is this variety thatmakes the area perfect for one of the world’s fastest growingsports and the region has had a fantastic reputation in theworldwide surfing community. A few years ago villages such asSanta Teresa were no more than a few fishing hutsclustered together but with the boom of tourism in the areanumerous services are now provided by locals offering the dustystreets a ramshackle charm – a perfect setting for the laid-backsurfers and the ever-growing community of young visitors. Forthose just wishing to hang out then there a numerous beachrestaurants and beer shacks where laid back tunes and chilledcerveza set the tone for the after hours entertainment. Further to the South lies Dominical, probably CostaRica’s most famous surfing grounds. It’s slightly less isolatedthan the Nicoya region offering easy access to the surroundingnational parks and also the nation’s capital, San José.The area is famed for its “surf camps” where surfing,accommodation food and activities are all included in thepackage and is a great way for beginners to get into the sportand even for experienced surfers who get the chance for tipsfrom local instructors. The region has begun to develop but byno means to the extent that we are used to in big Europeanresorts, eco-lodges are the typical accommodation here and thefocus is on preserving an area of immense natural beauty.Whether surfing Dominical’s famous breaks or justchilling on the beach you’ll find the area is as close toparadise as you’re likely to get in Costa Rica. It’s also worthnoting that it’s not just surfing that’s on the activities liston Costa Rica’s pacific coast, the whole area is a huge aquaticplayground; waters teeming with fish and other life mean greatscuba diving and yes, you guessed it, great fishing with manylocal boats taking tourists out on the hunt for tuna, wahoo,marlin and other big game. (Article continued below)
There are even language schools opening to cater for the influxof young travellers (an excellent example of this ishttp://www.babylon-idiomas.com/ with a great presence inmainland Spain and Latin America) – no longer solely the domainof evening classes in your home country, learning a secondlanguage these days is all about cultural immersion. The messageis “why not learn Spanish whilst you’re learning to surf ordive?” and with much of Central and South America now more opento tourism there’s no better time to learn the skills to makeyourself understood whilst enjoying the more obvious pursuitsopen to travellers. About the author:For the last five years Mike McDougall has been working as atravel writer and marketeer. He's currently working for aSpanish language School (http://www.babylon-idiomas.com/) toprovide additional cultural and travel related material on Spainand Latin America. This article is licensed under a CreativeCommons License:http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/uk/ | 