On my last day in Tamarindo I did manage to get out to the ocean and get in the water. Boy did it feel good to surf again.

After the accident, I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about going back in the water… whether I was going to feel scared or uncomfortable… but it actually felt great.

Last time I was in Costa Rica, Allan and I just rented boards and did our own surf trips everywhere, which was great. This time, however, I decided to go with Witch’s Rock Surf Camp since I was by myself. It was going to be awesome — boat trips, trips to beaches I had never been before, and even a boat trip to a reef break.

So the first day, early in the morning I showed up at WRSC to select my board and meet the guides and the people I would be surfing with. Everyone was super nice and helpful. They loaded up the boards on top of the van and we headed out to Playa Grande.

What a beautiful beach! Allan and I surfed here before but it wasn’t as good as the day I had with WRSC. Although some of the guys were complaining that it was “too small”, it was just the right size for me to get my confidence back getting in the water again.

I stepped out onto the sandy shore and let the warm water hit my legs. The guide, Killian (who was also cute), assured me that everything was going to be okay, and pointed out a good spot for me to paddle out to.

I caught some of the best waves of my life that day! Some awesome lefts and rights, and about shoulder-high waves. Really nice clean beach break. Compared to Tofino at least!

There were some great surfers out there.

Even long boarders! Haha. I’m a long boarder myself, so it definitely felt weird to be out there with a bunch of short boarders.

There were even a couple really cute surfer chicks! Nope, that’s not me. Sadly when you travel by yourself you don’t get any photos of yourself taken

The WRSC Guide Killian getting out of the water.

After a great session I headed back to my apartment to get ready for the next surf session of the day. Sadly, when I looked in the mirror I noticed the cut on my forehead had started to pull apart. Ugh! I couldn’t believe it. No more surfing for the rest of my trip. What. A. Total. Bummer. Decided to shorten up my trip and head back early since without surfing, well… there wasn’t much point being in Costa Rica.

For my last night there I decided to head into town (Tamarindo) and eat at Allan’s and my favourite Italian restaurant that we found last time, Bruno’s Pizzeria.

I ordered sparkling water. I love how all the labels in Costa Rica are in Spanish, and when you go to the grocery store it’s always quite a challenge to figure out what every thing is! A lot of people in Costa Rica are either locals (Spanish), come from the USA (know basic Spanish) or come from neighbouring countries (know a lot of Spanish). Soooo it’s hard getting by as a Canadian with no exposure to Spanish. I do my best, but it’s not good enough

Delicious pepperoni and pineapple pizza!

Spinach tortellini with cream sauce!

And yes, one of the most beautiful views in the city. Check out that sunset sky!

I love watching the sun set over Tamarindo.

Can’t beat the view at Bruno’s.

What a great way to spend my last night in Costa Rica. Beautiful!

Quick post on Costa Rica today. It’s strange writing back and remembering, even though it was only a couple days ago…

On my last day at Paradisus Playa Conchal, I booked a tee time on the Reserva Conchal golf course at 6:30 AM… yes, 6:30 AM. Too early.

The Reserva Conchal golf course is a beautiful course in Costa Rica designed by Robert Trent Jones II. It’s a challenging course, fairly tight fairways and some tough greens. It is really amazing to think that they can keep a golf course in good shape like that in the hot weather.

It was strange playing a golf course by myself. Some background on golf and I… I started playing golf about 4 years ago when I was dating someone in university who used to play golf a LOT. He actually taught kids camps, etc. I wasn’t very good at all, but I did go to the driving range quite a few times that summer. Flash forward several years, and I’m still not very good at golf. I did start going to the driving range a bit last summer, I bought a set of irons, and I played in the company golf tourney.  Now this year already, it’s almost the end of July and I’ve only gone to the driving range a couple times this summer. I really need to start going more.

It’s a love-hate relationship.

So imagine my surprise when I played the Reserva Conchal course with my rented clubs, and I pulled out a driver for the first time, and actually managed to hit it alright. That’s the first time I have ever hit a driver without it hitting someone else, popping straight into the air, or divebombed 2 yards in front of me. It was exciting!

So, when I got back to Vancouver I bought myself a new driver because I was so excited. Needless to say, I have not been able to replicate my success and continue being a hazard to all at the driving range with my driver. More on this later in the week.

There were some gorgeous views of the ocean from some of the holes.

There was tons of wildlife all around the golf course, including these cute birds all lined up along the side of one of the holes…

… and this gigantic iguana!

After playing the course, one of the guys I had made friends with at the Pro Shop, Mauricio, was kind enough to drive my luggage and I to Tamarindo where I would be staying in an apartment rental there. I can’t thank Mauricio enough!

I was staying at Villas Langosta, just outside of Tamarindo on Playa Langosta. I loved Playa Langosta last time I was in Costa Rica, but I have to say… really disappointed with the apartment rental. It was totally functional and definitely no-frills as I expected, but for the price ($110 USD a night), I’m not sure it was worth it compared to some of the other B&Bs or vacation rentals in the area.

There was a kitchen which was functional and had everything I needed to cook, but there were TONS of cobwebs everywhere, and huge HUGE spiders in all the cupboards. For those of you who know how scared of spiders I am, it wasn’t a pleasant experience to be cooking by myself there!

The living room was actually pretty big for an apartment rental, but I barely used it.

The bedroom was nice, and I appreciated the mosquito netting… too bad there were tons of ants that crawled in under the door all night!

Anyway, if you’ve been following my Twitter, you know that I ended up coming back to Vancouver early. I missed Allan, I was worried about the cut on my face softening up after surfing and needed to see my family doctor, and I didn’t feel safe in my apartment rental. (It’s not in the best area of town, and I actually heard someone creeping around in the bushes around my apartment, and someone tried to open my patio door)… so I decided to fly back early.

Coming up on the blog this week… I am looking forward to posting some of the surf pictures… as well as putting together a Costa Rica compilation video! Also, I’ll be at Chill on the Hill at Whistler on Saturday thanks to NESTEA and will be SNOWBOARDING in July! Woohoo! Can’t wait to pull out the Malolo.

I’m still en route to Costa Rica.

My bags were packed and ready to go for my flight today at 2 pm.

I definitely don’t travel light when it comes to Costa Rica. First, I have to have both dressy and casual clothes since I am staying at a nice resort and then winging it in a cheap apartment rental for the rest of the trip. My baggage: One large suitcase and one small suitcase, and a carry-on bag with laptop/camera.

Lots of bandages and supplies to take care of the cut on my head while I’m gone.

I have a ton of camera equipment (for my Nikon D90 and my GoPro camera). And I bring my own yoga mat, haha. Got all my clothes packed and ready to go!

I also package up all my toiletries and don’t bother with travel sized bottles. I probably should, but I usually find it wastes a lot of product in the end. Plus, I am super paranoid of bugs so I bring lots of different kinds of bug repellant. Haha!

So there you have it folks. I don’t pack light and I bring the kitchen sink with me Let the finger pointing and laughing begin

I’m writing to you from my rental Dell laptop. It died in the middle of my Sims 3 game. Thanks for the no-warning, battery! Bah! I can’t believe games don’t autosave these days. 2 hours of gameplay lost.

So, I’ve still got a bit to go before I actually hit Costa Rica.

It’s always a long haul there when you are flying for free on points! My AAdvantage credit card has been good to me. Last year I flew both Allan and I to Costa Rica for free, and this year I was already able to fly myself there again!

American Airlines is great for redeeming points, but the connecting flights are brutal!

Yesterday, I flew to Dallas on a 3.5 hour flight from Vancouver, and then connected immediately for another 3 hour flight to Miami. It was a short night at the Miami International Airport Hotel last night before waking up early and flying into Liberia, Costa Rica later this morning.

Then, I head to my all-inclusive resort for three nights, at the Paradisus Playa Conchal. I haggled for a great deal there!

I plan on playing some golf on their beautiful Robert Trent Jones II course, doing yoga in my room with the air conditioning off, dancing, taking lots of photos, swimming in the ocean and avoiding the pool at all costs, and ultimately just relaxing.

Then I head to Tamarindo for the best part of my trip. Four nights in a little apartment rental on Langosta Beach. I’ll be able to see the ocean from my room! I loved Langosta last time I was there so I’m hoping the surfing is still good there.

The plan: Four days of surfing (provided my cut heals fast enough), laying on the beach, partying in town, cooking in my kitchenette, and going to my favourite restaurants in town. And if everything plays out, hopefully a boat excursion to surf at Ollie’s Point and Witch’s Rock.

And plenty of sunsets and watching the thunderstorms and enjoying the tropical rain.

The end result is I’m hoping my skin heals right up in the humidity, and that I come back super relaxed and refreshed.

Traveling by myself is scary, but I suspect there’s going to be plenty of time for introspection and meditation. And I’m really looking forward to that.

Well, stay tuned. I’m hoping to have lots of photos for you over the next week!

Lots of love from Miami! XOXO

In a last ditch effort to save my skin, I’ve decided to go the only route I know works 100%. Fly somewhere humid, with the ocean.

So yep, for the first time in my life, I will be traveling by myself to a foreign country.

I’ve made quite a few posts about my experiences in Costa Rica already, and how much I adore the surfing and the culture there.

So, my flight is BOOKED! I’m flying down to Costa Rica for July 10-19. I can’t wait. Planning on staying in Tamarindo and on the Guanacaste Coast.

Humidity, the sun, the salt water, the beach… it’s all going to be great.

I’m a little nervous to go there by myself, but since I’ve been to all the places I’m thinking of staying, I feel fairly safe and confident about where I’m going.

Still working on finalizing details on hotels, condo rentals, surfing etc… will keep you updated!

I got the chance to go to Tamarindo, Costa Rica in May for 3 weeks for surfing. While I was there I got the chance to snap some photos. I haven’t had a chance to post these on my blog yet… so here we go!

Hummingbird, unusually still, but only for a second..

Faucet and tiles..

Beautiful Bird of Paradise..

Butterflies kissing…

Arenal Volcano erupting at night… 30 minute long exposure.

The 5 Wise Men…. posts making up a fence with growth starting on them..

A locked gate…

Beach crab hanging out…

Hacienda Pinilla golf course by the sea…

Time for introspection… lonely beach chairs for two.

A turtle by the pond…

Me surfing at Playa Langosta…

Puffer fish during a scuba diving trip… taken with my underwater housing…

The sideways moon…

Timeless ripples in the sand…

A rooster guards his turf..

A horse in front of some fiery-coloured trees..

Playa Avellanas at its finest…