WB Surf Camp Costa Rica – Pura Vida Files vol. 1
January 25th, 2012
Every day in Costa Rica is equal to two weeks in normal life. By that I mean the sheer amount of richness and experiences we have when we’re here in a single day amounts to to so much more than what occurs during a weekly cycle and the daily grind back home. Within the first 3 days of being here I’ve heard WB Surf Camp Founder Rick Civelli, as well as several of our wonderful clients, claim multiple first for their lives!
Because the surf is so tide dependent here, it gives us time to experience more of the culture, the land, and the people. After our first day of surfing a couple of our favorite spots and watching our stellar crew advance forward leaps and bounds in their surfing abilities, we injected ourselves directly into the heart of Costa Rican culture. Festival is a seasonal gathering that each small town and village throws together similar to a carnival, but without all the “carnies”. It’s run by and for the locals (ticos) for about 3 days per town. Each town takes it’s turn and then it moves to the next village. There are tons of local foods and games, but the highlight for everyone are the bulls. Revered by the Costa Rican culture, the bulls are not harmed here like they would be in Spain. Instead, they are let loose into a timber built ring with a single rider and the entire town running in, out, under, and clambering up the ring…especially when it charges at you!
The next morning was a stop at an authentic Costa Rican ranch. We milked cows, rode horses, held baby piglets, rolled around in an oxcart…many firsts for many of us. The whole thing was very enlightening as we learned the rancheros knew all 98 names of all 98 cows that they milked by hand in under 3 hours, every day. It really made us appreciate where everything we consume really comes from. Rick Civelli rode his first horse that day and we had a really hard time pulling him away from milking the cows. Another first! He was loving the experience just as much as the campers, possibly more.
We spent the rest of the day on the beautiful beaches to the south of Tamarindo further increasing everyone’s skills and stoke. Even after all of that, the next morning I had several campers out on the reef in front of our hotel snorkelling and freediving. A few lobsters and spotted morays later, Brian called out to me and I swam quickly up to him as he pointed down. Below me, flying gracefully through the water column, were a pair of spotted eagle rays. These beautiful angelic creatures glide with an ethereal movement that while swimming along side them makes you never want to come up for air. They permit you, and you can feel it, to swim with them before giving just flit of extra energy and speeding off into the green beyond. With the rays of the sun cutting through the particles in the water at a 45degree angle, it feels like your dreaming wide awake. Awesome!
That rest of that day we spent at Marbella, a black sand beach, void of development and the bustle of Tamarindo, save one Tikihut restaurant with fish tacos that blew our minds. After 6 hours of surfing by ourselves we watched the sun set behind the palms over the Pacific and the ring of cheers echoed throughout the rest of the night to a day well lived!
The night of dancing, karaoke, and laughing was just the icing on the cake!
-Jason Andre
Tamarindo, Costa Rica 1/25/2012
