Costa Rica

Near Limon, Costa Rica. When most people think about Costa Rica they think about something like this...

Or this ...

Or this...

But if you're a surfer, your Costa Rican paradise looks something like THIS. Matapalo, C.R.

There just seems to be good surf here all the time. And it pays to have two coastlines: if the Pacific side isn't working out, just pack up and head over to the Caribbean side.

Tamarindo, Costa Rica. Getting to the beach is half the fun.

Costa Rica has the wisdom to protect a large part of its rainforests from development. About a third of the country consists of national parks and other protected areas. That makes for some happy critters, and here are just a few.

Clockwise from upper left: crocodile, coati, iguana, agouti, howler monkey & baby, poison dart frog, white-faced capuchin, a perfectly camouflaged leaflike praying mantis, some kind of hummingbird, and a squirrel monkey & baby.

There must be at least as many exotic species of plants here as there are animals. Some of these things must have come from another planet.

All of this exotic flora & fauna, packaged into one great vista after another.

A surf trip to Costa Rica used to seem like the most adventurous thing in the world. Rough (or nonexistent) roads, no maps, few road signs, and GPS hadn't even been invented yet. Just getting to your destination was always questionable, and it usually took a lot longer than you'd think to get there. Nowadays with the influx of big tourist $$ the infrastructure has improved a LOT. I'm still not sure if that's entirely a good thing because now there's too much development, and too many knuckleheads. Clockwise from top left, some photos of the "good old days" : roads could double as rivers during the rainy season; bridges wash out and the locals just slap them back together only to be washed away in the next storm; hauling ass down terrible dirt roads trying to beat the darkness back to camp; sure there are a lot of parts missing from this bridge but at least they're not the important parts.

It's a mighty fine thing to come home from a hard morning's surf to chill out with lunch and a siesta on your nice shady porch, tucked into the rainforest. Relax for a while, then paddle back out again for the afternoon session. Pura Vida !