Today we will talk about a powerful board that is able to conquer the highest waves that you can find.
Pros:
- very cool creates waves from the slightest jolts;
- a real monster in terms of performance.
Minuses:
- with this board, you need to already have a certain level of skill in this sport, clearly not suitable to beginners. Also not suitable to normal conditions, she needs powerful waves.
It will work best on Australian, Indonesian beaches, as well as places in Costa Rica and Nicaragua.
The small country of Costa Rica in Central America receives millions of tourists every year. Most of them travel to the coast for surfing and other water sports.
Two oceans wash the coast of Costa Rica: from the west – the Pacific Ocean, from the east – the Caribbean Sea of the Atlantic Ocean.
In addition to the main mainland territory of Costa Rica, this country also owns uninhabited islands: Negritos, Cocos and Los Pajaros.
Costa Rica is a peaceful country with no professional army, but safe for life. Costa Rica has earned the unofficial title of “the country of happy people”, as people in it are completely satisfied with their lives.
Local residents are happy to share their prosperity and happiness with tourists, especially the tourism sector is the main source of income in the country.
Huge money is being invested in the development of eco-tourism, including surfing.
The climate in Costa Rica is subequatorial, but differs on its two coasts. The territory of the “land of eternal summer” is crossed by mountain ranges from north to south.
On the eastern side of the mountains, that is, on the Caribbean coast, there’re intermittent rains every day, it is difficult to distinguish the dry season here (although it is believed that it falls on the winter time).
On the western, Pacific coast, moisture during the year is much less, and the boundaries of the dry season are more precisely defined: it lasts from December to April.
The average annual air temperature in Costa Rica is + 28 + 30 ° С, the water warms up to + 24 + 27 ° С.
In July and September, during the humid period, severe thunderstorms and hurricanes often occur on the Caribbean coast.
In general, the high tourist season in Costa Rica lasts from December to April, the same period is considered the most comfortable surfing season.
But even in the low, wet season, well-trained surfers ride on both coasts – from May to September the waves are especially high and roll with greater frequency.
Tamarindo is a small resort town on the west coast, a center of attraction to surfers and other visitors.
Tamarindo beaches are clean and well maintained, although they do not boast a wide variety of infrastructure.
Widely known spots among experienced surfers: Cape Pico Pequenoa and the place where the El Estero River flows into the ocean.
Beginner athletes master planks at Playa Grande and Tamarindo Beach. On good days, the waves reach a height of 3-4 m.
Jaco is a true surfing center on the Pacific coast.
The city of Jaco is located in a very convenient location, there’re five-star hotels with comfortable villas, an airport of local airlines, expensive restaurants, and nearby golf courses.
Add to this the unique natural conditions for surfing and the developed infrastructure of sports and entertainment, and you will understand the high cost of real estate in the city and the price of vacations.
There’s constant surfing on the beaches of Jaco, creating perfect waves for surfing.
At 10 km from Jaco, on the Playa Hermosa beach, cylindrical waves rise, interesting to experienced athletes, surfing competitions are held here.
A little further to the south, on the beach of the town of Esterillos, beginners and children learn, as the waves at this place are not high.
Dominical is a resort area in the southern part of the Pacific Ocean.
They are surfing in the Dominical all year round, but the influx of athletes and ordinary tourists is observed on New Years and Easter.
The turbulent river flowing into the ocean in the Dominical region contributes to the persistence of serious waves.
Puerto Limon is a city on the east coast of Costa Rica, in the province of Limon.
Although surfing in the Caribbean is not as popular as in Pacific resorts, there’re still a lot of athletes who come here.
The infrastructure is also well-developed, both social and tourist. There’re surfing schools, equipment shops and board rental shops.
There’re several surfing schools at each of the listed spots, many of them have surf camps (comfortable villas or temporary tent camps).
The largest number of surfing camp schools are concentrated on the Pacific coast.
The cost of a week of training with accommodation in such a camp is from $ 400-500, the price depends on the level of comfort of the room and the number of workouts, board rental is included.
A one-time two-hour lesson will cost $ 30-50. Renting a board without training – from $ 10 per hour.
Surfing schools in Costa Rica cater not only to novice surfers, but also experienced athletes who want to hone their skills and get to know new spots.
Local surfing school instructors communicate in Spanish and English.
The high tourist season in Costa Rica is in winter.
An especially large influx of visitors is in December-January, during the Christmas and New Year holidays. Prices to recreation, entertainment, surfing training are increasing.
We recommend that you book in advance hotel rooms and places to train in surfing schools for these days in order to receive a discount.
Costa Rica has several short, fast-flowing rivers that originate on mountain slopes. Two of them, Reventazon and Pacuare, are popular with rafting enthusiasts.
In addition, you’ll find many attractions in the country that have become objects of daily excursions to tourists, these are waterfalls, caves, reserves, volcanoes, river valleys.
Costa Rica owns several uninhabited islands, including the famous Cocos (Isla del Coco) – an uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean. It lies 550 km from the mainland.
Jacques-Yves Cousteau called Coconut the most beautiful island in the world, and R.L. Stevenson made it the sanctuary of his captain Flint (“Treasure Island”). Thousands of tourists visit the island every year.
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Surfing in Nicaragua
So far, not everyone knows in which part of the world Nicaragua is. And that’s great, especially to a surfing trip budget.
Uncertainty is much better than, e.g., the stardom of neighboring Costa Rica, which in return can afford to charge almost all American prices.
But ultimately, money is money, and most importantly, the swell and offshore companies know perfectly well where Nicaragua is, so the season is long here, and many spots are trumpeting.
The wind blowing towards the open ocean 300 days a year is a unique surfing feature of the country. The magic happens thanks to the huge lake Nicaragua in the south, which allows air currents from the Caribbean Sea.
Moreover, in addition to the gurney, Nicaragua is always ready to dazzle with its beauty.
Here, wherever you go, you will stumble upon a volcano, a canyon with waterfalls, a lake, a colonial town and the kindness of hospitable locals.
Where to surf
You can run in almost all 350 kilometers of the Pacific coast of Nicaragua, but as always there’s a difference between south and north.
For party people, the extreme south and San Juan del Sur are most suitable. This is a cozy lagoon full of pubs and hostels. It boasts an absolute flat, but at the same time it becomes an excellent hub for surfing trips.
Within 30 car minutes to the north or south, there’re about 20 different spots, including the crowded Maderas, which rocks for everyone, and the less crowded Hermosa.
The road to Colorado and Popoyo, which will be discussed below, can take one and a half to two hours due to broken roads.
But here in San Juan the easiest way is to buy a board, which will be more profitable than renting if the surfing trip lasts more than a week.
Hunters for bigger waves and pipes need to move to the north of the province of Rivas.
Here at the mouth of the river is the Colorado beach break, generous with excellent left pipes. He appeared in ISA competitions, and is recognized by many as the biggest surf treasure in Nicaragua, so he will not be able to enjoy it alone.
There’re several other spots of different levels nearby, including the second ISA celebrity – the reef Popoyo.
A powerful and fast wave begins to work with a small swell, and on a large one it turns on the outer reef, which is always happy for daredevils of a suicidal level.
Unlike San Juan, here you can live within walking distance from the spots, and there is always a good company, but fans of incendiary parties may find it boring.
Further north, there are more chances to be in a small company on the spot, and there are a lot of options.
The closest to the capital is the sharp and shallow reef break of Punta San Diego and the more loyal to inexperienced surfers, the beach break Asuchiyo, who loves to trumpet.
Further north you will find the village of Las Penitas with a couple of beach breaks and perfect logistics – if you choose the right place, you will need to walk 10 meters from the bed to the spot. It is located very close to Leon, where you can visit in search of taverns.
To those who would like to get completely lost away from civilization, there are two great tips further north.
No one will get to Aceradores, but you will find yourself next to three surfing spots: the sharp and half-pipe La Boom, accessible only by boat La Punta with passages 50-80 m to the left, and the cute Aposentiio to beginners.
And the second tip is Hikeliyo, further north with a beautiful reef to the left.
Surfing season
The stable southern swell occurs at the peak of the dry season, usually beginning in late March.
Therefore, the hottest month of April and the first half of May are good to surfers who are gaining experience or who appreciate the lack of crowds.
At the end of May, the rainy season begins, during which the onshore may or may not blow during the week, but the timing is not reliable to plan a single trip per year.
But from June to September the sweetest time to advanced surfers comes – a stable swell, a stable offshore, the rains are quieting down, the sun is shining.
From late September to early November, the season changes again, again there may be onshore and tropical storms. But in November you can go great again, it is also good to beginners.
Well, then from December to February there is a high probability of flat or too strong offshore. It takes a lot of luck to ride well these months.
Difficulties
Nothing unexpected. Some spots are only accessible from boats, there are reefs on the reefs, and you can break a board in pipes and on shore breaks.
There are cool currents and winds when you want to put on a hydro vest. But the rest of the time the sun is not as nuclear as in Bali and Sri Lanka.
It is worth knowing in advance about the holy week, i.e. the week before Easter, when several million Nicaraguans go to rest on the beaches.
There will be many great parties at this time, but the spots can be crowded.
It’s a good idea to learn some Spanish before your trip. You can do without it, but it will not be so interesting and much more difficult to make friends with locales and find out all their secrets.
And just in case, it’s worth dispelling the fear about sharks. If you google them in conjunction with the word “Nicaragua”, there are bound to be a million links, but there is really no danger. Firstly, we are talking about unique freshwater sharks in Lake Nicaragua, and, secondly, even there no one saw them for a long time.
