Allways Sunday: Surfing in Costa Rica

After our trips back to the states in July, and Danielle's return from Japan, we decided to take the bus from Panama City to Costa Rica and pay special friends Rosemary and son David a visit. They went through the Panama Canal aboard their beautiful 70' racing schooner Nina while we were at home, and we just didn't get to say our good-byes. Their new home is Fish Hook Marina in Gulfito located in a huge protected bay on the Pacific side of Costa Rica. Nice hotel, great restaurant, friendly staff. We visited an old sugar plantation close by, swam in the pool at the country club, and hiked into the jungle to a beautiful waterfall.

Robin, Rosemary, David and Danielle

Icy cold!

We were introduced to a new fruit that we saw people eating at the bus stations called mimones. At first glance, I thought they were strawberries, about the same size and color, except hairy. A nice young college student from Colombia told me what they were, then went over and purchased a bag and let us try them. You easily pop open the red outer covering and find a slippery white fruit inside, then you eat the fruit away from a large round pit like an olive. The flavor reminds me of a grape, sweet but kind of sour at the same time. Mimones grow high in the trees, and are first green in color, then they turn yellow, and finally red when ripe.

Danielle, Ricky and David were invited by a really great guy (and marina staff) named Graven to learn how to surf at his home in Zancudo, a well-known, popular spot for surfers. They had such a good time that we decided to extend our stay and go back. We traveled by water taxi about 30 minutes through the mangroves and then walked quiet a distance down a dirt road, finally reaching our hotel and beach destination. Simply lovely! The sand was black, and I was amazed at how far out the water recedes at low tide. They surfed for three days straight, loving every minute of it. Here are a couple of surfing pixs.