Catchin’ Some Waves & Hittin’ The Road

Jason & I woke early this AM with great intentions for going a run on our last morning at the beach. However, I felt like I had been beat up the night before. Did we go out to the bars and have a few too many, you ask?? No, actually– we went surfing.

Thursday afternoon we had connected with a couple guys set up on the beach with a few surfboards offering lessons at a pretty affordable rate. We gave it a shot the next morning, walking down to the water to make sure we hit optimum tide by 8 AM. We began our lesson on the sand and eventually worked our way to the water. Through a little bit of a language barrier, we worked with our instructor over and over until Jason & I finally got up on the board a few times! It was so fun when I stood on the board, riding the tiny waves, and hearing the cheers from J & our instructor in the water behind me.

Although it was so frustrating at times when I couldn’t get my foot forward enough which caused me to lose balance, or when the board hit me square in the ribs, knocking my air out [its still tender], it was definitely worth it. Unfortunately, we didn’t get any pictures in the water because it was just the three of us, with no one on the sand to take them for us. But we did get at least one with our boards. I’m so happy we tried surfing– totally something we’ll do again in the future.

We were so tired– even after only a couple hours in the water– that the rest of the day was spent lounging around, grabbing lunch at a nearby restaurant, and lazily swimming a couple laps in the evening. We did walk to the water though to enjoy our last beach sunset. So crazy to think that I don’t know the next time I’ll be swimming in the ocean after being so close to it for 60 days!

After waking up this morning feeling every muscle in my body, we slowly stretched enough to get ourselves in gear. We made breakfast and headed down to the coffee shop, grabbed a latte, and watched all the farmers’ market goers gather for their weekly produce. It was fun to see a few people we’ve met along the way, and enjoy one more espresso at Cafe Tico. Eventually we made our way to the rental car place, and picked up the car we’re using for the last three days in CR– a little splurge we decided on last minute. We packed our things in the little Toyota and soon after said adios to Tamarindo!

Mammon chino. Rambutan. Lychee. Whatever you call it– its so tasty!

So happy to have a car!

As we hit the road, we made intentions of taking our time. We stopped for a quick lunch halfway through the trip, and went on our way. By the time we got closer to San Jose, the rain started pouring. We could hardly see the signs– let alone the car in front of us– which caused us to miss our turn-off and took us about an hour or so out of the way of our intended route. We stopped a couple times, asking for directions to our destination of Grecia, and finally found our way to the little cabinas where we’ll stay for the next two nights.

Its still raining, but the chaos of the day has settled down, thanks to a glass of wine and a nice dinner of chicken & veggie soup to warm me up on this chilly night. We don’t know whats in store for the next two days as our time in CR dwindles down, but I’d be okay spending every last moment just staring out at this beautiful landscape, soaking it all in and reflecting on how grateful I am to have had such an amazing time in this wonderful country.