Story for Local Sessions Mag from trip to Costa Rica

Sick Again

The excuse note to get back into school went something like “He got SICK”. What it failed to mention was that he got SICK WAVES, not the flu!
Casa Romantica offered us a free breakfast every morning with our room. The only problem was the surf was too good to come in and eat it. Therefore, we missed the great food surfing ourselves senseless until we were starving. The hotel was a fantastic place to stay and was situated at one of the best locations for surfing in the area. This swell, according to one of the expat locals, was one of the “top five” of the year! The rides were very long and totally ripable. Once in a while the paddle back out would be our worst nightmare if we happened to catch one of the 25 wave sets at the wrong time though. We called this “going to jail” as in Monopoly where you do not pass go or collect $200 on the way. And, even if we did get caught, it was worth it to be in such good waves without a wetsuit in the middle of the winter!
One of our day trips involved a very rough two hour boat trip. As a dad with his two kids I was concerned with the strong winds and the safety of the boat ride, but I knew the winds were blowing offshore at the surf break destination. What I did not realize at that time was that the very high winds kept the other boats at the dock as they cancelled their runs for the day due to the nasty weather. What we found at our destination was this empty, epic, very long, fast, fast, fast, fast, Right over a sandbar that came to life at low tide (sorry no pictures of this spot) . We surfed ourselves silly at mach 2 speeds on every wave then ran back up the beach to jump back in the water at the peak to race another one down the line. Running was quicker than paddling at that distance. After a while the tide changed, the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches wore off and we had to call it quits. That phenomenal session made the boat ride back a little more tolerable even if it was a white knuckle ride.
For a dad to be able take his kids on a great surf trip was a wonderful experience. To be able to catch a world class Right all to ourselves was over the top ! Anything is still possible for those who are adventurous and willing to go the extra mile to find good waves. For me it was a dream come true. However, I will not quit dreaming as who knows when another dream will come true.