As it slows down

There are many people who get tired of hearing me bitch about living in the US. Whether it be the price of gas, mass consumers, greedy corporations or crooked politicians I had plenty of annoyances to keep me frustrated with life there. I often hear the comment “love it or leave it”. On June 14^th I decided to “leave it”. I had booked a trip with a friend to Costa Rica, a country which I have visited a couple of times before. What better way to ween me off of typical American norms. I decided not to return.

While Nosara, Costa Rica isn’t exactly the same as living in Morocco, there are plenty of things that are no where near as Americanized as you would think. Going from life in NC/FL to Nosara is like down grading your sports car for a moped. But you must note that it’s one freaking sweet ass moped. Everything in my life has since slowed down. It’s the kind of slow down that one desires to get away from what drives people mad. I went from 200 choices of toothpaste to about 2. I have 2 hand fill gas stations if someone needs to fill up their car. Instead of poodles and bull dogs we have mutts and monkeys. Instead of a public beach with pay parking I now have a public beach with solitude. Instead of checking a report praying for surf I now pray for a day off of surfing. Everything about life has slowed down and is changing for the better.

It’s great to see a community of people who seem to appreciate life. Not that in the States people don’t but you can’t argue that lots of people get worked up over the dumbest shit. The other night after a head high evening session, as I was walking to my friend’s rental car to strap my board on, I noticed all the families on the beach watching the sun set. The American kids were building bon fires with the Tico kids and everyone was smiling. A Pacific coast sunset in itself is incredible but add happy babies and fire, Can you imagine? I can understand the love/hate the locals have towards us but am I wrong for wanting to be a part of their great little society? I don’t think so. In my 1 week here I have met some incredible people. I look forward to calling the place home for a while.

The pictures posted below are to give you a visual of my experience:

After a quick 2hr flight from the busy city of Miami my friend James and I ended up in San Jose, Costa Rica. A five hour drive up to Guanacaste brought us to the beaches of Guiones. This picture is a tree located near the South beach. Playa Guiones is a 6 mile beach located west of the small city of Nosara. A very small town vibe with consistent head high surf.








Motorbikes, ATV, Scooters and 4x4s with the right away. Pedestrians watch out! Notice the small infant giving me the stink eye on the back of this bike :)





The beaches of Playa Pelada. This is a five minute walk from my place in Las Tecas. To the south of this you can find Playa Guiones. Playa Guiones has more quality surf but it also has huge crowds of Americans crowding it. I saw two people fishing this particular day on Playa Pelada. The locals can be found shredding in between the rocks during certain tides.









Tico rips it at mid tide
Playa Pelada breaks on rocky reef. It seems it's mainly Ticos that surf this area. I have made it a goal to learn this little inside wave when I want a change from the grande ones at Guiones.


















Rocky Reef at Playa Pelada
Here is a better picture of the reef at a lower tide. This is what you are surfing on top of.







This little island is a gem. Its right before the Nosara rio. I am sure i am butchering the termanology but needless to say this is what the Sunset at North Playa Pelada looks like.