Here's the back story. I have been going to Matapalo almost every weekend to escape - I just can't say no to the peacefulness that it brings. I'm learning to heal there, and I always come back centered and ready to tackle the work week ahead! Plus, I am a beach addict, so it's like a double whammy.
However, this weekend, I was planning to stay in town. After all, I'd been going to Matapalo every weekend, and I needed to stay home for once and save money for my trip next week. We have the whole week off school, so I am going on what I like to call a mini surf trip to Dominical (I want to buy my first board here), and then I will be going to Escazu to visit all my lovely friends and family (Oky) from my last stay in Costa Rica. I'm planning to visit the school and see my kids too!!! Needless to say, this will cost money, especially if I spring for a board (which would be my graduation present to myself, and it would also save me money in the long run).
BUT....To no avail. I went out dancing Friday night only to be reminded that the men here are pretty much all pigs. I love dancing with them - it's fun, fast paced, and challenging since I'm still learning the steps. Plus, it's exercise, which I am dying to get these days. (This whole volleyball withdrawl thing is killin' me over here.) But then, oh, turns out all the men harass me even though the are all taken. Good.
As a result, I woke up Saturday morning ready to get out of this place! I slept late since I stayed out late, so I missed the first collectivo at 6am. I argued with myself for all of about 15 minutes about whether I should go or not. IT WAS SUNNY (!!!) and I had had a pretty rough week, due to a mixture of circumstances, and after last night, I knew I couldn't take another day without a break. I knew that if I didn't go, I'd only have another terrible week, and it wasn't worth it. It just. wasn't. worth it. Forget this. I threw together my things. Like that. You know why, BECAUSE I CAN. Because I have no one I have to report to, no one to tell me no, no one I have to ask first, no one I have to take with me, no one I have to babysit. If I wanted to go on a whim, all I had to do was pack. So I did. I was so irritated the whole time, just-a cursing myself for not doing this yesterday. Packed, ready, and I even had food and water already. I was OUTIE 500, mae. I rolled up to the collectivo stop early, I admit, because I was so antsy.
FINALLY, the collectivo was leaving. I do not exaggerate when I say that I was more relaxed before we even pulled past the Palo Mango - the last real markable spot in town. By the time we hit the first cow field (which around here is no more than 5 minutes), I knew I had made the right decision. Jessica, listen, it's only $40...You really can't take it with you, and it's worth your weekly sanity refreshment.
OH and was I right. It was soooooo worth it. I got to my little Kapu, beach side. I was hoping to surf this afternoon, but it just wasn't in the cards. I had checked Pan Dulce and Backwash on the walk down, and the tides were too high. Plus, I hadn't been able to land a board yet, and Encanta la Vida was too expensive to rent from for just an hour or two. When I arrived, Macho showed me to my room. Unfortunately, my platform was taken. UGH. BUT, free upgrade to a private little house (with a lock), complete with kitchen, shower, and toilet. I was at first excited, but I quickly grew to miss my tent. This place was hot, and it felt too big and lonesome for just me. The upside was that it was closer to the beach, so the waves were super loud as I fell asleep later that night.
The weather was beautiful! Warm with a cool breeze, so I decided to take a walk. I walked up the beach path to Pan Dulce and back down to the beach I call Nextdoor (because its nextdoor to both Backwash and Pan Dulce), and the little jungle beach trail was relaxing.
Playa "Nextdoor"
The Crack at Sunset
Playa Matapalo at Sunset
Playa Matapalo at Sunset
SO nice. I hadn't been able to watch a full sunset here yet, only partial ones. Next, I'll wait for a clear morning to watch the sunrise over the ocean. Ahhh.
The next day brought lots of energy! I was wide awake at my usual time, about 7am, and ready to surf! I had been trying to borrow a board so I wouldn't have to rent one for $20 at Encanta la Vida, but I had no luck. Again, I argued with myself about spending the money, so I came to a compromise with myself that I would walk down and check the waves first. Backwash - nice, but am I good enough?....Pan Dulce - I should wait. Back to Backwash it is. Ah, crap, the waves were nice. Tide was good. Only 3 surfers on the wave. Not too big, but green enough. Oh forget it, the $20 was worth my sanity too. I even reasoned with myself that if I was serious about buying a board, I wanted to test out what I was looking at getting - a tall 7' or short 8' board, and I heard Encanta had a decent selection.
I walked up and there it was. A 7'8ish Mini-Mal that embodied exactly what I had been looking for. Sweet. Why yes, I will test drive this for my sanity.
Again, I sprint-walked as fast as I could back to Backwash, board under my arm. I even picked up another gringo and his son who were looking for a good spot to longboard and boogie board. They were nice to talk to, and started calling me Bama and asking where a bama girl learns to surf. Good question....ha. I did have to correct them on their battle cry (at first they said those awful words that are too offensive to inscribe here).
THE WAVES WERE SO PRETTY. I was mesmerized and like a bat out of hell all at once. I didn't watch long, since I had watched earlier, and I headed out after the set. The water was bright blue and perfectly cool. The sun was shining too, hot on my back. I paddled....and paddled...and paddled. Finally, out of breath, I was past the break. And I'll admit, the waves were a liiittttllleee bigger than they had looked onshore, of course, probably 5ft-7ft waves (or in surf terms, "shoulder to overhead"). But I had duck-dived my way out, after all, so I knew I was strong enough of a swimmer to handle it. I was excited, and THEN I caught my first wave. It was fast, and I even could feel a little drop-in...something I had not previously gotten to experience due to my usually smaller wave size. AND I SURFED THE WAVE all the way until it died!!! WOOOOOO go me. At this point, I think "totally stoked" would be a good term to use for how I felt.
A calm Backwash
The next set brought another, shorter ride for me, and a TOUGH paddle back out. The set coming in while I paddled was easily overhead, and I got caught right in it. Wrong place, wrong time, kinda thing. BUT after probably 9 hours of paddling (just kidding, it only felt that long), I made it back out past the break. I rest a set or so since I could barely lift my arms. The next sets were huge, and I remember having one "Uh oh" moment as I narrowly escaped getting crushed by a 7footer. I made it though, and was ready to catch my next wave.
Soon, another overhead set came in. We're talking 6-7ft waves here. Like, if I'm standing up, the waves would be over my head (hence the name, "overhead" waves...) I went for it, and HOLY COW, they weren't kidding when they said this was a fast wave. I caught it AND I STOOD UP!! I did it!! I was surfing waves as big as I was. SO PUMPED!!! I probably only stayed up for about 5 seconds, but STILL. Take that, POW, I did it.
And then I fell. And I fell hard. The wave closed out and pushed me deep, disorienting me for a few seconds. It was odd....I got totally rocked, but after watching surfing and growing up around waves (even small ones), it was exactly what I expected. Yep, this is what I always guessed it felt like to get it handed to me, so I didn't panic. I drank the whole ocean, but I didn't panic, and I was up again, cursing and ready to get out of the water. I wasn't particularly mad at anything, except maybe that I had fallen and missed the ride. I rested there for a second, before deciding that I was just kidding about the getting out part. I was too excited, plus, I remembered that $20 I hadn't wanted to spend. I WILL get my money's worth.
This time the paddle out was much easier. The waves were turning off. It was literally like Mother Nature had one more good one in her and then she flipped the switch. I just chilled on my board, and Drew (Nela's boyfriend) gave me some pointers on getting your bearings on where the waves usually break in relation to the land. We also saw a sea turtle swimming about 10 feet from us! So cool!! I lounged on my board, got too much sun on my back, and enjoyed the cool water. Surely, Mother Nature had one last ride for me.
Yep, She did. One more good one. It was probably a shoulder-high, and I rode it nice and easy all the way in. Thanks, Mother Nature for a redeemingly smooth ride after you asserted your dominance on the last one.
Once ashore, I threw out my towel and attempted to tan my front to match my probably red back. A (very sketchy) fishing (cocaine) boat had moored itself close to shore, and (ironically) all of its crew were hand paddling into shore, crammed in a tiny rowboat. Ha. Drew and I had been joking about the illegitimacy of the boat's appearance before, and their illegal immigrant rowboat didn't help the situation. However, they turned out to be quite friendly. Drew went up to talk to them since we had agreed we wanted some fish, and they paddled out to their boat on our surfboards while I waited on the beach. Before long, they came back with two, whole, very pretty Mahi Mahi that they had caught earlier. And lucky us, they were even going to clean them for us and GIVE them to us. Yes, GIVE. For free. They had caught so many, and they still had 5 days on the boat, so they said they had plenty. CHICKAYEAH. A great day of surf and some free Mahi Mahi to top it all off?!?! I'll take it.
We hung out with our "pirate" friends while they cleaned the fish, and one of them scaled a coconut tree "como un mono" so we could enjoy some fresh pipas, or simply, coconuts with the side cut off so you can drink the water. Later, they also shared some strange tree fruits with us that I had had before, but still can't remember the name.
Once the Mahi was cleaned, we were off. We stashed the fish back at Drew's house in the cooler, and after dropping some supplies off back with our pirate friends (they had wanted Coca Cola, but all we had was rum...), I headed to Pan Dulce. Maybe I'd get lucky, and keep this surf day going.
No such luck. It was as flat as the Gulf of Mexico. Oh well, I had gotten more than I expected out of Backwash, and I was proud of myself for handling it so well. It had been the perfect storm for a surfer like me....I wouldn't consider myself intermediate yet, but I'm strong in the water and a fast learner when it comes to sports. I had a friend helping me learn the wave, I had a good board, the wave wasn't crowded so I could learn surf etiquette with less pressure, it was sunny, the waves were challenging but not overwhelming, and there was even a longer board on the wave than me! (That's good because short boarder can get frustrated with long boarders, so I wasn't the "loser" of the bunch hahaha.) SUCH a perfect day, and I think it's time for me to admit that I have the early symptoms of addiction. Blast if I'm ever land locked again.
Needless to say, I came back to Jimenez happy as a clam. I was riled up from the surf, and I made fresh Mahi Mahi fish tacos that were THA BOMB. A little crunchy feeling from the sun, but exercised, centered, and satisfied, I knew that I had never spent $70 better in my life.
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