Playa Santa Teresa

Today I was on the road again, this time about 1 hour away to Playa Santa Teresa. To get there I needed to take two bus rides; one to Cobano, which took about 20 minutes and a second bus to Playa Santa Teresa. It is extremely dry here and the roads are not paved, so EVERYTHING is full of dust. The roads are incredibly bad in this part of Costa Rica, with huge rocks and pot holes ...this is why it takes so long to get to many places and why the buses do not have more direct routes. There was not much in scenery during my trip except for...you guessed it...dust!!! Because of the dust, everything has a bit of a brown cast to it. I should also make note of the extremely HOT bus ride from Cobano to Playa Santa Teresa....I thought I was going to melt. Opening the windows did nothing except allow the dust to come in and yes, because you are sweating so much it sticks right to you. Very attractive I must say. I arrived in Playa Santa Teresa around noon. The area of Mal Pais, Playa Carmen and Santa Teresa is a surf destination. It is much different than Montezuma in that there is not a town center. Instead there is one main road that follows the beach and it is lined with shops on both sides. Of course being a surf community, there are many surf shops, little restaurants and bars, supermarkets and tiny shops to buy all kinds of gifts and souvenirs. It really does not have the charm of Montezuma´s small town, but what it misses there, it gains in its beaches. There are multiple beaches that run into each other for kilometers on end. The white sand is less coarser than in Montezuma and there are almost no rocks. The area is so large that although there are many people on the beach, it is not hard to find a spot all to you own. The main attraction on the beach...aside from all the dogs....are the surfers. What an incredible sport!!!! I could watch people surfing all day long. The waves here are larger than Montezuma as well....typically they are 5 feet high, but I heard last week they were around 10 feet. There is not only one big wave rolling in, but multiple layers of them. It is pretty impressive to watch and I love the roaring sound as the waves crash into the beach. I thought about taking a surfing lesson when I was here, but I think I have chickened out....those waves scare me! You can not really swim here either...the undertow is even worse than Montezuma. It is really incredible how the water can pull you around, even when you are just standing on the water´s edge. So instead of surfing I will just have to enjoy all the others who are braver than me and take in a little sun while I am here. I am staying at Cuesta Arriba. A lovely little hostel with dorm rooms that house six people each on two levels and your have your own bathroom in the room...this is such a treat. The hostel has a huge kitchen area in the center of the complex, hammocks throughout the property and upstairs there is a TV area and free movies if you want to just chill out and relax. The best part of this Argentinian owned hostel is Blondie, the eight year old Canadian born golden retriever...this is something you do not see often!!! I feel just like I am home....but I really miss my dog now. Since I arrived mid day, I quickly checked into my room and headed to the beach for a bit of sun. When I came back I met my roommates for the next few days...all Ticos. This is Samana Santa or Holy week/Easter in Costa Rica, and most Costa Ricans take the entire week off and head to the beach for vacation....this marks the end of their summer vacation time, as the raining season is about to start later in April. The best part about having a room full of Ticos is that you learn all about the customs of the locals. I spent the evening chatting with everyone, playing two hours of Jenga...I never laughed so hard....and figuring out what I should bring home that would be representative of Costa Rica. Now that I have a list, I will be on the search...could be fun! It was such an unexpected and fun evening, who knows what tomorrow will bring. Until then....