We Wear Helmets on Vacation

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I had the pleasure of introducing many (many, many, many! — as my friends keep pointing out after seeing my vacation photos on Facebook) members of my family to one of my favorite places on earth, Costa Rica. I started traveling to CR almost 10 years ago and have been back every couple of years since. This was my fifth trip, and my first to the northern Atlantic side.

Tamarindo is actually the first spot most people visit in Costa Rica–especially when traveling to surf–but this was my first time to Tamagringo, as the locals refer to the city because of the overabundance of Americans. (I barely heard a word spoken in Spanish, which made me happy we chose to stay 20 minutes away, in Playa Flamingo.) But I really enjoyed the area, and I think it was a perfect spot for 20 folks who were visiting the country for the first time.

We did a lot of fun stuff–we ziplined, rode a water slide in the jungle, took a riverboat cruise, rode horses–but what made me happiest was getting to teach my 15-year-old niece and a few cousins and friends how to surf. Which meant I had lots of buddies to wake up early with and hit the beach. On our final night, we even had a nice sunset session. Pipeline this was not–we spent our time at the learner’s break in front of the Witch’s Rock Surf School, where the waves were in the 1- to 2-foot range, with an occasional 3-foot rogue monster–but the water was warm, the company was fantastic and the waves were constant. I really couldn’t ask for much more.

NOT A BAD PLACE TO SPEND A WEEK …

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SAFETY FIRST! WHEN ZIPLINING …

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AND RIDING HORSES …

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BUT, THANKFULLY, NOT WHEN SURFING (ALTHOUGH MOST OF THE BOARDS ARE MADE OF FOAM) …

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