A look back at surfing in Costa Rica in 1977

I learned to surf during my teen years in Costa Rica. In the mid-1970's Costa Rica was an undiscovered surfing mecca. The only people who surfed were a handful of local "gringo" kids and a few adventurous surfers who made their way down from California. The beaches and the waves were empty. There were no surf shops or surfing schools. Surfboard wax was impossible to find; the only supply was shipped in or carried back from the States by friends and relatives.

Some of the Costa Rican beaches we surfed at in the mid-1970's were:

• Dona Ana near Punta Arenas. We would take the the train down from San Jose with our surfboards and backpacks and stay in cabanas right on the beach for a few dollars a day.
• Playa Jaco - now a huge tourist and surfing town. Back then Jaco was a sleepy fishing village. I went there with my family once for a week and was the only surfer on the beach the entire time.
• Manual Antonio - now a national park. We had friends from Arizona (the Bergeron family) who had a built a home home a few feet from the high water mark at the end of the 3rd beach. When Costs Rica turned the area into a National Park the government evicted them and they returned to the States. We used to camp on the beach for days on end, sleeping in hammocks strung between palm trees. When it rained we'd move our hammocks to the open-air thatched shelter the Bergerons had for guests.

I wonder where the Bergerons are today?

Why Rincon?

When planning this trip I wanted the destination to:

• Warm, sunny & on the water.
• Options for peace and quiet and activities, depending on my mood.
• A location in Latin America – I enjoy the food and the culture, and I wanted an opportunity to brush up on my Spanish.
• Low to moderate cost for the trip.

I began with the thought of going to Vieques or Culebra, but they are harder to get to and have fewer options for  activities.

In my research led me to Rincon on the western tip of the island, and the more I learned the more I liked.  In the end, my decision to go to Rincon, Puerto Rico for a surfing vacation was based on:

1. Ease of access: reasonably priced direct flights from JFK Airport in New York into Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, only about 20 miles from Rincon.  I’ll catch a morning flight from JFK and I’ll be having lunch in Rincon!
2. Accommodations: even though it is one of the busiest weeks of the year I was able to find accommodations for about $100 per night.  Keep in mind I am going on one of the busiest weeks of the season (the week after Christmas) and with only a few days notice.  If I was traveling any other time I could have easily found nice places to stay with lower rates.
3. Variety of Beaches: Rincon is the western tip of Puerto Rico with the Atlantic on one side and the Caribbean on the other.  The north side (Atlantic) is known for it’s consistent waves.  The south side (Caribbean) is generally calmer.
4. Lots of Activities: On days that I don’t surf there are plenty of other things to do like fishing, scuba diving and snorkeling.  Unlike some of the more secluded options, there’s a vibrant night life and many places to eat.  I’ll be spending New Year’s Eve there and would like the option of going out and partying.

I Need To Escape!

I need a break. I REALLY need a break! It has been a good year, but a very exhausting one. I didn't expect to have time off over the holidays, but things changed at work and an opportunity presented itself.

Will it be Florida, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, or someplace else?  Where ever I go. I'd like to spend part of the time learning to surf.  Perhaps I should say "re-learning" to surf because I was an active (but not very skilled) surfer as a teen growing up in San Jose, Costa Rica.  How long does "muscle memory" last?

This will be my travel blog for that trip.

(Photo by A. Mercogliano)