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Return to Costa Rica - May 2005 - Nosara - Page 4 of 4

The above three pics are from the top of the hotel lookout dome, looking north, west, and south. The south view is max zoom looking at the northern central part of the bay. Most of the surfers congregated a little more to the south of the area shown. I walked way down the beach one day, and didn't think it looked any better than the north end. But the south central beach is closest to the largest congregation of motels and surf shops. Mike said the south end was better for short boards, and he hoofed it way down there each day for his morning sessions. It may be as much as a 20 to 30 minute walk to the south end of the beach from where we were. It's a big beach. I would guess the main surfing area to be about 3 or 4 times the size of the main area on the south side of Ponce Inlet in New Smyrna. The break was sort of like Ponce Inlet on a very good day, but not quite as fast breaking. Short boards out numbered longboards by a long shot. During the peak of the big swell there were perhaps 50 boards in sight in the bay. I was told that during prime season there may be as many as 100 boards out. Gee, I've counted that many at 2nd Light (Patrick Air Force Base) on a medium day. The break was far better for me than the Jaco/Playa Hermosa area. I was surfing an 8'0" and a 9'4".

Above (right to left) are Peter and Emily Lewis, managers of the Nosara Beach Hotel, and Ross (your friendly website host). If Peter looks familiar to you, that may be because you met him at at Surf Express. He was there for 10 years. This pic was taken about 5 miles inland, up on a mountain, at a huge home being built for someone by the owner of the hotel. By huge, I mean big enough for a riding vacuum cleaner. I thought it was going to be a motel since it has a half dozen guest rooms. In the background, just left of me, you can see the rocky point near the Nosara Beach Hotel. There is a lot of land left out there.

All the pics shown in this article and quite a few more can be viewed at Nosara Photo Gallery. This gallery contains 3 pages with about 40 thumbnail images per page. Just click on a thumbnail to see the full sized image, then click your browser's "back" button to return to the index page. At the bottom of the index page are forward and back buttons to get to the next or previous set of thumbnail images. It's quite simple, you'll see. All pics are compressed JPEG, reduced to 768 by 576 pixels. They were taken using an Olympus Camedia C-2100 and a Fuji S-5100, shooting at the 2-megapixel settings.

More info on other Nosara area lodging is available through your travel agent and on my Nosara Travel Page. If you are going to Nosara, you will want to visit that page.

Avoid traveling at night if possible. Unless you really know the roads, you probably won't want to try for Nosara if your plane arrives in San Jose after 1:00 PM local time. It takes at least an hour to go through customs and baggage claim and pick up your rental car. It's a 5 hour drive to Nosara from San Jose. One good way to do it is to head for Jaco for your first night (about 3 hours drive) or just stay in San Jose near the airport. I usually go for a motel on the ocean at the south end of Jaco Bay named the Hotel Arenal Pacifico. The link to their website is: www.ArenalPacifico.com. There is a pic or two of this place in the Nosara Photo Gallery (see link above). The older rooms are fine and the newer rooms are fabulous. Since my son rents an office at this motel, be sure to tell them Mike Cruden sent you. Brownie points are nice to have in Costa Rica.

Mega Gem Pizzeria - If you stay in Jaco, this is a tiny little restaurant with great food you don't want to miss. It is located at the northern end of the main shopping district just over the little bridge, next to the Subway and across the street from the Hotel Tangeri. Don't let the small size fool you. The food is absolutely delicious. The owner is from Israel, and knows how to prepare a really fine dish. The pizza is quite different from the Italian or New York style you are probably use to, and it is very, very good! My son Mike lives in Jaco and goes there often.

I have a link to really good directions on my Nosara Travel Page. But getting there is a big part of the adventure! Don't get upset when you take a wrong turn or two (or maybe more). Just learn a few basic phrases like "where is..." and you will be fine. The folks in the rural areas are quite friendly and helpful. Pack along a compass or GPS. Don't drive fast like they do! They know where they are going, you probably don't. And once again, don't drive at night. The roads are narrow and dangerous, and you'll miss some spectacular scenery, particularly going over the central mountains.

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