'Accomodation' Travel

Accomodation

for about a month this summer. I want to surf on the Pacific Coast as well. I am o.k. with cold showers and low maintenance living, it is preferred actually. All I really need is a hammock and a mosquito net. SUGGESTIONS please!!

Much Mahalo from Hawaii,

Summer

If you have a full month it would be best (and more adventurous) to just get down there and roam until you find it. Most accommodations which you can find out about ahead of time will be more costly. Public transport and living in the style of natives won't cost very much, gringo resorts and car rentals are not cheap. There are some Euro-style hostels in San Jose where you can ask about cheap and off-beat destinations. Trust me, if it exists on earth, the Germans have already been there. Euros are more adventurous than Americans. Americans just want to buy up paradise and change it into a gated community. Even Costa Ricans can't afford to buy land in CR now because of the rampant real estate speculation of recent years.

Regarding surf, CR has been discovered. I first went there in '87 and it was truly paradise. I lived there from '99-'03 and it changed for the worse a bit more each year. The place I called home saw the crowd increase five-fold in 4 years! Surf camps are partly to blame, as well as big-mouthed gringos. I met 10 surfers in the water one October day (it was empty the prior year) and learned that one of them had come with his main squeeze a year and a half before and decided to bring a bunch of buddies the second time around. It doesn't take too many of those stories to crowd a lineup. I would wish for big days just so some surfers would stay on the beach!

I've always believed that if someone is meant to be somewhere I don't need to show them the way. So, needless to say, I won't point you to good surf but I will say that South swells work best in Summer. And to buy a used board ($150-300) after you get to a CR beach town is easier than carting one (or more) around. Note: some waves in CR have board-breaking capacity, especially in Summer. Note #2: if you're a young woman you will probably get hit-on by Tico surfer guys . . . no big danger really but don't be surprised . . . they might think you can be their lotto ticket. Note #3: if you can't afford to lose something, don't take it . . . thievery is infamous and that is NO exaggeration.

Read up in CR guides to see what may sound good to you and the 'net can help if you google enough. Learn some Spanish and stay amongst the Ticos for about $200 per month rent (modest place away from gringos). Have fun and try to get lost . . . it's the best way to discover the heart of an adventure. And, oh yeah, if anybody in the States asks about your trip tell them you had the worst time of your life and that next year you're going on vacation to Arkansas.

;-)

Good luck, Tim

Saludos

costaklaus

• Cabinas Montezuma

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