A couple weeks ago I went on an all-day surf extravaganza with a couple other teacher friends. We went to Witch's Rock aka Roca Bruja, one of the best spots in the area. We woke up at 4:00 AM, piled into Dan's truck (he teaches high school science and math), and drove to Witch's. After driving about 2 hours we made it to the Santa Rosa National Park. Once you're inside the park, you drive for about an hour on the worst road ever. It's rocky, uneven, and impossible to go faster than 5 mph. However, that same road prevents people without 4WD vehicles from driving in, so it's also a blessing.
Next we got to the ranger's station, and with our backpacks loaded up with sunscreen, towels, water, and food, we walked for 1/2 hours until we were at the beach. Actually, right before we made it to the beach, we went past the estuary which feeds into the surf spot. The area is known for having a lot of crocodiles, and sure enough we saw a good sized croc laying out and getting some morning sun on the river bank.
When we got to the beach it was empty. There was a little hut that someone had made out of driftwood, and even though it wasn't even 8:00 AM yet, it was already getting warm. We hung out in the shade of the hut, and waited for the tide to get a little higher. There were really strong offshore winds blowing, and the surf kept getting better and better. We went out for our first session, and found the water to be pretty cold due to the wind (well, cold by Costa Rican standards at least).
It was hard to catch waves with the strong winds, but if you were in the right place you could get some great ones. After surfing for a couple of hours we went back to the hut, ate some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, drank water, warmed up in the sun, reapplied sunscreen, and then went back out. We repeated this pattern two or three times until about 5:00 PM. By then we were totally exhausted of course. Finally, we headed back to the truck and made the long journey home. That night I slept like a baby, and I'm sure the other guys did too. It was a quick but fun getaway, and I can't wait until I do it again.
