This is a view of Nosara Beach (actually Playa Guiones) looking south from the balcony of my room at the Nosara Beach Hotel. Why go to Nosara? Nosara is located approximately 5 hours driving time due West of San Jose on the Nicoya Peninsula, about half way between Tamarindo and Cabo Blanco. (That's 5 hours if you don't get lost on the way). But, as you will see from the collection of pictures in this article, it's a beautiful place to visit and has one of the best beach breaks in Costa Rica. This is the third time I have tried to get there. The first time was in 1997. There weren't many road signs back then and none of us understood a word of Spanish, so we just plain got lost. The next time was in 1998. We almost made it, but when we came to the river (Rio Montana) just north of Nosara that didn't have a bridge, the water level was just too high for our little 4-wheel drive vehicle since it had rained heavily the day before. Things have changed a little bit. Most of this trip was on roads with some pavement, the road signs are now pretty good, and all the rivers we crossed had bridges. We came in from the south. The Rio Montana still doesn't have a bridge. A good map, and compass or GPS unit is highly recommended. I am going back in August of 2005. This time we'll be flying into Liberia instead of San Jose.

We arrived the day before a large three-day swell began. The above two pics show us surfing the high tide break just below our hotel room balcony a few minutes after we unpacked. The next three days were 6 to 9 feet with occasional bigger sets. The wave breaks fast for the takeoff, but then slows such that you usually have to keep cutting back into the wave. Lots of fun! Winds were offshore in the morning, light onshore in the afternoon, and very light in the evening. The surfing area is perhaps a mile or more wide, with several different break characteristics. Near the rocks at the north end of the bay, just below our hotel room, it was mostly rights. About a 10 minute walk south, near the central part of the bay, it was more A-frame, with both rights and lefts. Most surfers were using short boards, but a few big longboards were sitting way out there, waiting for the big sets, and getting some very long rides. I really wished I had my 10 footer with me, but that thing is just too heavy to travel with. The paddle out was little bit difficult when it was big, but not near as bad as in a hurricane swell on the east coast of Florida because the sets were far apart.

I always try to squeeze in a pic of myself somewhere. That's me with my trusty old 9'4" Surftech that has only been broken in half twice. (My other favorite board has been broken 5 times). Take a peek at the wave in the far background just beyond the nose of my board. That little spec of white is someone taking off on what looks like at least a 9 footer. This is probably the morning of the first big-surf day.