Tag Archives: Playa Negra

Costa Rica Day 6: Playa Negra Surf and Tamarindo Sunset Cruise

Jason drops in at Playa Negra

Jason drops in at Playa Negra

It’s Friday, December 23, and our last full day in Costa Rica. I was up at 5:30 am to go surfing. I grabbed my board and made the 10-minute walk to Playa Negra. There were a handful of guys in the water and the tide was low, exposing some of the reef in the shallow areas. The waves were chest to head high and a little mushy with clean faces.

I met a guy out in the water, Mike, who had just arrived in Playa Negra last night and was from Encinatis, CA. I caught some great waves today. Merri Beth and Zander walked down to the beach and watched us surf for a while. Continue reading

Costa Rica Day 4: Playa Avellana, Zander’s First Wave

Zander catches his first wave at Playa Avellana

Zander catches his first wave at Playa Avellana

Wednesday, December 21 was the halfway mark of our vacation in Costa Rica. And again, we had no plans, no worries—just pura vida. Today, we decided to spend all day on the beach.

I was up early again, surfing Playa Negra. I walked down to the beach and surfed for almost two hours.  It was solid chest high and got a little bigger as the tide started to come in. There were about 10-12 guys out and everyone one catching waves. I caught an awesome wave on the far North end of the break that connected all the way to the inside. I also found a barrel or two and plenty of cutbacks. After my surf session, I headed back to Cafe Playa Negra to catch up with the family. Continue reading

Costa Rica Day 3: A Volcano with a View

A great viewI was up at 5:30 AM Central Time and looking to surf. This was our third day in Costa Rica, Tuesday, December 20. And it was Merri Beth’s birthday today!

I took a short walk to Playa Negra with my surfboard under my arm and eagerly awaited the surf check to see how things were. As I made the left towards the beach, I could already hear the surf crashing on the volcanic reef. When I arrived at the break, there were only a handful of guys on the main peak. I paddled out to join them. Continue reading

Costa Rica Day 2: Surf at Playa Negra, Trip to Tamarindo

Playa NegraTime to get to the beach and into the water. Surfs up! The best part about this vacation was we didn’t have any pre-set agenda. All Merri Beth wanted was a tan, all I wanted was some waves. We left the laptops at home, intentionally. I think Zander was just stoked to be with us and wanted to get in the water as well.

Day two, Monday, December 19, started off with breakfast at Cafe Playa Negra. We ordered some pancakes and a smoothie. Dave, one of the Cafe servers, was awesome. He was very friendly and gave us some good tips. After breakfast, we packed for the beach and began our journey to the beach at Playa Negra. Continue reading

Costa Rica Day 1: Arrival and Crosscheck

The entire family was up early getting ready to head to the airport. Our flight left RDU at 6:50 AM on December 18. We were bound for Liberia, Costa Rica for a week of vacation.

Of course, the first part of vacation is dealing with travel arrangements and getting there. We checked into our flight the previous night and only needed to get our bags checked in at American Airlines (AA). We were dramatically close to the 30-minute cut-off. While at the self-service kiosk, we selected one checked bag at the advice of the attendant suggesting that the front desk would help us with the second bag and speed things along. By the time we got to the desk, the clock was against us and the time we were trying to save earlier backfired on us. Continue reading