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Kai Surfs Costa Rica: Playa Negra and the Rush of a Single Wave

January 11, 2012 at 4:51 PM | by | Comments (0)

Kai MacMahon had lost himself to the urban life in NYC, taking up running but putting down the surfboard. That is, until recently when he bit the bullet and flew himself to Costa Rica to drive, sleep and surf wherever he damn well pleased. All this week, Kai will share his experiences on the beaches and the breaks, and how he made it happen.

Yesterday: Hitting the road to Tamarindo.

Standing on beautiful Tamarindo beach, with my board under my arm and looking out to sea, it occurred to me in a moment of mild panic that I was very out of practice. Was I making a terrible mistake? The ocean, for all its infinite beauty, is still a scary, powerful and potentially lethal thing.

You see, you can generally tell how good a surfer somebody is by watching them as they enter the water. Folks who know what they're doing look like they own it; they glide out on their boards and effortlessly get themselves beyond the break (to the calmer part of the water where you see surfers congregate). Surfers who maybe aren't so great will walk their boards out until the water comes up to their chests, then flail around every time a wave comes in, and they generally project an aura of terror.

No prizes for guessing, then, that when I finally worked up the courage to paddle out, I fell squarely into the second camp. Sadly, my first trip out on a board was not the Hawaii Five-O scene for which I had been hoping. After more than five years out of the water, I was no longer any good. It was humiliating, humbling and not a whole lot of fun. In two hours I caught one wave. Sad face.

Alas, that is the funny thing about the sport of surfing. My two-hour investment yielded that one reward, but when you get it right, the rush is like nothing else on earth. There's the total and absolute power as the wave picks you up, the smooth, effortless motion as you ride it in, and the feeling of being at one with the ocean. It is totally unique, and in those few seconds I found myself well and truly hooked again.

Two days of surfing at Tamarindo turned out to be enough to regain confidence, and I even ventured a little further south to check out Playa Negra (where they filmed the Costa Rica surf scene in Endless Summer 2, fact fans). This is one of the great things about Tamarindo: there are dozens of other spots within very easy reach. Witches Rock and Ollie’s Point (two of the two most famous) are a boat ride or drive away, and there are many less well known spots all along the coastline. There’s even a special bus that takes people to a different break each day. In short, it is a surfer’s paradise.

Time to head down to Mal Pais. Located around five hours south of Tamarindo, it’s far more peaceful and laid back; the pace of life is even slower. Oh, and the waves are absolutely epic.

Tomorrow: Surfing Mal Pais—the "bad country."

[Photos: Kai MacMahon]

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