Tamarindo Surf Report Feb 25

This week has been very good for surfing at most of the major breaks in and around Tamarindo, Costa Rica. The wind has been offshore and a steady 15 to 25 km/ph starting at about 10am and petering out around 430pm.

Playa Langosta used to torment me with its rocks and rip in front of the river mouth. Now I love it! Just watch out for the sharks :)

Langosta is the southern end of Tamarindo Beach at about 3 km from the centre of town or southeast from the San Francisco Estuary. There is a wildlife refuge and a marine national park.

The beach is large enough that non-surfers will easy find quiet stretches. Parts of the beach have rip-currents and barely submerged rocks, so make local inquires before swimming It is a place made up of large extensions of clear sand beaches. Surrounded by Savannah Oak-, Tamarindo and Coconut trees. Its a good destination for anyone that wants to fish, surf, kayak, dive, snorkel or boat.

This beach offers a right and left point break that curls off the mouth of a small river. But beware of the strong rips during the tidal changes that will either take you into the estuary or flush you out into the ocean. While waves are excellent, this is not a beginner break.

Below is a picture of a road we had to take to get to a secret surf spot just south of Playa Negra...in the rainy season imagine this stream rushing through with a depth of five meters.

Palm Sunday

Sunday was spent at Willy and Jamie's house in Palm Estates with Joe, Holly, Otis and Happy, about half way between Playa Grande and the Tamarindo estuary. They have an awesome place and they rent it out by the week, so if you want somewhere first rate to stay, email me and I'll hook you up. We chilled for a while, then we all hit Palm Beach right at hight tide.

The waves were pretty good and we managed to get some good rides in. The waves have returned and surfing has been really good on all the local breaks. There are waves for everyone from beginners to experts, and all types of boards are being used. The best waves are still firing off in the Tamarindo river mouth.

Playa Grande beach is also a beach where the leatherback turtle comes to lay its eggs. The leatherbacks take over the beach from November to April. They dig their nests one metre deep, lay their eggs and cover the pit with sand, returning once again to the sea. After 60 to 90 days, the hatchlings emerge and immediately make their way back to the water.And please...if you see a hatchling turtle at dusk or dawn, turn off you flash on your camera and keep at least 10 feet away!

Lazy Saturday at Avellanas

We decided that since WRSC was hosting a surfing contest in Tamarindo, that we had a better shot of hitting some waves at Avellanas.

Playa Avellanas is my favorite beach. Avellanas is a long stretch of white sand about 15 km south of Tamarindo by road and about 5 km to the north of Playa Negra. There are both left and right breaks, 8 different surf breaks, reef, sand or beach breaks with rocky points and a good beach break called 'Guanacasteco' with very hollow rights and lefts, along a three kilometer long stretch of beach. Surfing is best at mid or high tide.

There is a great beach restaurant called Lola's - try the Ahi Tuna Salad...it's to die for. (Note that they are closed Mondays). I had the fish and chips this time...very good after a good workout.

And be sure to look for their mascot, Lola - a big pig. Seriously. (she is looking kinda old though)

The beach is never really very busy, and although the break right in front of Lola's may get crowded, there are many more breaks. The best spot is at the estuary’s mouth, and the waves were breaking really well about head high...the right opened up beautifully, while the left was a little tight and closed out of no where. I am still draining my sinuses!

There is another point to the north of the estuary (Little Hawaii) which breaks at low tide. Both spots break when there is a swell. During small waves you can surf the beach breaks.

Pelicans and Langosta

I just got home and the waves are still firing off at Tamarindo at sunset at the low tide!

This morning I was in Playa Grande doing my yoga with Andrea and afterwards we looked at the waves there, but they were breaking onshore…pretty much closed out. So I decided to head back to Tam and ended up going to Langosta.

When I got there, I saw over a hundred surfers on the break. Way. But it turned out to be pelicans that were sitting amongst the surfers dining on the thousands (millions?) of sardine that were in the river mouth. A quick count and there were 12 surfers and about 150 pelicans. Only bad thing was that they were being birds and we were all targets for their…you know.

The waves were (as usual this week) awesome; breaking both right and left overhead. Even Sapos was breaking at high tide when Guchi and I paddled over.

Tomorrow looks even better!

Tamarindo waves are firing left and right

Well, I am beat. Ended up surfing 3.5 hours today in the mouth of the Tamarindo estuary with great waves, and offshore wind and very clear water. In fact, the waves are still firing as I sit in my house looking at the break. Considering that LOLA said the swell was supposed to start tomorrow (Thursday), I am pleased with the pre-cursor event!

I also spoke to Gucci, and he said that Langosta was ‘perfecto’, while Playa Grande reported too much wind to stop the ‘double bounce’ over the sand bar.