Cold November Rains and a return of the cold war?

What a beautiful morning here.  Well, not really.  Last night some sort of tropical storm blew through and knocked out power for most of the night.  I guess it’s not bad because we are all in bed, but living here, I like to have the perimeter around my house lit up like a downtown Manhattan. 

Then this morning, we hear that those members of the Nicaraguan army had been seen on Isla Calero, a piece of land on the Costa Rican side of the Río San Juan. Pictures and video reveal a Nicaraguan flag has been placed on the property. The flag is located on the same property, known as Finca Aragón, where trees were cut down and sediment was deposited by a Nicaraguan dredge that is deepening the Río San Juan.

“A flyover this morning above Isla Calero revealed the presence of Nicaraguan troops in national territory, Costa Rican territory,” a Costa Rican ministry official said. “There is a Nicaraguan flag and tents belonging to the Nicaraguan army. ..

As we all know, we have no army here in Costa Rica and the Nicaraguan one has been battle hardened by years of civil war that only ended a decade ago.  They have 15 Soviet made The Mil Mi-8 is a medium twin-turbine transport helicopter that can also act as a gunship and over 50 operational   T-54 and T-55 tanks.

I guess the ‘good thing’ is that we have about 7000 US Marines and about 50 USN Ships here on a drug combat mission.  Along with about 2 dozen harrier Jump jets, 200 helicopters and AWACS that I always see flying over my house on its way to land in Liberia, I don’t see Nicaragua as attacking anytime soon.

Of course, maybe the USA presence has fueled tensions instead of abating them?  Due to the long history of US intervention in Latin America (perhaps most notably in neighboring Nicaragua), the region is clearly justified in its concern over the disproportionate and virtual invasion of troops into an area that could potentially provide such a logistical and geographic striking point.

We hear all about Iran, but very little about our own hemisphere and the increased US military spending down here and in the Caribbean.

Anyways, no point in stressing just yet.

Aqua Claro and the end of the rainy season in October in Tamarindo?

We haven’t really had any bad rains here for over two weeks now, and this morning when I paddled out the water was clear enough to see the reef on the point break where I surfed.

An amber jack (fish) jumped about 5 feet into the air in front of me, and there was evidence of more fish around.  So, my attitude is if the fish are back, then the dry season is upon us. Why?  Nature always knows best!

And we are getting great swell due to the southern hemi storms that are still rolling up the Chilean – Peruvian coast, and some days the waves have been overhead with offshore / cross shore winds!

October is usually wet and miserable here in Tamarindo, and many shops and restaurants simply close their door for the month.  So, without all the tourists here, we are having some beautifully empty surfing breaks.  As an example, this morning there were probably 10 people surfing four breaks in Tamarindo, and earlier this week, about the same amount of people at Playa Grande.

And it should be quiet for a while here, as even the Tico’s from San Jose can’t make it here. With little rain in the forecast many head for the beaches here on weekends. However, it will take up to 9 hours this due to the collapse of Costa Rica's road infrastructure.

The San José - Caldera remains closed betweeen Atenas and Orotina, the Interamericana Norte at Cambronero is still with "paso regualdo" and the Monte de Aguacate (old road to Jacó) cannot handle the volume of traffic.

For example, a trip from San José to Tamarindo or Flamingo can take up to double the normal time trough the Cambronero and Agucate. An alternate is by way of La Fortuna and Arenal to Tilarán and Cañas. In either case, the 4 to 5 hours normal travel time can easily turn to 8 or 9 hours.

The best news this week was the announcement that Starbucks Coffee, ubiquitous in North America, is set to open its first Central American location in San Salvador later this year. Expansion into the rest of the isthmus is in the works, though the company has not yet released specifics.  Maybe we’ll see one here in Tamarindo before long?  Right.

September Surfing in Tamarindo

For many of us, September and October offer a brief respite for the craziness that tourism, the life and blood of this hamlet called Tamarindo, brings. Don’t get me wrong, we love tourists and their value to us enables most of us to enjoy the Pura Vida lifestyle to which we have become accustomed.

Just like my second home, Whistler, September and October are our slowest months - our off-season so to say. And let’s face it, everyone needs a vacation. Even the Tamarindons. (Is that a word?). A lot of restaurants including my favorite Chinese to go place are closed, and the bars are quiet at night. But there isn’t anyone on the surf breaks…anywhere!

This past week it has been a perfect storm here of sunny mornings, excellent southern hemi swell, light winds and open breaks. During the high season, I never surf the main break in Tamarindo because it is full of beginners taking lessons…and I feel that anyone who can hold their own on a board has no right to be surfing with the people who have flown thousands of miles to learn a life changing experience.

So to be able to surf the main break for me is a treat!

This past week we have seen some excellent swell hit on a SSW vector almost veering into a westerly at times. Waves have averaged 4 to 5 feet in the past couple of days, with bombs coming in overhead plus.

My personal favorite break is Pico Grande, the rocks just to the south of Witch’s Rock Surf Camp. While the waves usually trend to the south side creating a right break, this week boomers have been hitting the point break on an unusual direction making for an outstanding left surf break. Just don’t do what my friend Rudi from Radical Surf did, and wipe out on the take off over an exposed reef. Damn it was a top ten wipe-out! But he pulled himself together and showed us all why he is one of the best instructors in town!

This morning Joe Walsh, the owner of WRSC, and I hit the river mouth early. Joe kicked some ass while I pretty much got my ass kicked. Coffee, some French toast and a new application of wax, and we hit Casitas across the Tamarindo Estuary for about 90 minutes until we got blown out by the onshore winds. We both caught some half decent waves while Joe’s brother-n-law Happy filmed us. And there were only 4 of us on the break – sweet!

On my last wave I got shacked! ( Shacked means a perfect wipe out right? Hahaha! - I am still pulling sand from out of my ass.

So if you want to come down for perfect surf, and enjoy Tamarindo with the locals, then these are the months to do it!

Visit Patrick Smyth's new bog at www.patrick.tc

What is DOH? & The end of summer in Tamarindo

doh (dəʊ) noun Definition of D'OH —a wave in height that is Double OverHead

d'oh (dəʊ) interjection Definition of D'OH —used to express sudden recognition of a foolish blunder or an ironic turn of events

"Doh, doh, DOH!!!" what I said on seeing the 3rd of 5 double overhead waves barreling down on me this afternoon.

That was some wave!

Well, it the end of August and the last of the tourists are leaving now.  Things are starting to really get quiet for the rainy season which really starts in earnest the long weekend of September.  And it’s going to be a bad one.

Eight cyclones will affect Costa Rica this year, four of which will likely reach hurricane strength...The National Meteorological Institute has projected “extremely rainy” conditions from August through October for the Central Valley and the  Pacific Slope.

From my perspective, it is the time of year when Tamarindo recharges and when we see who stays here during the worst time of the year.  Sort of cutting the wheat from the chafe.  The waves are big, the breaks are tranquillo, and people are generally less stressed because they don’t have to deal with a lot of the crap that the tourists bring.

Don’t get me wrong…we love tourism, just like any other tourist town out there, we need our time to rest.

And if you do come down here during the months of September and October, there are deals to be had as most hotels are empty.  Just be prepared for rain…and for D’OH!!!!

Courtesy of Witch's Rock Surf Camp

The Mother of all swells is inbound

have a look at the attached...nuf said

Surfing Tamarindo

Quick update - the waves have been stellar here in Tamarindo and at Playa Grande.

Most days have been head high with DOH bombs coming in.

More to come later

Il pleut des cordes

Il pleut des cordes is French for it’s raining cats and dogs.  And it sure is.  A mini dry–season known as the “Veranillo de San Juan” (similar to an “Indian Summer”) typically occurs around mid–July

Not this year!

We have been told because of the retreat of El Nino and the cooling of the Pacific, that we can expect lots of precipitation this year.  And, we have also been warned of an extra brutal hurricane season.  Combining knowledge of the conditions that spawn major storm--based on years of research and observations--with computer modeling, scientists are calling for a 2010 hurricane season so intense that it could approach the record set in 2005. 

All indicators point to a 2010 hurricane season “at or beyond” record levels, reports Greg Holland of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colo., a research facility supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF).  To date, the 2005 season,  with 28 major storms, according to NOAA records, was the most active on record.



Scientists point to both routine climate variability and global warming as factors contributing to the prognosis for the season that officially began July 1.  A hurricane-spawning zone in the North Atlantic, off the west coast of Africa, is experiencing a decade of high ocean temperatures.  In May 2010 scientists recorded the warmest sea surface temperatures on record, relegating the previous record from May 2005 to second place.





Other indicators of an intense 2010 season include extra moisture in the atmosphere, a result of the higher sea surface temperatures; lower wind shear, giving hurricanes a greater chance to strengthen; and the retreat of El Niño conditions, which typically inhibit hurricane formation.  The retreat could potentially usher in a La Niña, which tends to increase the frequency of hurricanes.

Anyways, this month on the 25^th of July we celebrate Guanacaste Day, the celebration of Guanacaste's freedom from Nicaragua in 1812 with Bullfights, dancing, music, food, parades, and more.

Guanacaste is the province that Tamarindo is located in and is named for the massive guanacaste tree - Costa Rica's national tree. This remarkable species is easily recognizable, expanding greater in width than it does in height, and hanging its lowest branches just a few feet above the ground. And creatures of this region couldn't be more pleased; the guanacaste tree provides them with an oasis of shade in what is Costa Rica's dryest region.

Most of the population descends from a mix of Chorotega Native Americans, Spaniards and sub–Saharan Africans, namely Bantu slaves. Guanacastecan residents speak a dialect distinct from the rest of Costa Rica. As in Nicaragua and Costa Rica, Guanacastecans use the “usted” conjugation upon initial meetings, instead of “tu”, but once they have established a friendship, use the more informal “vos” conjugation. The Guanacaste culture has been successfully integrated into the mainstream culture; among the main elements are their unique music, literature (folklore), musical instruments, bullfighting and important religious events