Costa Rica has many amazing beaches and I'm lucky that along the Golfo Dulce, there are miles and miles of delightful black sand beaches. Just south of Pavones is Punto Banco (pictured above) a wide stretch of sand with a great beach break. On this side of the gulf, the waves break the biggest and hardest at Punto Banco. The most famous break is Rio Claro #rioclaro by the pueblo of Pavones. This is the bucket list spot where surfers from all over come to catch the 2nd longest left wave in the world. Here is a YouTube video of a stand-up boarder, Robby Naish who rode a wave for over 1 kilometer. Since the Pavones break is so popular, we prefer to surf at a break that is a little farther north and closer to our home.
We've only been out on the water a couple of times since arriving. M checks the Magic Seaweed surf report almost every day and most days it has been just 1 - 3 feet. For me and my boogie board, I'm happy with 2 -3 feet. And my stand-up paddle friends can catch a wave on that too. It doesn't start happening for surfers until it gets to be over 3 feet. Last night at dinner over at Jon's, M was recounting his first trip here in the earlier 1990's. He said it was epic with swells at triple over head!
The days that have been good, M has been out there for 2 hours at a time. My stamina in the water is building. However, after about 3 good waves, I head in. While M surfs, I split my time from hanging out in the hammock, to retrieving plastic garbage from the beach, to finding a "treasures."
I'm into driftwood. I'm finding all these interesting pieces like logs with imprints of ancient hieroglyphics or slabs with tortured mouths that remind me of primitive masks. Or this tree root that washed ashore. Sadly, it was a little too big to bring home. Looking at it, I flashed on the work of Edmund Kara. To me this is particularly reminiscent of "The Seven Deadly Sins." My friend Glen (a fellow Burner) is the curator of the late Edmund Kara's collections. M & I were fortunate to see several of Edmund's pieces during a show at Jay Cook's and Jeff Clifton's studios in Sand City, CA's West End. The studio is part of a collection of artists that are transforming that industrial park into a happening. So while I'm communing on the beach, it is interesting objects like this that are infusing my artistic energy.
When I'm not dragging around huge chunks of wood, I'm collecting stones. One small drawback of our local beaches is the plethora of stones. There is generally a very wide band of stones that you have to cross to get out to the water. I wear flippers to boogie board and they protect my feet a little. Sloshing through the water, I look like a surf walking duck. I observe the barefoot surfers as they gently pick their way through the asteroid belt of stones until they can float out on their boards.
The stones are generally ashy black, beige-ish or light grey. It is a wide variety of sizes from 8" across to micro pebbles readying to disintegrate into sand. The stones are generally mostly round and smooth making it a little less painful to traverse. It is left over igneous rock from an ancient volcanic explosion that the ocean has worn smooth. And they work very well as the base for our outdoor shower.
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