On Tuesday & Wednesday of this past week, we took turns venturing to Tortuga Island on a Calypso Cruise. The day started off with a 6:50a.m. pick-up at out bungalow and a drive to Puntarenas a port town an hour and half north of Jaco. Puntarenas (Pointsands, from “punta arenas”, or “sand point” in Spanish) is the capital and largest city in the province Puntarenas, Costa Rica, at the Pacific coast. Once we arrived at the dock, we enjoyed a typical Tico breakfast of gallo pinto, ranchero eggs, corn tortillas, sour cream, fruit and coffee at El Shrimp.

We embarked upon Manta Raya, our catamaran and began our almost two hour long voyage down through of Gulf of Nicoya to our destination of Tortuga Island. Isla Tortuga is Costa Rica’s most visited island. It consists of 2 islands, one of which is a Wildlife Refuge. The island used to not be privately owned and as a result, was near ruin until it was bought and made private. Tourists are now only able to remain on the beach, no overnight stays are allowed and nothing is allowed to be taken off the island. Now an uninhabited island, the clear turquoise waters afford excellent snorkelling and diving, and the white sand beaches lined with swaying palm trees provide the most sought-after setting in the world: a tropical island paradise.

Once on the island, Joe and Ward  enjoyed a Banana Boat ride, snorkelling, and jet skiing.Brittany took care of a cooperative Oliver who slept in his seat while she read.

A delicious lunch of ceviche, coconut chicken, veggies and wine was enjoyed under parachute umbrellas while a very friendly agouti wandered around asking for any leftovers. *Ceviche is a local delicacy. The dish is typically made from fresh raw fish marinated in citrus juices such as lemon or lime and spiced with chilli peppers. (The agouti is a wild pig-like animal – very friendly.)

We took a different route home from the island and learned quite a bit about the history of seven Nicoyan islands; mainly San Lucas Island. Formerly serving as an island prison, it is now a National Park. Indigenous groups lived on San Lucas and the surrounding islands. There are eight known archeological sites on the island, including apparent houses where stone tools and a metal object were found in the late 1970s. The excavation sites date to between 1,000 and 1,500 AD.

From 1873 to 1991, San Lucas Island was a penal island for some of the worst criminals in Costa Rica. It is often erroneously cited as the largest prison in Costa Rican history. It was founded by the dictator Tomas Miguel Guardia Gutierrez. Being sent to San Lucas Island was a terrible prospect as prisoners lives were short and often spent in torture.

The former buildings of the penal island are considered “Patrimonio de Cultura,” or cultural heritage sites. The buildings include a historic dock, a church, a medical building, temporary holding cells, a three story main office, a large concrete disc used to hold a water tank, and water pumps. In addition, there are prison cells of varying security levels depending on the prisoners’ crimes. José León Sánchez, a prisoner of the island, wrote “La Isla de Hombres Solos,” translated into English as “The Island of Lonely Men,” (a New York Times bestseller) based on his time in the prison at San Lucas Island. León claimed that he was unjustly imprisoned for a robbery that he did not commit.

Prisons and torture aside, we all had a lovely and relaxing day. The captain of the ship told us “please do not take any sea shells or coral home with you, bring only your memories back in the hopes that this island will also be enjoyed in the future by your grandchildren.”

As we headed back to port, we could see the cane fields which were illegally being burnt in order to rid the fields of snakes prior to the harvest.

Please take some time to look through the rest of the photos below by clicking on the first one and then using your arrow keys to view them.

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The easiest way to get to the Nicoya Peninsula is to take the ferry at Puntarenas. It leaves about every two hours and we were advised to be there about 1.5 hours in advance as the waiting line can be quite long. We left Jaco at about 9:30 and drove leisurely knowing that we would never make the 11 am crossing. Yet, by about 10:50 we found ourselves in Puntarenas and decided to try to find the ferry dock. In Costa Rica there are very few road signs and we had not seen any for the ferry so we just drove randomly in the hopes of eventually landing at the dock. What a surprise to turn a corner and find the ferry ready to leave. The attendant hustled Ward to the ticket booth and we drove on board just as the horn blew and the gates closed behind us. The crossing was beautiful and the ferry was new and well-equipped. It was a lovely 70 minute crossing.

The only glitch was that we neglected to find out where this ferry was headed so we were happy when we asked someone on board where the ferry was going and found out that it was going to the same place as we wanted to go! We landed in Paquera and started the drive along the coast to Montezuma. Most of the road was paved but the last section was unpaved and rough. Apparently many of the secondary roads in the country are dirt and very rugged. We found our hotel, “The Three Monkeys”, checked in and had a refreshing swim in the pool.

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Montezuma is a town that seems to have stopped its evolution in the 60s. It is full of backpackers, buskers, hippies and hustlers selling handmade jewelry. It is a one-street, dusty town in which no one seems to be in a hurry. I would have enjoyed more it about 40 years ago and Ward says that he skipped this phase altogether and it is too late to try it out now. We did have a lovely dinner at a restaurant run by Europeans and as per our schedule, we were in bed by 7:30!

The plan for the next day was to hike through the national park nearby, however we learned that it is closed on Mondays. So… to avoid the potential long line waiting for the ferry back, we decided to drive north and follow the coastal road around the Peninsula back home. We hoped to find a nice quiet town along the way and stay for the night. However, after leaving Montezuma and driving north, we found ourselves on a dirt road far rougher than the one we drove on the day before and Ward decided after a few kilometers that he could not drive on roads like this for the next several hours. So, we turned around and headed for the ferry. We did not know the schedule but were willing to take a chance. Once again, Lady Luck was on our side. We drove up and this time we were the second last car on board without a moment’s waiting.

We arrived in Puntanaras without a plan and just picked a town on the coast as our destination. How were we to know that the road leading in would end at a barb wire gate entrance to a huge container port. We turned around and agreed that it would be nice to be “home” again.

This experience helped us appreciate the beauty of Playa Hermosa and the good fortune we had in discovering the Hermosa Beach Bungalows.

The rest of the family came down at around 7:30AM at which point I was happy to join them for a Tico breakfast (a traditional Costa Rican breakfast).

Any of the shots where the guys are not surfing on a Red Bull branded board were warming up prior to their heat or in between. Click on any of the images on this page and then use your keyboard arrows to have a full screen viewing.

The photo below shows all three styles of boards in use at the competition.

On Saturday January 28 from 6am Playa Hermosa, Jaco will be transported to the early 70′s in the event Red Bull Blast from the Past, where the heads of the scene of the surf in Costa Rica run waves on boards of the old school. The final will start at 3pm and evening Backyard will transform into a beach party at the time with a concert by The Knife.

“Surfing has evolved and today the tables have marked improvements and drastic changes. This is an excellent opportunity for national surfing, as the junior will be able to compete against experienced masters, mixing boards of several generations, “shared Diego Naranjo, several times national champion.

The participants of Red Bull Blast from the Past will compete in heats of 30 minutes, alternating between three types of tables: fish, guns and longboards, every ten minutes respectively. A total of 18 surfers played in the particular jurisdiction, and judges will consider several ways to qualify, including the style of 70′s of participants and the best wave.

Known representatives of the national surfing scene will be part of the jury, including the pioneers of this sport in our country: Marco Pacheco, Mario Bonilla and Mario Estrada. Jean Pierre addition Artavia Loria and Kali Surf Federation.

The concert will begin at dusk Knives and spectators should dress in the fashion of the 1970′s to enjoy the party.

As always – click on the first image in the gallery and then use your arrow keys to move through the images.

We started out in the white water close to shore, feeling how the wave surges the board forward ahead of the wave, and then catches up with it and steadily pushes for the remainder of the wave. Then we moved on to try to find some of the smaller waves to ride, which gave better speed and stability than the white water, but also meant that you had to wait out the larger waves (large waves for an unusually small day).