Poco a Poco

I FOUND MY BEACH! El Salvador waves were too big, Tamarindo waves were too small, but these waves are juuuuust right. I´ve been surfing everyday twice a day and found such a good teacher, Samurio. He claims to be ranked 4th in Costa Rica. I got here 5 days ago and plan to stick around for another 6. It´s been really nice to sit still in one place after fast-paced travels. I´m still terrible at surfing, but am improving in tiny but measurable amounts each day...And no matter how beat up I get out there, I love every freaking minute. Poco a poco.

My first solo night here after Rachel and Stephanie left I found a little beachside rastaurant with a sushi bar. They were out of rice so I was only able to get the tuna sashimi, which I supplemented with papas fritas (random, I know). Maybe it was the freshness of the fish. Or the magnificent people watching (it was like being at a surf-magazine photo shoot). Or the delicious discovery of french-fries dipped in wasabi soy sauce (trust me, try it). Or the fried salmon skin strips that the sushi chef, a sunny blonde guy named Johnny who´s lived here for 6 years but is from the Czech Republic, brought over for me to try. But it was perfect. When I was leaving, Johnny said "see you in the water tomorrow" because he recognized me from surfing that day, and with those words turned me into a real surfer.

The next day I met the crew that I had people watched the night before and it´s a rad group. One of the guys owns-runs the Tico adventure lodge which I am now staying at and highly recommend. Last night we had Johnny come over and prepare us a private sushi feast.

Old men and the sea

Samurio doing what he does best

Sou-shi chef

documented happiness