Marbella is Marvelous! Time to Retire. Right now.

I finally got my laptop to connect to the Internet here in our little rental house, Casa Arboles so I can now send these notes I've been collecting. The kids are running in circles laughing, using the furniture as a playground. I hope nobody falls. Anyway, this is a great little rental house. Comfortable but not extravagant. We’re super comfortable and the price is amazing. I just bought coffee, eggs, campesino bread, oil, butter, spices, milk, pasta, etc. We're set! 

Dusty. It's very dry here. That's totally new to me. Every other trip to Costa Rica has been a sweltering inferno I suffered to handle emotionally and physically. I see why this is the high season. It's so much more comfortable when water actually evaporates off your body. 

The shrimp curry at Kon-Tiki, by the way, was outstanding, as was the Chilean wine and the conversation. Very pleasant place. They'll be getting a very solid Tripadvisor review soon. Also, I think I'm in love with Playa Negra. Anyone want to buy a piece of land with me? I'm ready to move. It's great. 

The beach break here in Nosara/Playa Guiones is huge, but a bit crowded on Friday nights. It's literally a mile long, though, so you can find a break nearly to yourself, it just may not be the best sand bar. I’m told dawn patrol is empty and that the reason it was crowded is the locals like to surf Friday night to see and be seen before parties. When thinking of Playa Guiones (this beach) think Huntington with 80 degree water and no need to hop. The wave breaks once, rolls in gently, but with power, and finally gets hollow near the beach. Fun and easy to surf.

Marbella at low tide on 3 foot swell

Anyway, more on this area to follow, but here is a name to remember: Marbella. It’s an insane beach break with hollow, dumping barrels on a huge black sand beach with terrifying outside reef breaks firing all over the place. I wouldn’t dare paddle out there without a couple buddies and maybe a medical evac team and a shark expert. Even better, there's a really finely built restaurant in a gorgeous setting. The whole beach area has only two or three houses and there are just waves and sand, backed by trees and mangroves everywhere. We're going back tomorrow or Sunday for lunch, even though it's 45 minutes on badly rutted dirt roads. We crossed three rivers today. Not a problem in the dry season, but in June we'd need a bigger truck than my little rented Daihatsu Bego. 

The Tiki Hut - Great Fish Tacos

There is so much untapped surf potential here it boggles the mind! If you’re willing to camp, you can score beaches and reefs to yourself. Most people, like me, just choose to be in town because that’s where the restaurants and comfortable rooms are found. Even a short drive outside of each town and the beaches are empty or have just a couple of guys! The water is much warmer here than in Playa Negra and Playa Avellanes. So far I think I like Playa Negra better. The beaches were surprisingly good for kids and the waves were perfect for Daddy. Next time we spend much of our time in Playa Negra.

Some photos follow and I’ll take many more now that we’re settled. We’re here in Casa Arboles for two weeks.

Photos of Marbella beach and the Tiki Hut: https://picasaweb.google.com/surfer.prof/Marbella?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCMLI_ePXz5mOXQ&feat=directlink