Day 140 (November 9): Leaving Paradise

Good things, even really, really good things, generally come to an end and so it is that the six of us piled into a van on the morning of Saturday, November 9th for our departure from Witch’s Rock Surf Camp, from Tamarindo and from Costa Rica. From a purely logistical perspective, we had a pretty miserable 4-hour drive to San Jose, followed by a mediocre 4-hour interval at the airport, followed by an uneventful 1-hour flight to Panama City, followed by a easy 20 minute drive to a lovely and shockingly inexpensive Westin Hotel on the Pacific coast.

But who wants to think about logistics when there are such better things to contemplate. For example, I’d like to tell you about a typical day at WRSC:

Lessons are offered in three, two-hour time blocks. Each instructor takes a maximum of three students who are comprable in ability and also height (having to do with wave depth) so Elise/Jon/Lily were assigned to Jose (can’t figure out the accent on this keyboard, sorry) in the first slot, which on most days was 6am. 

At first I begged for a later slot but quickly learned that this was desirable. We finished, woke Henry, Ali and Cate for their lesson and then went to breakfast once they were deposited with their instructors. WRSC includes one meal per day in the package rate and the primary restaurant is not quite in sight of the surfing area, which is good when you want your kids to leave you alone!

The kids ate their weight in fruit smoothies each day with Henry preferring banana and the others favoring mango (and who can blame them, really). The menu has enough for the homesick but the local flavors/traditions are terrific. The menu has an athelete’s appetite in mind and the prices, if you were paying out of pocket, are just fine.

It was very easy to fill the rest of the daylight with resting in the room (plenty of wifi for browsing or entertaining the kids), playing on the beach or walking to town. Except for the one day when we did hte snorke cruise, we did not do any planned activities, even the horseback rides available on the beach. There are many half-day trips available (fishing, zipline adventure park, zoo, etc.) but it was easier just to stay put. 

While we were there, sunset entertained us from about 4:30 to 5:30. This is probably the reason, as we were told to expect, that dinner comes early. We ate one of the resort’s two restaurants most nights but ventured out twice: to a nearby pizza joint and to a great beachside restaurant (El Be) on the second to last night. We picked this one because we had noticed a fire juggler there the night before at the same time and we got exactly what we ordered.

As a bonus, they had a table big enough for the 12 of us. As another bonus the food was excellent. As another bonus they had a musician playing solo saxaphone over a karayoke track for fun pop songs. Ali and Cate loved watching from front row seats and giving him tips. We stumbled home (on the beach) very happy.

One of the biggest perks that we enjoyed as part of renting the family-friendly apartment (as opposed to an ordinary hotel room) was the availability of domestic appliances. The laundry was the best - we washed our swim suits almost every night. The fridge was also useful, since some of the kids preferred a bowl of cereal in the morning, usually before their lesson. If you don’t have a lesson at 6am, it’s harder to wait for breakfast until after.

In terms of sleeping, I was really impressed with the quality of the accommodation. The “master” bed was a comfortable king, the second bedroom had two queens that were comfortable if a little hard. The third room has a futon sofa that does leave quite a bit to be desired but the kids who slept on it tolerated it just fine. Also, you collapsed at the end of a day at surf camp. It was nice that our kids went to bed around 8. It’s not like we could do much with the later evening, since we were also exhausted.

But considering that we have just spent two months living in a moving box (a motorhome, for those joining this program midstride) and the kids really didn’t use much of their physical energy, it was great to wear them out one day after another. They slept long and hard and generally woke up ready for another day (and not crabby). 

We greatly enjoyed that we were there with friends. For the kids, especially for Henry but also Lily, having a familiar peer made it very easy to have fun. Henry had been anticipating his time with his bossom buddy, Alexander, for weeks and the time did not disappoint except in one sense. I think Henry expected to have seven consecutive sleepovers and Alex wasn’t on the same page. Then, when Alex did spend the night, he is such a cuddler that Henry climbed into our king bed to get more space! We tried not to laugh but failed.

Even if you don’t bring your own friends, I’ll tell you that your kids will have no trouble finding fun on the beach. There are plenty of kids around on the beach, some of them local and others staying at WRSC or other nearby hotels. There is a ton of beach and it is well known for being gentle and safe so it’s a good atmosphere for families. At high or low tide, the water is shallow for a significant distance, which makes it easy and low-stress to sit on the beach and let your kids run wild. You can even get a machete-opened coconot water, with or without booze, placed in your hand for about $2 by one of many roaming vendors. 

The main thing I would do differently the next time (and there will be a next time, eventually) is that I would probably connect through a Texas airport on my way from the northwest to Liberia, the airport you use in western Costa Rica. I’ve flown to Mexico a few times and once to Belize for our honeymoon 15 years ago. Each time, I’m amazed by how far south and how far east it is! To get here from Portland, your choices are to fly extremely early in the morning or take a layover. We spent a night in Los Angeles, leaving us a 5+ hour flight on our arrival day. If we had flown through Dallas or Houston (even Atlanta or Miami), we’d have done the long flight on the first day and a short day on the second/arrival day. For my style, that would be better.

So, really, there’s very, very little to complain about. The resort is extremely well run. The facility is in very good condition and the staff are excellent. I felt safe and comfortable throughout. We were super impressed by and grateful for the quality of instruction. Lily and Henry were both up on their baords on their first runs and consistently after that. The twins’ instructor got the rawest deal, spending most of his time playing babysitter on the beach because they lacked interest in surfing. But they loved being there and will tell you that they loved surfing. I’m sure that the next time we tell them we are surfing they will have a positive attitude about it, thanks to WRSC. 

One more note of gratitude that I want to repeat from previous posts. We had the opportunity to share this experience with some friends and family. Our friends - Maria, TIm, Tomas and Alexander - jumped on this journey with enthusiasm. Their joie de vive (sad that I know the French but not Spanish idiom) is powerful. I’m sure I wouldn’t have been on a dance floor with a live band attempting a meringue were it not for Maria. I’m sure I wouldn’t have been able to laugh nearly as much throughout the week were it not for Tim’s insidious humor. Our experiences are always BIGGER and more dynamic when we are with this family.

My Seattle cousins, Sam and Shelly, had been here three times before and they did not hesitate to return for a fourth time when they learned of our plans. Sharing this week with them was really great. They shared insider information throughout. Their presence helped warm the staff to our appearance. Also, we had the privilege of utilising Sam’s skills as a professional photographer to capture special moments throughout the week. On one of the final nights, Sam got serious and took the kids’ “school” portraits as well as some really fun and beautiful sunset art-shots.

If asked, here is what each of my kids would say was their favorite part of the week, based on my guess guessing: Lily: surfing, surfing surfing. Henry: being with Alex, especially playing “Beyblades.” Ali: The swimming pool; all day every day, if possible, please and thank you. Cate: the late afternoon, low-tide sand bar and the shallows in which she practiced “surfing.” This could only have been better if her beloved instructor, Mao, was available in the afternoon to watch her.