I rented a car and had my tires flatten in San Jose and my money and stuff stolen. There is little reason to go to SJ it is a dirty crime ridden city. The only reason is for Casinos. Stay in Alajuela or drive to the beach right away. I made it to the camp after about a five hour trip from SJ by road and ferry. Once you get to the Nicoya Peninsula the road gets worse. The road becomes a dusty dirt
road after Cobano. When you peak the cliffs outside of ST you see the blue of the Pacific Ocean. The road Ts off to up and down the beach. The southern side is Mal Pais and the North side is Santa Teresa. The 3 mile drive from the T to Zeneidas is fun. Along the side of the dirt beach road there are Sodas, surf shops, shops, hotels and grocery stores. Remember it is Third World. There is no OSHA, Dept of Health and few cops, none of them not corrupt. When I got out of my car at Zeneidas the waves were double overhead. Impressive for a guy who could hardly surf. Ana Burke ran the Surf Camp. Good thing my lodging, meals and board rental and lessons were paid for ahead of time. She used Simone's Surf Shop for rental and lessons. There were just two of us at the camp, Valerie, a girl from CA and me. Ana was from CA and spent a lot of time in ST. She took us to diner at different restaurants, we were eating with a local and she introduced us to her friends. It was like instantly being a local. We had breakfast and lunch at Jungle Juice or Funky Monkey. Funky Monkey is half way up the cliff and is a restaurant and hotel. A great place with a good vibe. The owners left the first day I was there and it was being run by 4 people, Lincoln is the only one I can remember the name of. Great guy, worked for an Adventure Travel company. I spent my last night there in the dorm. He bought be a few drinks because I had no money to spend. The group watched "The Beach" on the TV there. A good movie for a surf camp. Some of the guys were from CA and brought some medical ma*****na with them. I borrowed $150 to live on and get a new Passport. That is another story. Simone was a great teacher and the two of us got as much time in the water as we could handle. He started us out on the beach and then into the whites. The waves have so much power even the whites. The ocean along ST has a lot of current, sometimes hard to stand against.
