In a place called samara, boght a 9ft board and got a few lessons off a local, the guy had me out in big waves (6-8ft are big to me but apparently are tiny in costa rica) the first day and i really shat myself and wanted to give up surfing there and then but he actually taught me loads about avoiding wipe outs while paddling out etc, 2nd day i caught a 6 ft, dropped down into it, turned the board and rode down the nose of the wave and for the first time ever really felt like i was a surfer, so yeah Samourio is doing wonders for my confidence and has really got me out of my comfort zone but the paddle out takes about 20 minutes he has me out sooooo far!!! But im out there with the big boys and it is great!!! dont know would i paddle out without him with me though??? Wish i could bring him home to ireland with me too!!! And you should see him on a longboard..endless summer eat your heart out!!! Anyway i fucked up my toe on rocks yesterday so hoping it wont give me too much trouble while out today!!!
and then to top it all off, there is a croc in the river i have to cross to get into town (can only cross at low tide too) , yes i have crossed a river with a croc's beady eyes looking at me from about 50 metres away quite a few times now, all the locals seem to think it isnt a big deal so im just blindly following them!!

So that is all the craic for now, im off to hang out at the beach and hopefully surf if my half a toe doesnt act up too much!!!

Whooooo !
fozzie's in love with the teacher, fozzie's in love with the teacher
Excellent stuff girl.... did you buy the 9' board to sell it again before you leave or might you take it home with you and what breed of an animal is it ?
Any pics of the surf ?
Hang loose foz and look after yourself

you rock fozzie

sounds like you're having a great time - keep up the good work.

cool looking spot

sounds like your havin a ball fozzie, keep us updated

hey there!!!
Might never come home, this place is amazing!!! So chilled out, i know everyone goes on about tamarindo but it sounds too americanised for me!!!
Surfing is going well, really getting out of the comfort zone and pushing myself...
i bought a 2nd hand custom board locally shaped but will be selling it as ive a fireball waiting for me at home!!!
The wildlife is amazing too, i have seen turtles on the beach nesting which is just the most amazing thing to witness!! There are monkeys everywhere too!!
And my "teacher" also supplies me with so it is all good in samara!!
Will post piccies when i get home!!!
Cheers,
Foz

sounds like your having a great trip, hope it keeps going well!!!

holy f*** guys...
last night im in bed around 8pm having a siesta before i go out looking at the turtles and im lying there and there is this guy outside shouting tsunami, tsunami get up, get up..so i get up thinking does tsunami mean the same thing in spanish so i get up and go out and this guy is wild eyed screaming tsunami and im like is this guy on acid or something, then he starts going on about an eartquake in peru and that a tsunami is going to hit the pacific coast of costa rica at 9.20pm and it is going to be 2-9 metres big and i realise this is no joke...heart starts pounding. Legs go to jelly and he is shouting grab your passport and your plane tickets and get up the mountain so im scrambling around my bag trying to find my passport and plane tickets and all im thining is oh fuck the tsunami that hit south east asia was 10 metres, oh god..so iget my passport, plane tickets and camera and smokes and start running around the camp waking everyone else up. walked outside the camp and the whole village are making their way up the mountain and im like shitless going this is real so we leg it down the beach, cross a river and head up the mountains to safety..i have never walked so fast in my life.....got to 20 metres and felt i could breath again..and then we waited and myself and this american and english girl just started having a laugh..like if you are going to die you might as well die laughing...so then it is 10 past 9 and none of the dogs are going crazy or anything so im thinking that is a good sign and then at 9.30 we got news that the pacific was too low and it hadnt hit and pura vida we were all ok..but jesus that was the closest thing to dying of fright that i have ever got....
So im definitely having adventures here..so off for a surf at 3pm today as the tide is too low at the moment and then myself and Samourio are hitting the beach bar for a few well deserved Imperials after last night!!!!
Pura Vida..
Foz

you can say that again

Vida loca

Way to go Foz,

Surf is way too big here at moment about 10-12ft), i have some great photos though!!!
The guys advised me against going in yesterday and i was in a bit of a sulk until 3 guys came out of the water with broken boards, one of which was a 7'10 NSP which i thought were indestructible . contemplating messing around in the white water but a few people broke their fins doing that yesterday
Turns out Samourio is sponsered and ranked 10 in costa rica for longboarding so im pretty lucky to have him as my surf buddy over here
Anyways im off to the beach now to take some photos,
Pura Vida,
Foz

hows it going fozzie, hows the holiday going since your last post?? getting much decent surf??

So i'm home
I have to say Costa Rica was fab....well the parts i saw were anyway...i pretty much stayed in samara and went to a few spots close by there but never made it to Ollie's, Tamarindo or Pavonnes cos i was really happy where i was. It was a nice beach break with really friendly locals who i went out surfing with every day and who included me on all their trips to nearby breaks (even offered to bring me out on the boat to the outer reef to surf but i declined, im not that brave). I actually coulnt get over how nice everyone was in (and out of) the water...always a "buenos dias" and even a few "nice wave" comments so i guess that is why i stayed put. I got pretty brave too and confidence is a lot better. I guess wiping out in warm water is alot nicer than the brain freeze you get here!!! My wave count isnt great though, in an hour i would catch 2 nice waves, wipe out at least 5 times and paddle like a crazy person and still not be paddling hard enough to catch a wave so that is my biggest problem-paddle power (any tips would be gratefully accepted!!)

I met a cork man on a bus to the volcano at the end of my trip (luke from incide who knows HP and Enygma) and he had been in a spot south of where i was and it was full of Israelis's and Locals and he said it was really aggressive in the water there, fisticuffs and everything so i think i was just really lucky where i was with the chilled vibe in the water!! Or maybe he was unlucky where he went, i got the impression from him though that the israelis were all just finished their army service and were full of aggression and they were the ones that were causing all the problems there!!!

So Costa Rica is cheap compared to Ireland but not cheap compared to the rest of Central America and according to a few canadians i met on the way home, the Surf in El salvador is great!!! So i might look intot here for next year!!

I had no hassles travelling on my own without a word of Spanish but i did meet a couple of Canadians who had stopped for petrol and 5 minutes later had a flat and when they pulled in to fix it were suddenly surrounded by about 10 guys who robbed them blind. Apparently this sometimes happens, your tyres get slashed at the gas station and you stop to fix it and then you are robbed but to be honest i wouldnt drive in costa rica, the roads are dreadful and they drive like crazy people and drive on both sides of the road, dont stop at red lights and all sorts of madness. Public transport is fine so there is no need to be driving there!!

will post some pics in the longboard flickr site later in the day!!!

sounds like you had a great trip, welcom home

Read an article in Surfing magazine about surfing in Israel.
Their window of opportunity for surf is so limited, when swell does apppear, its common practise to drop in. Thats probaly why the aggression came about.