Heading down there tomorrow. Anyone been there? I'm staying at Playa Cocles just south of Salsa Breava. Swell looks like it will be not too great. Thinking chest to head with some bump on it. Any banter from those who have been through these parts is appreciated. Loving the chill rasta vibe I hear about - and of course the 80 degree air, warm water and surfable waves!
if you like the rasta stylings, then you will love the caribbean coast of Costa Rica. Salsa Brava is an amazing wave if its working. Here is the Swellinfo Costa Rica - caribbean forecast page. It is not live on the site, but is updating, so give it a check and please give me some feedback on the forecasts! http://www.swellinfo.com/surf-forecast/costa-rica-caribbean.html
Professor Swellinfo! Honored to hear from you. you run the best site in america. well done, and keep it up (with the legion of excellent ads from top rate retailers and such, I'm sure you will). Yeah I have been looking at crsurf.com which is a good site, but it doesn't update too often. Magicseaweed covers the area (obviously) but as you know this site is very unreliable. For selfish reasons I hope seaweed is way off because I may get partially skunked according to them. I'll be happy to give day to day reports from Playa Cocles and Brava upon my return. thanks for the reponse and hope to see you out there some day in lovely DE/MD Marty (Moose)
it is a real good wave, never surfed the beach break down where you are staying, just Salsa. Check this out: http://www.buoyweather.com/wxnav6.jsp?region=CR&program=Maps look at the last buoy on the Costa/Panama border, looks like it is going to be thumping! also here: http://www.papagsurf.com/ About the vibe down there, it is chill, but don't give any money to anyone down there unless you see what you are buying first, a lot of people try and sell you "stuff" and say give me money and they will bring it back, and don't. They are persistent too, one guy was hastling us nonstop, we just gave him like 1000 colones and said leave us alone. If there are no waves and you partake, there used to be a restaurant that had some ganja ice cream, over by the cove area close to where the bus stop is, that will knock you over. I'm not promoting it and am way over that stuff, but if that is your thing I am sure you can find stuff like that there, just don't get ripped off. Much more likely to happen on the Caribe side of Costa. Also if you get a chance, explore south of Puerto Viejo, I hear it is real cool, rent a bike or scooter or something if you don't have a car.
How do the forecasts that are not live work? Do you monitor them for accuracy before going live with them? Can you give us a preview to what other forecast locations you are working on?
Looks like there will be some swell for sat-mon, and then I may have to embrace the rasta vibes pretty heavily after the swell fades. My wife and I rented a little jeep so I plan on exloring a ton, especially south towards panama. Trying to get my boys from back home to maybe head here next new years, but first need to do some serious recon. Looks like you can rent houses real cheap, and with a smokin reggae-on-the-beach type nightlife, warm air and sea, with the chance at some epic surf - I sure as hell think it's a great NYE 2010 option About the scammers... I am pretty well traveled through central america and afrika, and know how the shakedowns normally work . But thanks for the heads up, I'll be on my toes, hopefully hanging them off the nose in a clear water barrel as well.
Puerto Viejo= Costa Rican Jamaica. Totally opposite that any other tourist town in CR. Super laid back. Salsa Bravo is still imbedded into my mind as top 3 waves ever caught! You will love it, just watch your ****. and if your looking for any smoke down there, ASK FOR THE CREEPY. everything else is crappppp. hahah Enjoy it down there. take lots of pics. By far one of the best barrels of my life there.
Bring a mask and snorkel if it is going to be real small. I saw all kinds of sea life just in the little pools of coral, eels little fish swimming in and out of the coral, real cool. The set up is really cool there.the way you jump of coral into the channel and paddle out. Some of the expat locals there are pricks, actually only really one, but there are quite a few expats there. I would try and get out first light too, it can get crowded with only 1-2 take offs, tides don't really matter there, the swing is only like 1-2 feet difference.
And lisurfer thanks for those sites. Seems like papaG is calling for a bit more of a swell than swellinfo is for the caribe. I'll try to jot down what actually happened down there from sat to wednesday am and submit the results upon my return. peace and thanks
Thanks for replies. Hows the board rental selection there??? It will be $150 if I bring mine. I see there's a place called Totem that has some for rent, and was curious if they were decent models.
Swellinfo has forecasts ready to go for Mexico and all of Central America. This will be released in the coming future along with a design upgrade to the forecast pages, which is going to be awesome! Wait till you see the 7 day timelines. There is no release date at this point, but it will be as soon as possible.
You SOB. Are you rubbing it in our face? Enjoy your chest or head high surf in 83 degree ocean temp while we are freezin our as5es off and working with an ankle high wave out there.
salsa bravo is killer. If it is good you are going to need a couple of boards (lots of breakage). Town has loads of hippies, crazies, surfers whatever - very chill unless you go looking for trouble. Great place. Look around there are many good waves but you will have to travel a bit
Panama Hey Micah, Its Jon. I'll be in Bocas del Toro in March. Are you working on a forecast for that area? Thanks, hope you're doing well.
Dude, stop in Cahuita! There is this quaint Rhasta cafe on a corner and I wanna say just after a private tours office but I could be wrong about the latter. You make a left off the main road you will be taking south and into Cahuita and after the only ATM in town it's the next left and a couple of blocks up on the corner . They make a lot of natural juices and make the BEST F**king fish I ever ate in my life! EAT FISH THERE! There were seven of us and we all agreed it was best fish ever, I can't even put it into words... Also, Puerto Viejo. It's the suedo center of area, best waves if there's a swell and where you can rent boards and chill with Rhastas and the ladies at night. Pura Vida vendeho...U lucky bastard, enjoy yourself...Watch out for the reefs in the area because there are some spots to watch out for, especially south of Puerto Viejo it's nothing like the West coast. If no one is surfing a a perfectly good looking wave there is a reason why so practice your Spanish!
yes. Puerto Viejo, costa rica and bocas del toro are very close to each other, but ya, there will be a forecast for there as well. This should be live by March.
Hey all: just got back late last night from Puerto Viejo. What a place. Salsa Brava was not working from Sunday-Tuesday, so Playa Cocles was where it was at. -Saturday it was perfectly clean all day and chest high (random sets head high) -Sunday was clean in the morning and evening and was about waist (random sets chest/head) -Monday was slightly OH and bumpy side/onshore all day Evidently Brava was throwing overhead spitting barrels for a few days just before I arrived. What luck! Looked each day at other spots: Manzanillo, Playa Negra, Westfalia. Cocles was working the best and had the most size. Pretty crowded (from 5-30 people), but vibe was fine -- assuming you were ok not hangin on the main peak. Beautiful place, and man o man do they know how to party. I think I have 72 braincells left. Good times. Back to the grind.
