Windsurfing Magazine

kristin
2001-12-31 14:00:00 | 176 views | 0 Comments

While there are many places to windsurf in the winter, there are truly none quite like Costa Rica. From the diversity of windsurfing sites to diversity of culture to diversity of fun things to do, this place has it all.

First of all, face it: no matter where you go, there's the chance (however remote since the magazine ads all say that the wind has not stopped blowing at your selected spot in over fifty years) that the wind might not blow. Remember this, it's important. Therefore, when I plan a windsurfing trip, the actual windsurfing is pretty much the last thing I really worry about.

What I worry about is what else there is to do, and in this regard Costa Rica excels. I have golfed the lush green fairways of San Jose (accompanied by not one, but two caddies since they only cost $2 for 9 holes and I felt sorry for this little guy who had to drag around my huge leather bag of rented, iron-shafted clubs so I paid for his friend to help him); I have rafted down spectacular jungle gorges leading to both the Atlantic and Pacific sides of the country; I have surfed on an endless head high wave for days on end; I have hiked in a remote jungle accompanied by screeching monkeys and huge snakes; I have mamboed and sambaed and twisted the night away to steel drum bands playing in the lush garden plazas of beautiful white estates.

Heck, I even water-skied on an inland river one night during the Miss Costa Rica pageant. Is this place great or what!??

For more info on windsurfing in Costa Rica, check out www.ticowind.com.

But back to the windsurfing. First of all, I'm a fresh water kind of guy. Not that salt water is bad, just that if all things are equal, I enjoy being in (and under) fresh water as opposed to salt water. I first sailed Lake Arenal in central Costa Rica in 1988. Back then there were only a handful of windsurfers in the entire country and a trip to Arenal was a real adventure. Now it more resembles the Gorge with high tech equipment for rent, lake-front accommodations, and lots of brightly colored sails on the water.

The wind on Arenal is legendary. 3.0m and 3.5m sails are common and even though you might be on 5.2m sails more than 3.2m, it is rare to hear of someone getting skunked at Arenal. The water is clean and cool, the sun and wind are hot, the people are friendly, and the atmosphere laid back.

Most of the year you'll want a short sleeve wetsuit for Arenal.

While the air is warm, the water can be cool because the lake is located high on the central plateau which runs through the middle of the country. But this is good: you want to keep your fresh water lakes cool to retard algae growth as well as mosquito and other insect habitat. I happen to like sailing in a shortie-it keeps the sun off me and I like that little bit of extra rubber protection.

If you're hankering for a bit of salt water, no problemo. All along the northwest coast are virtually unexplored (at least for windsurfing) beaches and bays offering strong sideshore winds and occasional waves. On the Caribbean side there is great surfing and if you happen to catch it right, there certainly must be some wave sailing although I can't say as I've heard much about it. [Maybe it's the last great-undiscovered wave sailing spot in the world...] With over 1300km of coast to explore, you'll not run out of places to investigate.

A bit about the country. Unlike the desert windsurfing islands like Aruba, Hawaii, Margarita, etc., if you really want to, you can drive there. It would be quite an adventure, but not impossible. Once you're there, it will be nice to have a car. Although you caan rent a car in San Jose, they are pretty expensive. If you're simply staying at Arenal for a week or two, you can certainly get by without one or better yet, car pool with some new friends for those excursions to other locations.

There's good news and bad news about driving in Costa Rica. Because cars are so expensive to own or rent there, the roads (totaling around 15,000 km) are very uncrowded. The bad news is, the drivers are maniacs, especially outside the cities. The rural driving also includes lots of fun hazards like large animals and potholes large enough to hide them, but this just keeps things interesting in my mind.

I know lots of people who head down to Costa Rica for the entire winter. Some travel about in campervans, some hole up in one spot, and some stay in San Jose and take outings from there. The entire country is about the size of West Virginia, so day trips can take you quite a way.

The government is a stable democracy and although you need a passport and visa, entry is no problem. There are just enough phones in the country that you can reach the U.S. in an emergency, but not so many that you ever hear them ringing.

For the variety of windsurfing conditions, the consistency and reliability of wind, the climate, and the assortment of other things to do, I'd choose Costa Rica as the best place to spend my windsurfing vacation.

For more info on windsurfing in Costa Rica, check out www.ticowind.com