After my stay in the fancy dorm with beach view in Tamarindo, I had made my way to Santa Teresa. I had been told that place would be a far more laid-back and less gringo-dominated affair. It’s still low season in Costa Rica and in Santa Teresa it clearly showed, as a lot of establishments were closed for the season and the place I stayed at for a week was dead quiet and I was the only guest for the majority of my stay. Surf and yoga and yoga and surf are big in Costa Rica. Santa Teresa is another surfer town, where one can have plenty of yoga action too and to be a true original, surf and yoga and yoga and surf was the purpose of my stay.
Santa Teresa; Rain, Mud and Good Vibes
Santa Teresa is a town along a stretch of dirt road, that runs parallel to the beach. There is a very good vibe of surfistas and yogi(ni)s from all over the world. Santa Teresa is connected to playa Cocal and playa Hermosa to the north and playa Carmen to the south, by a stretch of road of about 8 km in total, lined with hotels, hostels, resorts, restaurants, bars, shops and jungle. Because of the distance, ‘greater Santa Teresa’ is not very walkable and one needs some sort of vehicle. Many residents use quad bikes to get around. Because it is low and rainy season, life in Santa Teresa was pretty dull and roads rather muddy, but I had some excellent food and managed to improve my action on the waves and on the mat.
To Dominical: another ‘Monster Journey’
The plan was to move on to Dominical, yet another surfers’ beach-bum town at the Pacific Coast, but on the mainland, rather than on the Nicoya Peninsula, a bit more than 200 km south of the capital San Jose by road. This time I wanted to do it the cheapskate way and take public transport. The distance between the two beach-bum towns is about 260 km and despite having left at 6 in the morning, I got stuck half way. The bus from Santa Teresa to Paquera, where I took the ferry was a straightforward 2 hour ride. In Paquera we waited 40 minutes before the ferry departed, which took us across to Puntarenas in an hour and 15, if I remember correctly. In Puntarenas I had a good connection to Jacó, where I thought I was able to take a bus to Dominical. After a cloudy, but dry morning, it had started to rain when I arrived in Jacó. When I asked around where to get a bus to Dominical no one really knew what the score was and as I had already been travelling for almost 7 hours, I decided to set up shop. Yet another storm was to pass the region and although Jacó is also a beach town and surfer destination, I didn’t want to spend my time in more laid-back beach bum town Dominical in the rain.
Tico Gringo Land
Jacó is like Tamarindo, only considerably smaller. The main town revolves around a stretch of road parallel to the beach and is full of a certain type of Americans: The males all wear the same outfit- shorts, tank top and flip flops or sneakers as if it’s a uniform- and either gender speaks little to no Spanish, even the ones who live there. I was recommended a hostel by a cool British- Brazilian surfer couple I met in Santa Teresa. The hostel was pleasant and everything, beach, supermarket, hippy cafe, was close by. While I waited for the storm to pass, I did some work, some yoga and indulged in hippy food, which cost an absolute mint in Costa Rica (I’m talking at least double European prices).
Tico Public Transport; Another Lesson in Patience
After more than a couple of days, I got a bit fed up with Jacó and after the weather cleared, I took a bus to Quepos, an hour and a bit further south, from where I had to take a bus to Dominical. Once I arrived in Quepos, I was to find out that my connection to the destination of the day was two and a half hours away. Then it started to rain and I got rather annoyed. Travelling by public transport was no longer and adventure on the cheap; it was a bloody hassle and I wondered why straight-forward and better connected public transport wasn’t the country’s idea of ‘pura vida’, as the country is both expensive and educated enough to justify a decent network. Despite being annoyed, the hours passed by pretty quickly, as I kept myself entertained by Maya Angelou’s words. When I arrived in Dominical, again taking me an afternoon to travel a piss- distance, it rained, obviously. As Dominical is all dirt roads, I hid into the hostel until the follow morning.
top image: hotelroomsearch.net
middle images; hollylovespaul.com
Dark Fairy Adventures 
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