got costa rica advice?
Thu, 10/15/2009 - 15:45
love some input before i book. we are slated to visit bahia salinas at the very top northwest corner of the country this late january. playas papaturro and copal. of wind i am assured. but just how gusty is an offshore breeze, coming off mountains no less, going to be? if you have experience in bahia salinas... or know someone who has... i would love feedback. it's a long way to go to say "oops." david northwester@comcast.net
Thu, 10/15/2009 - 16:56
#1
David,
I was there 2 winters
David,
I was there 2 winters ago and 3 years prior to that, both times for 3 weeks. as you probably know its really windy there, it is gusty but it is more like a sustained gust that you can see coming. season starts in november and goes thru april. contact Nicola at the Blue Dream hotel and spa, he gives lessons too, super cool laidback Italian guy.
Its really not a beginners spot because of the strong gusty winds, but remains my favorite travel spot for the remoteness and consistantly windy conditions.
if you go during Jan-Feb bring something small like a 5 or 6, you will use it.
Matt
Sun, 11/01/2009 - 12:07
#3
Hi, I did Bahia Salinas twice
Hi,
I did Bahia Salinas twice and it was a lot of fun. The wind can be really strong and then drop off. It is touch and go in November but more consistent in December and after. If you have a no wind day, you can take a day trip to one of the park that has tree top zip line tour which can be a lot of fun. It is very nice lay back relax hang out forget civilization kind of place.
I love it there, except for the sting rays. I got stung 4 times on 3 different days. I heard from locals that there was a local person got stung in liver and die. Make sure you shuffle your feet. I did that as well but I did not have such good luck with those sting rays. Hurt like hell.
Nicola has nice bungalows with great views of the mountains and ocean, a nice convenience cafe for foods and drinks. Bob, another guys, who is also nice and has an establishment as well. You can't go wrong there.
Oh, another bit of advice, make sure you lock your car and keep all your valuable super close to you when you go into town, supermarket, etc. Robberies are so bad there that the car rental warns you so often. I met a couple from California at the car rental. They were there for the first time for a week. We were heading out to the same supermarket and then same destination. They got to the supermarket first, the wife was watching the car and the husband went inside. When they switch turn to keep an eye on their cars and luggage, they drop their attention for less then 20 seconds. In that instant, with wife backpack was stolen from the car, with all their money, passport, and airlines tickets. I arrive soon after and learn of their misfortune. I offer to help to take them to the police station, etc. Long story short they spend their week going to another city to get to the US embassy for paper work replacement, etc... not a happy ending.
Good luck,
TN
Mon, 11/02/2009 - 01:52
#4
Been there four times....
I have been to CR to stay with Nicola four times. Loved it. Great place if you are an intermediate kiter or better. Handling the gusty conditions will make you a better kiter overall. It's kinda like growing up skiing VT and then moving to CO and laughing at what the locals in CO call 'ice'. If you can ski New England ice, you can ski anywhere. Once you can handle 10-15knot gust wind increases in CR you can kite anywhere gusty. I have laughed at what locals in Hatteras call 'gusty' conditions after dealing with CR. The new kites with huge depower make the gusts in CR no big deal, don't be worried. I used to get seriously bitch-slapped in gusts on my old c-kites in CR six years ago.
Yes, slick water near the reef and well worth going out to the little slick at bird island. Enjoy the plentiful marine life there. I have kited through schools of tuna, seen many sea turtles, and a couple sea snakes. Regarding stingrays, yes there are LOTS!!!!! of them. But, I have never been stung there b/c I start right off the beach and always kite all the way back to the beach. I never walk in the water.
Even though you are well south into the tropics, the water temp in Bahia Salinas is not the 85 degrees you would expect, like it is in the Caribbean at that same latitude. The water temp is in the 70s which is nice, but if you like doing long sessions(2-3 hours) and when it is blowing over 30 frickin' knots constantly, I use a 1/2m long sleeve top to keep the chill off. Watch getting sunburned, very easy to get caught up in the kiting fun and forget you are at 11 degrees N latitude.
If you are brave enough, Nicola can arrange a downwinder allowing you to kite between Nicaragua and CR several miles past the bird island.
If you are traveling sans family and want to get your freak on, there is unfortunately no big party scene in Bahia Salinas, just small groups hanging out. It is small town, sleepy kind of area, very quaint and wholesome. I live in a quaint and wholesome town, so when I am on vacay I want something diff't like crazy. If you want to get some good partying in while down there, I get a few buddies together and hire a roundtrip taxi to take us to Tamarindo for a weekend night. The taxi picks us up the following AM. Drink, dance, and smoke your ass off all night at the beach bars cranking the tunes (beware of the 'working girls' who you might think are just cool girls who genuinely want to hook up with you, they're not). Crash at a local hotel or the hostel. Catch your same taxi guy picking you up in the AM and kite your hangover off.
If you are traveling with family, send them to Playa Rajada, which is only a few miles from Bahia Salinas. It is a beautiful sandy beach in the lee of the land, so it is not windy, great sunsets there. If you have young kids, watch out for the packs of dogs, they can be vicious and scary in that area for women and young kids, no kidding.
Try all you can to fly into Liberia airport, so you don't have to mess with crappy San Juan.
Enjoy, you won't say 'oops', you'll love it. Nicola says on his website he in only a hundred yards from the kite beach Papaturro, but that is not really true. Yes, he is that close to Papaturro, but I highly doubt you will ever kite off of that beach. No one ever does when I am there. Everyone kites from Playa Copal. Nicola drives his pickup truck to Playa Copal every morning. You can throw your gear in his truck and jump in the back. You can pack lunch or get lunch at a place in Copal.
The wind is not 'offshore' like you wrote in your comment, it is actually a perfect side-on shore. I have torn my 7 meter kite in 40 knot wind there and let the wind just blow me back in to the beach. If you don't end up on the far end of Playa Copal, you'll end up on the next beach down (Eco-playa), so no worries. If you are all the way out at the bird island and something goes wrong then you could be blown out of the bay into the Pacific, so make sure to not go out to the island alone, but anywhere closer than the island and you'll end up back on a beach.
Just some unorganized info off of the top of my head. Man, you're making me miss the place. I went to Baja last winter instead of my usual trip to CR. I loved Baja too. Though, may be I'll go back to CR this year.
Mon, 11/02/2009 - 08:57
#5
Awesome writeup... now i
Awesome writeup... now i wanna go. Thanks Mesa!
Mon, 11/02/2009 - 08:22
#6
Nice post Measaman. I wonder
Nice post Measaman. I wonder if we should aggregate the travel reports we have from all over the world.
Mon, 11/02/2009 - 18:23
#7
yah, it would be a good idea
yah, it would be a good idea to do a travel section to this forum. A resource people can go to when considering a kite trip to get info on each spot.
Fri, 01/08/2010 - 11:40
#8
cr
I'm leaving for Bahia Salinas on Jan 15-29 staying at Nicola's place.
http://www.bluedreamhotel.com/
anyone else going to be there?
Matt
Fri, 01/08/2010 - 12:45
#9
Cheap!
I am heading to SPI in Texas in a few days and this thread prompted me to look at flights to CR. Expedia poped up a vacation package for 2 people for $1k for flight and hotel and its direct. I am paying the same $ to go to TX, and i have 2 connections, and its not going to be nearly as warm as CR......... wish this post came about a month ago.
Maybe next year.
Mon, 01/11/2010 - 07:42
#10
matty and CR
matty, my son colin, 26, and i arrive at nicola's on jan. 27. we will be there four nights. i just bought a 7 meter for the occasion. fits in my pocket. look forward to meeting you. my direct email, btw, is northwester@comcast.net.
thank you so much. sounds fairly wild... i am hoping i can find smooth water somewhere.
thanks again, david (northwester@comcast.net)