¡A la playa!

It wasn´t long before this California native, beach-loving gal could no longer resist a weekend trip to experience her first Costa Rican beach! Four gals and one trusty male amigo piled into a borrowed vehicle, complete with a couple surfboards strapped to the roof, and headed west to the Pacific Coast to a beach town called Esterillos. Cool breezes and spectacular views accompanied us on our evening drive, which came to a completion after a brief but unavoidable (and memorable!) drive on the small town´s airport runway in order to reach our destination!
We lucked out with a beachfront cabina (a small cabin, which immediately invoked a comparison to the Swiss Family Robinson!) and a stretch of glorious black sand (= muy HOT!) beach almost entirely all to ourselves. It really could not have been any more perfect!
What could have been more perfect were my attempts at surfing! Our male companion, Josh, is a pseudo-costarricense, having grown up in Costa Rica, although he is originally from the States. A surfer dude, he graciously allowed for us gals to borrow a board and give it a go. Let me tell ya, the ocean can be a mighty aggressive body of water! I was tossed and swirled and plummeted to the ocean floor time and time again, but I did have some fun nontheless! To be on the beach, near the ocean, in the water...it´s all just something that provides me great happiness and a sense of tranquility. Once a California girl, always a California girl, right?!
Would you believe that joining this California girl in the surfing expedition was fellow Decorah, Iowa girl, Erica Spilde? We could just see the headline in the Decorah Journal...¨Decorah girls surf Costa Rica.¨ Another blessing in companionship for my first 6 months here in Costa Rica is Erica, who is finishing a two-year stint working with the Lutheran Church in Costa Rica.
A breathtaking sunset concluded our visit to the beach, all of us feeling quite content after the consumption of delicious fruit drinks and fresh fish, as well as much time in the sun and the ocean. And that, my friends, is the Pura Vida!