Aug 18-24: Surfing in Santa Teresa and 26th Birthday

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but this was another chaotic week at the public schools. I really only worked 2-3 days this week due to more teachers’ union days, other school meetings, and personal travel. When I did go in, I did more of the same with PE, life skills, and community service.

This was a week in which my time outside of class was much more exciting than my time at school. On Thursday, several Peace Corps volunteers came into San José for a variety of reasons, so I was able to grab a quick afternoon cafecito with those friends. Then on Friday, I used my domestic vacation days for August to travel to a new part of Costa Rica.

I woke up super early on Friday morning to catch the only direct bus from San José to Cóbano, which is a small town in the Southern part of the Nicoya Peninsula. Cóbano is the gateway to Santa Teresa, a burgeoning surf and wellness town heavily populated by expats from Argentina, Israel, and the United States. My birthday was Sunday, and Santa Teresa had long been in my Costa Rica Bucket List, so I decided to use the celebratory weekend as an opportunity to finally go. To get to Santa Teresa from the country’s capital, it requires a bus, ferry, bus, and then another bus. In total, it took me about 20 hours of travel round trip, which is about as long of a commute as I’ve had traveling from San José within Costa Rica.

Although my time in Santa Teresa was short, I think it was worth the long haul trip. I stayed at a place called “Somos”, which is a surf and art-themed compound and was probably the coolest hostel I’ve ever stayed at. Friday night, I walked over to the beachfront and got to take in one of the best sunsets I’ve seen so far in Costa Rica.



Saturday was a surf day for me. Lots of people like to tell me that I run because I don’t have the balance or coordination for other sports, and there’s definitely something to that. I’d taken one surfing lesson about 6 years ago during a trip to Hawaii, but it’s incredibly popular in Costa Rica, so I wanted to try it again here. Surfing definitely kicked my butt. I got up on a wave maybe a couple of times, but I spent a lot more time falling in the water than not. With that being said, I enjoyed challenging myself a bit athletically and marking yet another thing off my Costa Rica Bucket List. That evening, my hostel had live music and dancing, and although I traveled solo, I got to meet people from Uruguay, French Canada, Scotland, and Germany, so that was really neat. 




On Sunday, I turned 26, but the day was mainly dedicated to traveling back home to San José. I really appreciate all of the kinds texts, calls, and messages I’ve received, and I’m super grateful for the support system I have as well as the opportunity to take trips like this while living and working abroad.

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