Travels to North Pacific
Today, Witch’s Rock Surf Camp was taking me on a ‘surf tour’ of Playa Avellanas, an excursion akin to an adult field trip (minus the permission slips). Nine students, three instructors and a photographer piled into a minibus and bumped along the dirt road to the beach – where we surfed to our hearts content for nearly three hours.
Playa Avellanas is a gorgeous, never-ending stretch of shore located about nine miles south of Playa Tamarindo. Like Playa Grande, such an incredibly long beach provides ample space for surfers, even on the most crowded days. A …
Location: Gold Coast, North Pacific, Tamarindo »
Activities: Pacific Beaches, Surfing »
After sleeping for nine hours last night, I woke up at 6:30 a.m. with my body’s batteries completely recharged. I started my day at Upstairs @ the Rip Jack restaurant, where I feasted on eggs, pancakes and fruit. (I really appreciate this egg/sugar combo. Normally pancakes don’t come with any type of protein, and I cannot justify ordering pure sugar for breakfast.)
As I was waiting, Gregory, Rip Jack Inn’s charming and knowledgeable manager, showed me a yoga series called the Five Tibetans. Between these new moves and the surf lesson I was about to have, …
Location: Gold Coast, North Pacific, Playa Grande, Tamarindo »
Activities: Massage, Pacific Beaches, Surfing »
Today I was able to dive the legendary Catalina Islands for the second time with Aquacenter Dive Company. Our first immersion was at Roca Sucia, presumably named “Dirty Rock” because it is covered in bird droppings. Visibility was between 30 and 40 feet and in addition to the tropical species we spotted yesterday, we also observed an unbelievably large school of bigeye jack along with blunthead triggerfish, guinea fowl pufferfish, spotted porcupine fish and blennies.
However, the most amazing sighting of the day was not what we discovered underwater, but what we spotted from the boat …
Location: Gold Coast, North Pacific, Playa Flamingo, Playa Grande »
Activities: Bird & Wildlife Watching, Massage, Pacific Beaches, Scuba Diving and Snorkeling »
