Pura Vida

In Playa Grande we went to the beach twice every day. We would go for a fun swim in the morning, and to refreshingly cool off again and watch the sunset after a boiling hot afternoon. We were living the life; in Costa Rica that is what they call Pura Vida.

On the second day, Daddy, Ailsa and I took a surfing lesson with JJ from Frijoles Locos Surf Shop. We were told that it is easy to look like a professional with your surfboard on the sand, but a lot harder to look good in the water. So, here we are looking pretty good!

JJ first showed us how to 'pop up' on the surf board while on the beach. In the water you have to paddle and then push up with your hands while you scoot your feet to the middle of the board. Then you have to bend your knees and keep your feet across the board to balance. The instructor helped us catch the right waves and told us when to try to get up. It takes most people a few days to get up on the board, but we did well and all got up on the first day. I got up on my first try! We decided to rent a surfboard for the week.

I told Fraser what to do, so he tried surfing too!

When we were not surfing we swam and played on the beach. We used a boogie board to catch waves. The waves were normally 0.5 - 1.0m high, but some were almost 2.0m! When we did not have the boogie board we tried to jump over the waves or swim with them. We had to be careful and watch for riptides, but we learned what to do in case we got caught in one and pulled out to sea.

The tide would rise 2m twice a day. Playa Grande was so flat that the beach was very wide at low tide - lots of room to play! We made a fort out of driftwood as a meeting place and to give us shade. We saw a blonde lady pull it apart one morning. She looked like a teen-ager from far away but when I saw her up close she was old and had wrinkles like my Mom. We called her the 'Party-Pooper' and made up a dance about it.

Over two weeks on the beach we collected so many shells. Ailsa, Fraser and me each kept our favourite 25 shells to bring home. Mommy collected a pile that had little holes in them to take home to make a garland for the Christmas tree. Daddy does not like carrying the bags with the shells because he said they are too heavy... another Party-Pooper.

During our first week at the beach we met two girls from Ontario, Keiry and Kaia. ("Hi Guys!") We played with them and made sand castles each day until it was time to watch the beautiful sunset over the Pacific Ocean and say 'good night'. We really loved it here and want to come back in a few years with family and friends - when we are a bit older and can surf a bit easier. Do you want to come too? Pura Vida!