I started taking Spanish classes in Playa Tamarindo, Costa Rica in August 2006. I had gone on vacation to Costa Rica in 2005 and had spent a few days relaxing on the beach in Tamarindo, so when I decided to learn Spanish in Costa Rica, I thought that Tamarindo would be a great place to start. It is located on the Pacific coast, in the province of Guanacaste. I knew it was famous as a surf town and a destination for sun seekers from around the world.
After settling into my classes and learning how to navigate the school and the city, I began to meet other students. I noticed that most of them were surfing every chance they got and having a great time doing it. I could also be found most days after class jogging, working out and just enjoying the beach, although I hadn’t tried surfing yet, but I had definitely been bitten by the surfing bug. It wasn’t long before he couldn’t wait any longer and had to see what everyone else was enjoying so much. The next thing I knew, I had rented a longboard from one of the local surf shops and joined the other great surfers. I thought it would be easy. The locals and the other students made it look very easy even though many of them were from California where surfing is in their blood. One of the first things I noticed was how far you could walk into the ocean, there were no step falls and the water was so warm you didn’t need to get dressed. It was really nice surfing with just my shorts on. Some of the students gave me some advice to start surfing, so I tried it on my own for a while and soon realized that it was much more difficult than it seemed. At that point I was not yet ready to pay for some much needed injuries that would soon turn around.
One day I was out with a couple of my friends from Spanish school who knew what they were doing. We had ventured into slightly deeper water, deep enough to be over your head. We hadn’t been there long when a big wave started to build, we all started gearing up, and soon we were all paddling as if our lives were going deeper into it. I was hoping to catch the wave my friends did, but no such luck. As the wave carried me away instead of sitting back on my board and letting the wave pass I soon found myself flying over the board. This would be the start of a wild ride, I felt like I was in a washing machine. After trying to get out of this precarious situation for what seemed like a lifetime, I soon realized that I had run out of air. The next thing I knew I was done and thankfully there wasn’t another wave behind me as is often the case.
After that, I decided to spend some money on some much-needed lessons, which I did. Wow, what a difference a few injuries can make. The first thing I learned was about safety and how to lay back on my board and let the wave go sometimes and if you get caught in a big wave just hold your breath and let it go. Don’t try to swim because you don’t know which way you’re swimming when you’re being tossed around. The moral of this story is that if you are a beginner, spend some money and get instruction from a qualified surf school.