The Dirt Field

Surfing yesterday was completely awesome. The breaks were perfect, the sunset was unbelievable, and I was actually able to catch a lot of waves. I stayed in the water until it was too dark to see the waves anymore, at which point Rachel and I got cleaned up and went out for the night. We started by drinking Imperials on my patio, and then moved on to Witch’s Rock Surf Camp Bar for pricey yet delicious blended drinks, and finally ended the night by watching scantily-clad prostitutes work the crowd at Mambo Bar. I always wondered who actually buys things like thigh-high red patent leather boots, but now I know – the Costa Rican prostitutes do.

Despite the late night and the myriad drinks, I was up at 6am for my dive trip. A short drive up the coast and then a long boat ride out to a picturesque rock island, and I was in the water before I’d even had a chance to fully awaken. There wasn’t much coral or plant life, but the fish were gorgeous and I saw a school of large white-tipped reef sharks, a few manta rays, a lot of neon purple starfish, and a couple of moray eels.

After the first dive, we swapped tanks on the boat, gulped down some water, and had a quick snack while moving to our next location. One of the snacks offered were Cremas, the delicious Central American vanilla-flavored sandwich cookie with which I have been obsessed for the past week.

[Aside: These cookies are cheaper than dirt – the roll I bought yesterday cost the equivalent of fifty cents for twenty cookies – and I usually eat AT LEAST an entire roll everyday. They are delicious. Absolutely marvelous.]

So today, I grabbed a few packages of Cremas and started stuffing my face while waiting to go back in for the second dive. Midway through my second package, I looked over just in time to see a man vomiting violently off the side of the boat. I have never been so disgusted and I immediately tossed my cookies overboard. No, that’s not a euphemism – I mean that I threw the uneaten cookies into the water and swore to never touch another one in my life. What put the icing on the cake of my horror, however, was watching him passionately kiss his wife less than an hour after this episode.

The second dive was not as enjoyable as the first, as my mask was continually fogging. Despite that, I got to see a nurse shark, a lot more eels, and an octopus. The octopus was concealed under a pile of rocks, which normally would have compelled most divers to observe as best as possible and move on. However, the hardcore naturalist who was my dive buddy started moving large rocks left and right until the little octopus had no choice but to ink a little and swim desperately away.

After the dive, Rachel and I grabbed lunch, I purchased my bus ticket to get to the airport in San Jose tomorrow, and I consumed no less than three fruit smoothies. Despite being sunburned, exhausted, and sore, I’m off now for my last afternoon of surfing and I’m thoroughly excited. With any luck, I’ll be swept out to sea and forced to stay here forever.