COSTA RICA: The Waves of Tamarindo

An insight into a month of volunteering at a surf hostel on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica

🎵 Song recommendation whilst reading: I Wish You Were Here - Alpha Blondy

Robert August and the likes from The Endless Summer II may have exposed this Guanacaste Province surf-town for better or worse... One thing is for sure; whether you call it Tamarindo or 'Tamagringo', this Pacific Ocean surf spot will captivate you like no other. If it doesn't after reading a snippet of this, then I guess you're just going to have to enjoy some snaps of a guy with a booming beard attempting (poorly) to salsa dance, but with the biggest of smiles!

The pura vida life. Tamarindo is located on the Pacific coast of northern Costa Rica, within the perimeters of the Guanacaste Province. It is surrounded by various beaches such as Playa Grande, Playa Tamarindo, and Playa Langosta. Location-wise, it is significant for the infamous surf spots of Witches Rock and Ollie's Point. Additionally, there are numerous pockets of estuaries which boast a healthy amount of crocodile warnings! This coastline, which stretches into the peninsula of southern Nicoya, is notorious for its surf breaks and beautiful beaches that attract tourists and locals. It was once just a dusty village, kept honest by the waves and sunshine that it craved. The release of The Endless Summer II in 1994 hauled mass attraction among tourists and surfers alike. The once-dusty village that was said to be a hidden gem by locals, was now exposed to the reverbarations of modern development and foreign influence. 'Tamagringo' was born then and there, but this didn't alter the ingredients for shared happiness among locals and foreigners... Rockin' waves and indispensable sunshine.

How did I end up here you may ask? Well, after my time at Finca la Quimera, I got lucky and came right with a Workaway host, Simone. Simone messaged me a week out from leaving the Finca, presenting me with the opportunity to volunteer at his surf hostel in Tamarindo. This was exactly what I wanted to do with my second month in the country; to be by the ocean and to improve my surfing capabilities. The hostel is called TamaHostel & Glamping. I arrived at the start of October and the rest, as they say, is history! It is worth noting that this is still considered the low season. When in high season, some would avoid Tamarindo due to the flocks of American tourists and the relentless heat that comes with the change of season.

A bit about the hostel. It is run by an Italian man (Simone) and his Costa Rican wife (Carol). They have a two-year-old son (Nico) who is protected by their Rottweiler (Venus). They live at the back of the property and are very relaxed with how things are run. The volunteer group consists of 6 individuals from all over the world. You share a dorm that is fairly snug but all that you need for a comfortable time. The shifts would be 4 hours each day, with two days off at some stage of the week depending on the weekly schedule. The work was relatively chilled, with most of the time spent playing music for everyone, gardening, cleaning, and checking-in guests. You always wanted to keep busy during the 4 hours so that the shift would feel like it was going a bit quicker. Personally, I took satisfaction in maintaining the garden and cleaning the pool whilst busting out some reggae or afro-house for the rest of the hostel!

3 Aspects That Made My Time Enjoyable

The Volunteers

When it came down to it, forming new relationships with the people that I was living and working with was one of the pinnacles of my entire month. If I had bad experiences based on the type of person within the group, I can only imagine how that may have altered my experience as a whole. Instead, I was fortunate enough to form these relationships that followed such a positive trajectory. Due to different arrival dates, you sometimes have a high turnover in the volunteer cabin. My first two weeks went unchanged in terms of personnel. Jorge (39) was from Venezuela originally but had been working at the hostel for 2 years. He takes on the informal role of being in charge of the volunteer experience, i.e. If you have a question, ask Jorge. One of the most charismatic individuals I have ever come across, unloading his perspectives on life in a unique and humorous way whilst smoking a whole lot of 'erb. Others included Helena from Portugal, Riva from Holland, Magda from Italy, and Clem from France. Later on, I would also get to know Alessia from Italy, Sarah from Austria, Maria from Spain, and Veronica from Italy.

We did various activities together like surfing, going for walks on the beach, yoga, salsa, grocery shopping, hanging out by the skatepark, attending a morning/night market, grabbing some traditional Costa Rican casado out of the trunk of a local's van, or buying a treat from Sol Bakery! When someone was leaving the TamaHostel crew for a new adventure, we would all prep a meal together as a send-off. We didn't drink all too much, but when we did, it was either for a sundowner on the beach or going out to salsa at places like Crazy Monkey or CATA! There is no doubt in my mind, that I owe a lot of my happiness to these people that I can now call friends.

The Guests

I'd like to think I'm a people person. I enjoy interacting with new individuals in order to form a positive connection that boosts one's morale. Working in hospitality, you need to be on top of your social game. At TamaHostel, the music would be passing the time in the background whilst you interacted with guests from all over the world. They all had different purposes in life, but at that specific moment in time, their adventure brought them together in Tamarindo. There were such diverse cultures that it was awesome to just be a witness to the whole beach hostel vibe, this time from a staff perspective. Again, like the volunteers to an extent, you would go out and do various activities with the guests that were now your Tamarindo friends. If you weren't doing that, you were either giving out advice about the area, checking if they were having a good time, talking about life and travel, or you were cooking up a storm with some honest laughs in the communal kitchen. I am grateful for each person I came across, as well as the experiences that came with those specific interactions. Life can be cool sometimes.

The Surf

When someone says that they surf every day, I don't think I have ever taken into account what that really entails. Better yet, maybe I wasn't aware of how much of a positive impact it could have on the human mind and body. Well here I am, telling you, that I almost surfed every day whilst in Tamarindo - The keyword being 'almost'! I rented a board for the month at $170. Julien was the surf guy that Simone had a deal with to rent surfboards to guests of the hostel. As volunteers, we got a bit of a discount which made the price more bearable, but you shouldn't expect too much in terms of the quality of the board. That aside, I had only surfed once in New Zealand and a couple of times back in Cape Town. This was my time to finally make some progress with my surfing capabilities. For a large portion of my time, the swell was considered average by most individuals who could actually surf a bit better than the average Joe. However, this was perfect for me and other volunteers, guests, and anyone who was just in their beginner phase. I learnt a lot out there on my own, but also by just talking with people who were well-versed in the sport. I am happy with how my progression went, but more importantly, I am over the moon with the tranquillity that this sport gave me in terms of my headspace.

This experience has been difficult to put into words in this post, merely due to the fact that I want to share the intricate details of everything that I encountered. Alas, maybe that means I just have to do another post down the line! I want to express how beautiful the surrounding beaches are and how the pura vida lifestyle is something worth admiring. Instead, I have to conclude that you should see it all for yourself in your own time.

This was living. There was a lot to be learnt about the value of life and what is really important for self-growth; shared happiness.

Caught on film (Pentax K1000):