dominical, costa rica

i hadn't planned on staying so long in dominical. i had hoped to head down to the peninsula de osa, but if i did so, flights back were going to be crazy. i ended up spending more time in this fantastic town, and loving every minute of it. it was jam packed full of fun and eating lots of mangoes, and flew back, yet i did a lot!
i'll start with a later discovery--my love for surfing!!! i didn't discover this until after i met shaun. he offered to teach me surfing--and i have had offers before but for some reason, i accepted. the next day, super nervous (but knowing to at least wear a tank top while surfing--just swimming in dominical pulled my bikini top sideways and too many people saw my boobs!), i arrived at shaun's room. he showed me how to wax the board, and then i carried it down to the beach. he showed me techniques, told me when to paddle, showed me how to paddle, when to jump. i did it repeatedly and kept falling off and finally, he said, "one more time."

and then i surfed! i was standing up! of course it wasn't for long, but it was awesome!

we kept going for a longer time after that. it was super fun and i couldn't believe how much i loved it!

my final day, i decided to look for a surf school. i mentioned it to my rad friend brett, and this guy he was talking to turned out to teach surfing...we hit it off really well. i went back to his place (where i had chilled the first night) and i read a book he wrote abt surfing. then we surfed for about two hours and i was MUCH better! he was super impressed and said with practice, i could be an average surfer in six months--"and i don't tell that to anyone! you are one of my top five beginners." i was shocked. i had tons of fun, stood up only a few times, but it was SUCH a blast and such a high. it's amazing. i'm looking for a board now.

but i did other things! i swam, i relaxed on the beach. i talked with locals--surfers, ticos, others. i hiked at hacienda baru with forest, sharing special moments like you can see below.

one day, brett and i also hiked down to a waterfall on a trail covered with muck and mud and horse poop. it was worth it when we got to the waterfall--absolutely amazing.
i also took a day trip to corcovado national park which was totally awesome and amazing. the mangroves were really beautiful (on the boat ride there) and we saw monkeys and coatie (i am spelling that wrong). it was awesome.

i also met a lot of beautiful people--hippies, surfers, travelers, ticos. i met this amazing man below on our hike back up from the waterfall. brett and i chatted with him and he gave me bananas. he was so sweet and i miss him. he made the poopy trail totally worth it.