Pink Boy

this weekend i went to the beach!  i thought we were going to Jaco, which is well known for having lots of tourists, huge hotels and prostitutes, but instead we went to Playa Hermosa.  the beach is south of Jaco 5 km, and is less touristy and bad.   on the way over we went over this bridge and noticed that all these people were looking over the edge at something.  we stopped and investigated.  Crocodiles!  there were probably 10-15 of them and they were big.  we took tons of pictures and left to continue the nice drive through the green coastal mountains.  we got into playa hermosa at dark and checked into the Rancho Grande.  the hotel had this outdoor living space with a pool table and an outdoor kitchen.  there were lot's of surfers lounging about smoking cigarettes and drinking.  we got into our room which was very hot, unpacked and headed out for dinner.  the place we went to was a block away from our hotel, it was outdoor seating and had some delicious meals on their menu.  i got the mahimahi which came with a mango-papaya salsa and grilled vegetables.  it was the best fish i have ever had, no doubt about that.  after dinner the gang went to the beach, a couple of them dove right in to the black waves, i chose not. it freaks me out.  we just sat around and talked and got ice cream after a while and crashed back in the room.  in the morning i woke up at 6.30 am and was the only one up.  i went out and was in search of a breakfast bar.  i walked past the same place we ate the night before and noticed that they were serving breakfast, so i pulled up a chair to the bar and ordered the best tasting banana pancakes, 3 of them.  after that i walked out and noticed that there were tons of iguanas running about the street and up on the walls.  i took some pictures and headed back to the surfer grotto in the hot sun.  a couple hours later the sleepers were up and ready for the surf.  the sand was very hot, it was a black sand beach. there out in the waves were lots of surfers.  the waves weren't huge, but they were big enough to catch a wave and body surf in.  did that for several hours and got very sunburned.  sleeping that night was painful, every time i flipped over my body would burn.  i am still suffering and very pink.  later that day we decided to go into Jaco, just to check it out.  it was awful.  so many tourists and fastfood joints.  why would you come to Costa Rica to eat the same gross food you eat back in the states?  there were a bunch of high-rise-hotels.  i didn't feel like Costa Rica. it felt more like a small wealthy beach town in southern california.  ugh.  jaco was bad.  we ate again, i had civiche (raw fish cooked in lime juice) and then watched a much-awaited beautiful sunset.  surfed more in the morning, and headed back making a quick stop to feed the crocs some spicy sausage.  that was fun.