She told me she wanted to learn how to surf and had actually been out a few times. So on Thursday I had her use my other 8 ft board and headed for the girls express way - a channel between the waves that is easy to navigate - discovered and named after myself and Erin who was here with her now husband Chad in 2008. Often I can get out without getting my hair wet - I so love this.
Waves were kinda choppy and a bit much for Debbie. I decided right away - rather than risk her getting afraid or hurt - to bring her back in and insisted she take a lesson with Brett - asap. She agreed. I then went out - had a great time - caught a wave from way out.... right up to the beach. I so love it when this happens, which to be honest.....is not very often.
By late morning we were both starved and headed for the brand new recently opened "No Worries" hostel on the corner across from Super Sol - our grocery store. Roni and Sean are managing it. Sean is a true chef and beginning this week, No worries began serving breakfast on Mondays...maybe another day or two to be decided. I was there Monday morning as were a number of other locals. The usual "typical" breakfast was on the menu but so was chicken fried steak with gravy, "Hawaiian' breakfast - eggs over hamburger.....not the typical at all. Everyone was amazed and excited about the possibilities. This was Thursday. Sean was not the chef......today it was James. He pulled together a huge burrito for Debbie and french toast for me. Perfect.
By now.....I had the day planned for us. Debbie had told me she had not been to the Shake...or even that side of town. EO is truly not big at all but for some reason she had not made it that far. This was Thursday which is horseshoe day at the Shake Bar and Restaurant on the beach. I decided to take her there and introduce her to the guys who mostly come from Jaco to play and then..... check out the reef that holds a number of surprises.
After making a trip back home, showers and regrouping, we headed out again - walking across town - which my guess is maybe 3/4 a mile wide - not very big.
Just before we got to the Shake we came upon a horse fight. A young stud - just loose on the street was fighting with a stallion on the other side of a low concrete wall. I actually thought the stud might go over the wall and was very concerned. I tried to scare the young guy away but he was determined. Both horses were loudly screeching at each other. Within a moment, here came Alex from around the corner. He was more determined than I and managed to get the stud headed back up the street - but as we continued on our way, the horse made a quick turn and headed back for the stallion. Debbie and I just kept walking.
At the Shake I made the introductions. There was a number of people there I did not know and so I decided to take her out on the reef to show her one of the surprises it held. Well......the first surprise was a slip on the rock and a fall on her butt. This happened within a minute of me telling her to be very carefully as the reef gets very slippery when wet. Immediately after that comment she was telling me about her friend who just recently had a fall on the rocks and as she finished that sentence - she went down in a split second. Fortunately - very lucky - no broken bones.
As we reached the end of the reef, she still had no idea what we were doing out there - of course, looking down and being extra careful. I brought her to a rock -made her just stand there and look. There it was.......lovers rock. For those who have no idea of it's existence it is such a surprise - who would ever guess that in this little Tico village carved into stone - under water at high tide is this truly amazing piece of art. My understanding is it was carved about 15 years ago by a Japanese man. I don't know his name - I have no idea why - but there it is. Close to this sculpture, but much closer to land are a couple other carvings. I'm including photos of those in this blog also. All of them are just one more element that make Esterillos the magical place it truly is.
After wards, back to the Shake for a beer with the guys. Then time to get on with the tour. Next, we stopped for a photo at the shipwrecked boat. This boat also has an interesting short history. About 4 months ago a man from the states bought this sailboat in Tamarindo - up the coast on the Guanacaste Peninsula. His plan was to take it to Panama. Not sure what happened, but on the way, the mast broke and the boat ended up on our shore - not where it is right now but less than 1/2 mile up the beach. After being plundered......there it sat. The owner contacted an "expert" from the states who came down to help him get it back into seaworthy condition. Many a time I saw these 2 men sitting at LowTide drinking, discussing and contemplating just how this would happen. Each time I heard an idea - I who knows very little about boats - would just walk away wondering if these guys knew anything more than I. In the meantime, a number of repairs had been made including welding on the bottom. Finally a decision was made. Unfortunately I was not there to see this - but what they did was hook the boat up the 3 tractors and drag it down the beach to civilization - right where Minor and his family live. Pulling it across the sand might have been ok - but pulling it across the reef - seems to me any idiot would have known this was not a good idea. Sure enough, this decision resulted in the bottom being ripped to shit!!! And thus.......there she sits. It is a great conversational piece - sad sight to see. My guess is when it is completely dry - she will be lit up and burned to the hull.
By now, our little walkabout was almost done and the sun was setting. Another spectacular sunset was in the works. This tour is not complete without a visit to my lady - La Sirena. The timing was perfect and I got some great shots that captured the magic of the moment.
Welcome home Debbie - now you understand.............
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