Paradise FOUND? More like paradise LOST!

Sitting on the couch tonight, drinking wine and watching new episodes of Californication and Entourage, I became quite complacent and started perusing the October issue of Nylon (yes, I'm a little behind on my reading). I came upon an article on Tamarindo that made me a) wish I had written about Costa Rica first and b) wish a more realistic picture of Tamarindo had been painted.I spent a full month this summer in that ratty little town (save for a few nights in a true yuppy paradise, Nosara) and this image of the city as a found paradise in the midst of Central America can only come from having experienced it on crack. Although I can't vouch for that assumption...I've avoided it, living my life according to the age-old adage that "crack kills". But alas, I digress. Having learned to surf on Tamarindo's reasonably beautiful beaches, I willingly admit that the beginner surf in front of Witch's Rock is surpassed by no other, this being the allure of Tamarindo. And the nachos at Eat@Joes, heralded as being "as big as your ass", are likewise an excellent selling point. However, what paradise can be found ends there. Tamarindo is a little-big town, in the process of being overdeveloped with hotels and luxury condos, where finding a drug dealer (speaking of crack) or a hooker is as easy as finding a surfboard. In a word, the town is seedy. It's also populated for the most part by fratboys and jocks and their ubiquitously midriff-bearing female counterparts. When a surf town has club promoters handing you fliers while you try to enjoy a local casado, you know it's gone to shit. The real reason to go is the surf - where else can you sit on a board five feet away from Robert August? The truth is, there are numerous beautiful resorts outside the cities that provide the opportunity to explore the beach on horseback and watch the sun set on a catamaran, amongst other activities that so excited the author of the Nylon article. The saddest part is that, sitting on the beach at Tamarindo looking towards the increasingly developed terrain of cranes and condos, one gets a sense of what Tamarindo used to be, how lush the hills used to be with palm trees and vibrant flowers, before they were spattered with summer homes... a true paradise. Oh, to have been there 10 years ago!

Please note: Witch's Rock is an amazing surf camp with great food and great people. We've stayed at Witch's a few times and have definitely had great times, spending most of our time around the camp and out in the water. Although the town is ugly, the author gets it right in mentioning the mantra that a true Costa Rican visit includes extending your ticket at least once...I speak from experience.