The Inside Peak – Weekly Wrap Up 05.07.13

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Hello and welcome to another edition of the Inside Peak Weekly Wrap Up.
It is an absolutely gorgeous morning here in Playa Guiones. Clear blue skies, offshore winds and postcard-perfect water conditions have combined with a severe lack of crowds to make for an incredibly enjoyable morning surf session.

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This is how Tuesday morning in Guiones looks. How does your morning shape up?

After a topsy turvy week, weather wise, you could have been mistaken for thinking that we were back in the middle of the dry season (except for the lack of crowds). And with client numbers slowing down, our instructors have been able to get out for some free surfing of their own. As you would expect, they have been ripping! With surfers as talented as these guys (and girls), it is easy to see why we are still Costa Rica´s premier surf school.

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Luis flies…
nico
…and Nico gouges.
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Alonso with a nice turn.
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Kimber ripping on her backhand.
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With a few less students around I also got a chance to try out a few boards from our massive quiver… this is the 6´6 funboard – it is a real treat to ride!

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And when there are no waves, there are always fish! Alonso with one of his latest catches.

As always, our students have also been having a great time out in the water. Below is a selection of shots taken over the last couple of weeks:

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ray
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Owen doing his shark impersonation.

With things slowing down for the rest of the month, this will be the last batch of SSS student photos for a little while. A few of our instructors and staff are taking the chance to head off on some mini-holidays, with El Salvador, Nicaragua and Panama the most popular destinations. Even I will be heading to Bocas del Toro in Panama at the end of the week for my own vacay, so will be resting The Inside Peak for a week or two.
But before I tip out for a little while I should come to the last, but certainly not the least, segment for the blog. Keen followers of Safari Surf School´s Facebook page would be aware of a competition announced last Thursday, whereby fans were encouraged to subscribe and register for notifications from our page (as opposed to just liking it). Just to spice things up, we decided that five randomly chosen new subscribers would be rewarded with Safari Surf School t shirts. All sounds like a great plan, right? Well it was, and it came off without a hitch… except for one important issue. Due to recent changes at Facebook, we cannot actually see the new individual subscribers for our page. We can see how many there are, but not who they are. Thanks for nothing, Zuckerberg.
But of course, we still have these t shirts to give away. So, if you were one of the new subscribers and still want to be in the competition, comment on this page or write me an email (nick@safarisurfschool.com) with your name and details… first five to do so, win the shirt! This competition is only open to fans in North America (for postage and handling purposes). So, get typing, and as always make sure you keep up with our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for more exclusive updates and offers.
Peace and duckdives,
Nick.

The Inside Peak – Weekly Wrap Up 04.29.13

Top of the morning, afternoon and evening to you all and welcome to the Inside Peak.
As we move into the month of May (Already? I know, right!), our little coastal hamlet of Guiones continues to chug along at a comfortable, easy pace. After the craziness of a few weeks ago, client numbers at Safari Surf School and the Casa Tucan have also eased. While this means slightly fewer pool-side conferences, impromptu surf sessions and bar singalongs (I promise this actually happens) for those lucky enough to be currently visiting us, it also means more time for optimum relaxation and tranquility. And, there is still a whole bunch of good times to be had, both in the water and out.

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Whether it is with 2 of your best friends, or 200 of your best friends, Casa Tucan always delivers.

Anyway, let´s talk surf.
Steady pulses of WSW swell from the southern Pacific has seen a continuation of the mid-range swells from the previous week. The rain storms have eased off somewhat, only really hitting late at night and early in the morning. This means that the wind has shifted back into its standard pattern of offshore until around 10am, followed by light onshores and an afternoon glass off. With the swell not getting too crazy, our students have been able to really get out and make the most of the conditions.

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Owen going through some on the beach, last minute theory before hitting the waves.
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Nice drop on an outside bomb.
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Stylin’
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This move is called ´the dropped wallet´.

James at Surfing Nosara has again delivered the goods with his exclusive, weekly Safari Surf School video. This week´s edition also has some older footage from some of the big swells to hit earlier in the month, and it definitely worth a look if you haven´t seen it already.

Meanwhile, an awesome collaboration between Safari Surf School and our friends at HKTK clothing and apparel has resulted in a new range of SSS rash vests for our instructors that use 100% vegetable-based inks in the screen printing process. These inks contain absolutely zero environmentally hazardous or carcinogenic content, and the printing is done here in Nosara. Environmentally sustainable projects that support the local community like this form the core of what Safari Surf School is all about, so we are naturally incredibly stoked with the outcome!

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The finished product.
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Zac from HKTK weaving his magic.

Be sure to check out the HKTK Facebook page for more info on their products, and to support the local surfing scene in Nosara .
Now, for a slice of nature. Yesterday afternoon, my girlfriend and I were lucky enough to stumble across (almost literally) an Olive Ridley Turtle laying its eggs on the high tide line at Playa Guiones. This is the first time I have ever seen a turtle doing its thing this far south from Playa Ostional, but I am told that it is a relatively common occurrence. It was a real treat to observe such a rare and endangered animal in its native habitat, and it really does amaze when you think how much these gals go through to reach this stage of their life. The Olive Ridley Turtles are the species responsible for the Arribada, which is the mass nesting and hatching that takes place at Playa Ostional, just north of us, however obviously this particular turtle decided to go it alone down with us gringos at Guiones. Here are a few of the photos my girlfriend took (right when I had just pulled a backhand cheater 5 on my Robert August 9´6 in the shorebreak in front of her, mind you. But just kidding, I heart turtles).

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Having a dig.
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Having a kip.
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Locals only!

Best of luck to all the baby turtles that momma left behind last night, and if you happen to have a can of radioactive goo poured over you and turn into a Ninja Turtle, remember that Casa Tucan makes the best pizzas in town!

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Cowabunga!

And on that note, I will see you all next week. Surf safe!

The Inside Peak – Weekly Wrap Up 04.23.13

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Hello and welcome again to the Inside Peak Weekly Wrap Up.
Our prayers to the weather gods were answered on Friday night with the first rain in over six months falling. This is, I am sure, completely due to the will power of the millions of Inside Peak readers that I inspired to wish for the rain in last week´s blog.  Great work guys, we could not have done this without you. But in all seriousness, already the air is feeling so much cleaner and crisper, and the local flora has exploded into a million different colours.

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A welcome sight.

We are now settling in to a pattern of morning sunshine and offshores followed by afternoon and early evening showers, and then mostly clear nights. Beers are tasting cooler, waves are breaking for longer and everybody is looking even more attractive than usual. It is pretty much heaven on Earth.
The surf has been a continuous exercise in excellence. Dropping down to a much more manageable size after the large south swells of the past few weeks, the shape and consistency of the waves has been ideal. With crowd numbers thinning after the craziness of Semana Santa, our SSS clients have been able to get out and make the absolute most of the conditions. Check out some of our latest photos below.

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Sarah on a great left.
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Andy freesurfing.
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Chargin’
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Woops!
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Derek, picking right back up where he left off after a year out of the water!
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Elena showing some style.
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Kimber and Helberth with the Kids Camp kids!
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Cosmo, the lady killer.

And, as always, our good friends at Surfing Nosara have put together an exclusive Safari Surf School video with all of the latest highlights:

As many of you will be aware, surfing isn´t the only attraction when you make the trip to visit us in Playa Guiones. Safari Surf School offers a number of adventure and sustainability tours as extras to your surfing package. Just yesterday, I was lucky enough to join some holiday makers on a guided horseback tour of the coastal fringes of Nosara, starting from north Playa Guiones and travelling all across Playa Pelada and through to Boca Nosara.
With our tour starting at 4pm, an intense downfall at 3:30pm had a few of us worrying whether or not the tour would go ahead at all. Luckily, the rain cleared and we were treated to an absolutely stunning afternoon. After a quick familiarization with our horses (why the long face? etc) we set off on the ride. Feeling like extras from a Lord of the Rings movie*, our local guide escorted us across beaches, headlands, hills and mountains. A brief pit stop for a beer and sunset at Lagarta Lodge, home to one of the most amazing views you will ever have the fortune to see, was followed by a gallop back along the beach to avoid the next rain fall.

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Playa Pelada reflections.
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Lagarta Lodge vista.
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Happy honeymooners Brandon and Jane.
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Completely normal posing, perched on top of a 20 meter high cliff.

This is just one of the many adventure and sustainability tours that you can choose from when you stay with Safari Surf School, and is an absolute blast of a time. I highly recommend it.
Finally, you might remember from last week´s post that I was talking up a couple of secret spot missions that myself and a few of our instructors and clients have made over the last few weeks. Well, due to some “surfer´s code” type stuff it turns out I
can´t really tell you too much more about the waves that we scored. But, even though I have been sworn to secrecy, I am still going to post a WORLD EXCLUSIVE VIDEO from one of the trips. It is only a short clip, and definitely wasn´t one of the best waves ridden, but it still gives you a pretty good taste of the quality of this particular set up. And I figure that if you are still actually reading this far into the blog you deserve some sort of reward.
All I can say is that it is south of Ostional and north of Jaco, that you need a boat to get there and that we saw about five sharks on the trip out. But it was all worth it! This video features our resident Instructor and grouch, Owen, with filming credit going to Alonso.

Come and visit us in Costa Rica and we will show you more!
That is me done for the week, guys. As always, keep an eye on our Facebook and Instagram for some serious surf jealousy, and I will see you next week!
*Unfortunately Mount Doom and the Eye of Sauron were shut for the season.