Hi!
I’m back from Costa Rica, my happy place and the only place where my brain finds stillness. For the past 4 years, my closest friends and I have rented a house and worked from a warm part of the world. During COVID, we stayed for a few months, but with life back to normal this has turned into a few weeks. During my darkest days work days last fall I would count down the hours to this special time “I just need to make it to January 10th”, I would say to myself between zoom calls. This is the trip that puts me back on my feet and saves me from burnout year after year. I’m feeling pretty mushy about being back, but I’ll probably live!
I almost missed my flight because I went surfing one last time - my 34th time this year thus far. I constantly get a ton of questions about surfing, how to start and where to go, so here are some answers!
Let me first preface by saying that I am by no means a great surfer. I started surfing two years ago and have been extremely inconsistent with it - the time and energy commitment it takes to live on the East side of LA and make it out a few times a week doesn’t align with my work life, and I don’t need another thing to feel bad about not doing 100%. The minute I decided to learn to surf, I established some ground rules with the prison that is my head sometimes: surf is for fun and for feeling good only. A quiet place where electronics cannot come with… And if we’re talking about a happy place, I would much rather it be the 86 degree wave of Costa Rica one month a year than the very crowded points of Malibu a few Saturdays here and there.
Before going on my first surf trip, I put in the work and learned with a few local surfers in LA, good enough to get me hooked. It’s on my first longer surf trip in Nosara, with the very patient OLA girls, that I made tangible progress, building my shoulders to a point where I could paddle myself into my own waves, the endorphins building every time I got pushed by the water and up on my board all the way to the shore.
The silver lining of being almost 33 and single is that all my time outside of work is my time. Something I’ve learned is a huge contributor to my happiness is learning new skills. For the past few years, I have made it a goal to try something new every year: making pasta, playing tennis, learning to surf. I don’t need to become a master, but get to a good enough place where the skill becomes a hobby, and folds into life. My grandmother taught herself foreign languages and spent her retirement years traveling, hiking and teaching kitchen tricks to her very lucky granddaughter (me!). She left us way too soon, so I’ve decided to get an early start on enjoying life. How you spend your days is how you spend your life, remember?
On this 4th annual winter-in-the-sun, my friends and I rented a house in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica, specifically the North edge called Hermosa. Winter is their dry season, the heat is manageable and the water is in the 80s. We had previously spent a few winters in Nosara (Casa Gloria, our heaven!!) but ultimately liked the surf better in ST: there are many surf breaks meaning even with changing winds and tides, there is almost always a great surfable wave on any given day. We were also ready for a slight change in “après-surf” - ST draws a young and international crowd and boasts many, many restaurants.
The center of town, Santa Teresa proper, is underwhelming: a single dusty strip buzzing with cars and quads, with many restaurants and not much else - but the more you visit the more places you’ll discover and the more you will fall in love with Costa Rica, too.
The Black Book
This list is by no means exhaustive, I am not a travel agent! I added all my favorite spots (30+!) to my Amigo profile - my favorite travel app. It's free and you can skip the waitlist with the code MELANIEGO.
Before You Go
Get everything ahead of time as there is little to purchase in Costa Rica. I’ll start with the bad news: the beaches and especially the parking lots are filled with pick pockets that will figure out how to swiftly open you car to steal your phones. Bring an old iphone or a backup if you’ve got one, or leave all the phones with a non-surfer in your group on the beach. The roads are really rough so if renting a car, make sure it’s a good SUV. If you are a beginner to intermediate surfer it is almost never worth bringing your surfboard with you.
Hotels/Places To Stay
There are few hotels and many Airbnbs / serviced homes both close to the beach and in the hills (which I prefer for how quiet they are. Some recommendations from friends who live there: Mint (Hotel in ST), Villa Encanto (Hermosa), Lua Villas, Blue Mist, Nomadikas, Nantipa (Hotel), Batik, ECocoon (opening soon!) and the very low key beachfront Casa Cecilia where I spent a few weeks last year.
Breakfast & Lunch
Mantarraya Cafe right by Hermosa beach for pre-surf coffee! One of the owners, Charlotte, is french and her mini croissants are cute and crispy (like me)! A new favorite that opened this year is Brekkie: get the breakfast tacos, juices and shakshuka. The bakery has the best bread in town (keep it in your freezer and toast it - no food stays crunchy in this weather!). Zwart cafe - great french toast with chatty owner. Ani’s Bowl, solid hangout spot and dining room. I love their “Nice creams”. Earth Cafe for juices. Muchacha for a great lunch burrito. De Raiz on the Manzanillo side (they deliver!). If you need any food delivered that wouldn’t otherwise, call Thony (+506 6246 4001).
Groceries
Green World is the best natural store. La Pesca is a vanity Grocer with amazing fresh fish. Depending on what they have, the fruit shop next to Chicken Joe’s can really hit! And weirdly the ceviche at Chicken Joe’s is very good. There’s a Saturday Farmer’s market but I never made it there - whoops!
Dinner
Tons of great sushi and Japanese spots: Nami (favorite sushi!), Katana (get the fried chicken bao), Koji’s (Santa Teresa one, not Hermosa one which is a little sleepier) seems to be the popular spot for group dinners. My friends and I loved the roadside Indian Hola India, there is something so counter intuitive about craving Indian food in Costa Rica but what can I say. We got it for delivery many times, it is objectively better than Maharaja Bhog a few blocks down. Both deliver. Bajo el arbol is a cute date spot (the food is ok) and my favorite grill / steak is Casa del Mar. Corazon is as swanky as it gets meaning not all that much! The interior is beautiful and the menu used to be vegetarian but now offers a variety of small plates. There’s even a mini club in the back called pasión but I don’t have much feedback there, obviously. Convivio is a new tapas restaurant owned by restaurateurs from Montreal, the food (and apparently smoked pineapple margarita) were excellent. If you’re looking for something very very low key, as in shoes are optional, go to TP8 in Hermosa. The special is usually Mahi-Mahi, but the calzones and pizzas are really good. We liked takeout from Chicken Joe’s or Kooks (A+ brisket).
Excursions
Lunch at Playa de los Artistas in Montezuma. This is worth the drive! We went there and had a 5h Sunday lunch. Everything is incredible. There is a waterfall nearby if you want to make a day out of it! You can also drive 20 min toward Cobano to Hacienda Okhra in time for a farm-to-table sunset dinner. You can message Graham to book at +506 8642 3735. North of Hermosa near Manzanillo is an incredible ranch called Ario which is bigger than Manhattan. The horses are incredibly well trained and they’ll take you on a ride around the beach and jungle.
Yoga
Stefano and Nancy rule this town (fun fact: they used to be married, and both are hot and steamy and specialize in tantric yoga). Stefano teaches at Florblanca and Nancy teaches at her new studio House of Shakti in the Santiago hills. Their classes are great. Our favorite instructor in Santa Teresa was Amelina. She is also a thai masseuse and does strong but incredible adjustments. She’s hosting a few retreats around the world soon and I am more than tempted to finally make the trip to Bali with her.
Shopping
A break for your wallet! There is almost nothing to buy in Santa Teresa, except for the beautiful sarongs, towels and robes from Tash. Getting anything delivered is impossible.
Beauty and Massages
Brilen (+50688136567) at Spa Paraiso will come to your house. Miguel gives a stronger, more therapeutic massage, but both are really great and can adjust to your preference. There’s a place in front of Banana Beach for nails or you can just message Marisel at +50688610621.
Fitness & Tennis
A highlight of my trip was working out with Albert: incredible instagram handle, even better training skills. He works out of the gym at Pacific Dreams which has a whole compound including tennis courts - if you’re looking to play you can just go and speak to the guard there to book a court. Florblanca also has tons of yoga and pilates options. I also really love my pilates class at Somos with Shani, and heard great things about Julie.
Transportation
If you need a reliable driver to take you to the airport, call Daniel +50687791572
If you’re going soon, I’m jealous! Maybe you will find my headphones on the first dirt road up after Blue Mist.
Cheers!
Melanie
Do you have Nosara recs?
Amelina is the best!! Also the green smoothie bowl from Eat Street, still dreaming about that. 💛