Ah yes!
Man o man, the stories I have from jaco! None of them are even surfing!

: :arrow: When we were going thru jaco it was actually nearly flat. We stayed one night and then continued truckin the next morning.
Checked hermosa, which was going off at like 8-10ft, but VERY crowded so we just skipped it aswell

. Roca Loca wasnt breaking when I saw it, but damn I bet it fires!
This was my 6th trip to Costa, and by FAR my favorite.
My favorite spots, in NO special order are:
Witches Rock: Uncrowded in the early AM (we were waking at like 5-30 due to time change hehehe) but by like 9 the f*ckers in the boats come in and hog it all. When you are paying for your admission to get into the state park which houses the break , the girl will tell you the trail (2hr drive)is un-makeable, but its BS, YOU CAN MAKE IT(NEED 4x4)! ANd it will be OH SO worth it, trust me! If you havent already hit that spot it is MAGICAL. Amazingly clear, warm water, black sand and of course the rock which is sitting less then a half mile from shore! Two friends and I paddled out to touch it, it was scary as hell

seriously though. Be ready to camp, bring essentials (tarps, lanterns, GOOD tents etc etc) and enjoy yourself! We caught it head high, I would love to see it at twice that!
Esterillos: just a super fun beachbreak, check out
www.ranchocoral.com (i think) for lots of videos and frequent surf reports. Really good wedgy nuggets, not crowded.... what more do ya need!
Matapalo/Pan Dulche: we caught the swell of the year at Matapalo and Pan Dulche, which is the point just around the bend from main matapalo. Both are right hand point breaks with rockyreef bottom. Matapalo was a solid 13-15' on the sets, just monsterous. it looked like slowmotion when it broke...heavy! Pan Dulche was better, a tad smaller but MUCH longer... a SUPER rippable right that reforms probably 10 times before it pitters out. By the time you are done on this wave your legs are SHOT! from what was being said, we got to surf the very best day of the year at pan dulche. matapalo was TOO big, couldnt handle the swell nicely. Kinda crowded but mostly beginners and novice's.... its crazy how many un-good people frequently get to surf good waves and still remain crappy! either way, highly recommended. Super nice environment, howler monkies all over the place, parrots flying through the air.....
CARIBE: Lemme let you in on a little known secret
, ITS NOT AS HEAVY AS EVERYONE THINKS! It truly was the shining 3 days of the 2 week trip. Its rasta's, so dont be surprised when you are surrounded by Black folk as opposed to the traditional hispanic type Costa rican you might expect. Everyone is cool though! The east coast is touted as being a tad rougher (burglary wise) but we went in with one busted window on our Montero and never had ONE PROBLEM. Its all about putting off the right vibe to the locals.... as with anywhere else. I mean of course there are bad spots, but follow your gut instincts and you SHOULD be ok. There are alot of UNCROWDED really good beach breaks all up and down the east side... And there are also spots like 'salsa brava' which are known to be deadly. The favorite, by a landslide, was isla uvita. It is a left hand point break with reef bottom and surrounded by dry reef. 3 peaks and it works in all sizes. We had it around 6-8 and the locals out there were telling us it gets like pipeline in the winter months. It was so sick, me being a goofy-footer (right foot infront), I was in absolute heaven! So many disgusting barrels...... undescribable! The island is about 1 mile offshore, onshore there is a SICK right that breaks against rocks but has a sand bottom. It was real heavy when we were there and were too tired from Uvita to surf it anyways. Very close-outish kind of wave, usually one big section for one huge turn or a punt...or just pull in and get pummeled!
I totally recommend costa, but make sure you are bringing people along with you who are capable humans.....no pansies. We had two guys actually leave early and miss the best waves!
caribbean > pacific