COSTA RICA Pura Vida Dan Fischer

- Pavones is located on the extreme southern Pacific coast of Costa Rica (Central America) right above the Panamanian border. -Located just on the inside of southern half of the The Gulf of Dulce -Pavones is 400km from Costa Ricas capital and largest airport San Jose.

Costa Ricas seasons consist of Wet and Dry. Also referred to as High (dry) and Low (wet) from a tourist standpoint. Wet season ranges from June to December, and Dry from December back to June. Waves are typical good all year round however waves height vary as well as conditions. Major well season lasts from April to October but cleaner conditions can be found from December to April

Water temps in Costa Rice vary very little season to season with an average yearly variation of about 7 degrees Water temps range from 77 degrees to 84 degrees on the southern coast, so wetsuits definitely wont be necessary

Pavones works best on a south west or south/south west swell, due to its location on the inside of the Gulf Any swell From the west or From the north will be blocked by the Peninsula de Osa, shown of the map.

Due to its inside location, Pavones is referred to as extremely fickled. In other words it only gets good sometimes, and can often be flat with no waves. The best swell for Pavones is at least a 6ft to 10ft south west swells, but the majority of the time the swell is in the 4-6 foot range, as shown from the table. These 4-6 foot or smaller south west swells are often not enough to push through to the inside of the gulf where Pavones is located. The most common swell periods are around 16 second long period ground swells. Typically Costa Rica experiences long period ground swells all year round.

Pavones is referred to as one of the longest left point breaks in the Americas. The area where the waves breaks is almost a mile long, and on a perfect day, you can easily ride the wave this far. On any normal given day you can ride the waves about meters (Apx ¼ mile)

Pavones has sand and rocks on the bottom. The shoreline consists of cobble stone rocks which tapper off to all sand near the main break. Pavones acts like a reef break, changing very little in the way it breaks, however it is not, and the closet reef is miles away. The rocks along the shoreline help keep sand from moving around too much, making Pavones seem almost like a reef break

Most commonly people travel to Costa Rica in High season. The waves in High season, October-April (our winter months), are generally smaller but very clean with offshore winds lasting all day. If your looking for a bit more punch in wave power and wave height, April-October (our summer months) are typically the best swell season. However, most likely you will get good waves any time of the year

Airline prices are significantly lower during the months of December and January. Continental Airline Runs flights to San Jose from Newark about twice a day during these months. Example – -Departing - 7:25 a.m. Sat., Dec. 1, 2012 New York/Newark, NJ (EWR – Liberty) -Arrive - 11:50 a.m. Sat., Dec. 1, 2012 San Jose, Costa Rica (SJO) Total Travel Time - 5hrs 25mins Cost – $608

From San Jose you have two options to get to Pavones By Bus – From San Jose to Golfita, just north of Pavones, the bus ride is about 7 hours. From Golfita you can take a 4x4 taxi to Pavones in about another 2 hours. The cost is cheap, about 5800 colones or about $11 for the bus and another 5$ for the taxi. By Plane – For about 75 dollars you can take a small plane form San Jose to Golfita and then get a 4x4 taxi, a bit more expensive but definitely worth it. *Also keep in mind Continental Airlines charges $200 for a board bag EACH WAY, regardless of how many boards are in the bag.

Costa Rica experiences dominant offshore winds in the winter with smaller swell. In the swell season (April – October) the winds vary with offshore winds usually early in the mornings. Offshore wind at Pavones are from the North or the North East, directly opposite the south south west swells that come through As most surfing beaches experience afternoon onshore sea breezes, so does Pavones, so its best to get it early in the morning.

Generally, any tide works good at Pavones due to its reef like structure. The Tide effects the take off spot, moving it up and down the beach, but does not alter the length of the wave, or the quality.

Any board will give u a quality ride at Pavones. If youre the long board type, go for it. You can easily fit a big board in this open wave, and still be able to make sections and do turns. If you want the full effect however, a shorter more maneuverable board is ideal, offering you more versatility and things like deep barrels and hard top turns.

1. Crowd - On a good day at Pavones, you can count up to 200 heads in the water. If your not comftorable with crowd, this can make it not only frustrating but dangerous. 2. Sharks – Although rare, some species of sharks like to hang out around the river mouth and feed. Attacks are rare, but have happened before. 3. Water Quality – During the rainy season, a significant amount of rainfall can wash pollution down the river and into the surf area. Although the water can get dark, it usually isn't polluted. However some diseases and parasites have been found it the runoff before.

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