CR Surf Happenings for August 2008
The Rich Coast – Costa Rica – 3 Points of View

TRAVEL – American Airlines is offering trips to Costa Rica for $229 RT from Miami and Fort Lauderdale on select dates in September and October. The BIG NEWS is that our partners at Tico Travel have an exclusive deal to bring one board for FREE round trip!  Contact us now at travel@crsurf.com to lock these rates in and avoid paying too much for boards and baggage.
If you need some Dakine luggage to get your boards and baggies securely to San Jose, check  your local surf shop, and if it’s not in stock, then go online to www.crsurfshop.com.  Find boardbags, books, backpacks, and straps- all you need for your next trip. And free shipping, too, anywhere in the continental U.S.
If you have not been to the CRSURF website lately, drop in to check out some of the new features. New artwork is being sent in every week, and the photographers keep showcasing the waves that we dream of. We also have created a Radio widget that plays commercial free Reggae Music 24/7 through Last.fm. And the new Costa Rica Google Surf Map has break descriptions for over 70 spots. It’s the place to go when you’re researching your next surf trip.
COMMUNITY –  Thanks to a big donation from a visiting surfer, Tamarindo’s Luis Castro will have enough money to pay for his knee surgery. Castro has represented the Witchs Rock Surf Camp team for years in professional contests, and they have helped him raise funds so he can keep on doing what he loves to do for a career.
In Playa Samara on the Nicoya Peninsula and near Puerto Viejo on the Caribbean coast, there are now opportunities to volunteer and teach English to kids through the program at Tropical Adventures. Don’t think you could teach English? Have no fear. They have a fool-proof system where they send you your material before you arrive and you’ll pick up where the volunteer before you left off. The instructions are simple and they are there to support you. If teaching is not your forte, then you can choose from wildlife conservation to community service programs as well. They also have opportunities for children to get involved. For more info, go to www.tropicaladventures.com.
The Caribbean Coast has been festive all month with its celebration of Carnival. There have been parades in the streets of Limon, lots of live bands, dancing, food, drink, and partiers. It wrapped up with a beauty pageant for the “Queen of the Carnival” and a big concert in the central park on Limon.
CONTESTS – The weekend of the 29th – 31st is the Costa Rica Federacion de Surf’s (FCS) Legend’s Contest, held behind the Terraza del Pacifico Hotel in Playa Hermosa. Attending will be some of the former Costa Rica champs, and others crucial to building the foundations of surfing in Costa Rica. On Friday the 29th there will be a luau celebrating the contestents which will be followed by a night surfing contest, open to all ages.
The BIG news is that in 2009 the ISA World Surfing Games will be hosted by Costa Rica. From July 31st to August 8, teams from over 40 countries will converge on the beach in Playa Hermosa to see which country is producing the top talents. Next year should be huge since many countries in Latin America have not been able to attend in year’s past due to lack of resources, so this opportunity so close to home will draw out the best in Central and South American surfers. CRSURF has set up a ‘hotel map’ of the area so anyone can preview the rooms and reserve spaces. Go to – www.crsurf.com/ISA09-hotels.html.
ENVIRONMENT –  The ComunicArt Festival was celebrated on the afternoon of August 8 in the community of Punta Banco, Southern Zone. It was the culmination of a development project by artists and educators in conjunction with PRETOMA, or the Programa Restauracion de Tortugas Marinas. The artists worked to involve the community’s children and adults during a month to carry artistic activities and raise community awareness about the need for the conservation of sea turtles and marine resources in general.

Utilizing recycled materials, community members designed costumes and jewelry for example elegant and fun earrings made from glass bottle tops. Clever puppets, made to represent the challenges that sea turtles face and how people can amend their actions to aid in their conservation, were also constructed. Also, Punta Banco’s community school was decorated with murals and paintings that depicting sea turtles, their life cycles, and the most pressing challenges they face.

“The community’s willingness to collaborate has been these events secret to success. It’s surprising how much even the youngest members of the community know about sea turtles”, said Ashlie Gaos, ComuniArt’s program coordinator.

The festival also served to inaugurate the community’s organic farm which will be cared for and cultivated by school children who are in charge of collecting the town’s organic garbage to use as fertilizer. Proceeds from the jewelry pieces sold during the festival will go towards starting up Punta Banco’s recycling program. To learn more about PRETOMA, visit – www.tortugamarina.org.

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