Witch's Rock

After climbing out of the water at Ollie's we wolfed down a packed sandwich (marginal) and some fresh fruit (excellent) and guzzled as much water as we could get out hands on. We hauled anchor and headed south along the dry coastal cliffs of Santa Rosa. Numerous sea turtles lazed in the water and gave us ample opportunity to get a quick shot.

We arrived at Witch's and took a quick tour of the Rock as the guide explained that the local people believed the rock to be haunted. Though exquisite to look at, you can imagine that it's ominous presence could conjure up dark thoughts and perilous stories.

We anchored off of the 4 mile beach and paddled into the surf. A nice swell was coming in with a mixture of left and right breaks. For most of the afternoon there was no one but our group of 6 in the waves. We all got some good rides but the arms started to fade as the surf started to build. This is not a preferred combination! As the waves reached an overhead state, I began to sense that my strong paddle had diminished to a weak imitation of a dying turtle. Arms loosely flapping in the water. It was time to exit with some sense of dignity. The gringos dragged themselves out of the water and onto the boat, barely able to get up the ladder. The Ticos of our party continued to catch wave after wave. David and Jose amazed us with their ability to catch a wave, ride it all the way in and get back out and in position for the next wave of the set only missing one wave. They would do this continuously!!

They finally paddled back to the boat as the waves started to get "mushy".

We then had a 60 minute boat ride back to the beach. A FULL DAY!