Have you ever bought a surfboard?

Yea, me neither, but Shaun has! In fact, we spent the first week in Tamarindo on the hunt for the his Surfboard.

With amazing waves and a multitude of beaches, surfing is obviously big business here in Costa Rica. One of the main reasons we decided to start out our trip on the Pacific Coast was so that Shaun could surf his little heart out.

I could go on, about a subject I really know nothing about, but instead, I’ll pass it over to Shaun to give you the run down of his surfboard purchasing experience.

I had a couple surfboards at home, but figured it was going to be a couple hundred bucks to bring them on the plane. So instead I decided to buy one when I got down here. This backfired the day I got here and all I wanted to do was go surfing but I didn’t have a board. We arrived on a Tuesday and I wasn’t in the water until Thursday. I searched all the board shops, and checked the rentals to find something to use in the interim. However, on Wednesday afternoon I found a board that was for sale, but they would let me rent it by the day to try. I went back Thursday morning and picked it up to try it out.

It was a JS Industries Occy Bullseye 6’0 Model. It has some extra width to it and a round pin tail. I really liked it because it helped get my slow ass into these smaller waves. I surfed it for three days. The last day the conditions were quite good and I was pretty much sold on it. It was bigger than what I expected to get but it is almost new and I figure I could easily sell or trade it in later on if need be. 

I bought the board and grabbed a cheap travel bag a few days later. So far I still love it. I’ve had it over a week now and I’m pretty stoked with my decision. Plus it has a bulldozer on the front. I know that would at least make my dad happy.

The board! It needs a name don’t you think?

I probably could have gotten a cheaper board as there was decent mix of shortboards here in Tamarindo. Last time we were in Costa Rica, I bought a board in Jaco that I really liked and took back to Canada with me. Talking to the guys in the Tamarindo surf shops it seems like Jaco is the place to go to buy surfboards. It did seem like they had more to choose from. Tamarindo has a decent selection you just may end up paying a bit more than if in Jaco. If I had known this before, I probably would have just brought my board from home. That being said I’m fairly pleased with my board.

My surfing skills on the other hand need some work. Fortunately we have some time. And after Kate got her first wave a few days back I’m hoping to get her hooked on surfing. Then we can focus the trip on what really matters… surfing.

Thanks Manfriend, it turns out if you give him a subject he loves, he’s more then happy to guest post, and who knows…maybe I will turn into the glittery surfer girl!

Leave us some comments if you think Shaun should do more posts! What do you want to hear him talk about??

Pura Vida!

Kate