Photo Blogging Early 2011 From Costa Rica With Tom Dugan Words and photos by Tom Dugan
Go to Costa Rica
over and over for many years and you are going to make some good friends while
you are there if you hang out in the same parts of the country. I enjoy going
to Pavones, Tamarindo, Playa Grande, Negra, and Jaco for the wide variety of
waves these different breaks offer. What you start to notice as you travel the
country is how many local surfers there are and how their passion for
surfing is so strong. They have their own surfing organization, Federacion de
Surf de Costa Rica, that holds many contests all over the country to choose their
national team that will represent Costa Rica in competitions throughout the
Americas.
Knowing a few of
the surfers in the Top 10 makes a photographer’s job easy when you are looking
to get some shots. But meeting their surfing hombres that they surf with day to day is really exciting, because
they may not all compete but their surfing level is off the charts due to the
sheer amount of really good waves scattered around the country. This year, we
extended our January-February stay to five weeks, and the waves in the dry
season were the best they have been in the last couple of years. Every day was
about the same: up at 5:00 a.m., coffee, wave check, and then off to the beach.
The waves never got under shoulder-high and there were only about three days
that were blown out — so basically there were perfect waves for the whole
stay. This allowed us time to really see some great surfing and meet a ton of
new locals.
The word got out
that there was a morning photo shoot going down each day, and good friend Diego
Naranjo was key in organizing the Tico surfers to come down each day and get
some shots. There were big days and small days, but the action was always at its
best. Costa Rican surfers really enjoy surfing with their friends, and that was
evident because they always travel with at least one or two other surfers for
each session. That makes for some funny antics out in the lineup, with everybody
pulling on each other, doing go-behind cutbacks, flying tackles, and just
fooling around, even when it was overhead.
They really enjoy their
time in the water and they know the next day again will be head-high and glassy,
so why not have some fun while you are out there? Seeing the locals rip the
waves daily was a real treat, plus meeting so many of them, getting to know
how they surf, and being able to get some great photos was the icing on the
cake. Check out the following photos, and when you are in Costa… say hello to
my little friend.
17th Annual Quiksilver King Of The Peak Set
To Go Down In Solid Northeast Swell Conditions On November 6th-7th By
Nick McGregor; Captions by Dick “Mez” Meseroll READ MORE…
TENS ACROSS THE BOARD Blue Skies, Thousands Of Surf Fans, Pumping Head-High Peaks, And Red-Hot Performances All Combine For Spectacular Final Day Of Quiksilver Pro New York
STORMY WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY Cory Robbed, Gabe Bounced, Bobby Suspended, Damien And CJ Out, Kelly Swept Straight Into Round Four… What A Couple Of Days In New York
