It was during the time of the pandemic and the world was shutdown. That did not stop my pirate friend, David W from sailing from Mexico down through El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. Last time I had seen him was in El Salvador when we were closing the sale of the Mizata Point Surf Resort and we were able to reunite him and his two children. It was a great reunion and his son was then allowed to come live aboard with his dad….but nobody saw the complete lockdown of the world coming!
Shelter From the Storm
After the sale of the Mizata Point Surf Resort (now the Mizata Antiresort), we purchased a hotel ourselves in Popoyo, Nicaragua through our International Surf Properties brokerage. Owning and running the La Jolla de Guasacate was a dream for my wife and myself, but back to our story. We got the call from Dave and he had found shelter from the storm down at Playas del Coco in northern Costa Rica. He tried to check his boat in but the port captain said she would have to confiscate his boat if he did. Remember there was no travelling allowed at the peak of the pandemic madness, let alone sneak in from the sea with no vaccine shot or testing done.
Shelter From the Storm
We agreed to drive up from Pavones and board his boat for an adventure to Ollies Point. I hadn’t been to Playas del Coco, let alone the mysto surf spot of Ollies Point, made infamous from Colonel Oliver North making his base there during the Nicaraguan civil war between the Contras and the Sandanistas during the 1980’s when Colonel North, and the United States, smuggled weapons from his base in Costa Rica to the beaches of northern Nicaragua. I was excited to say the least.
I’m Melting
We met Dave and his 12 year old son, Zach at the basketball courts on the beach. Zach was skateboarding around us as we made plans for the provisions for our trip. Capt. Dave told us we needed to really load up on ice because the generator wasn’t working and there would be no electricity; which meant no refrigeration or running water! All I could think of was warm beer and rotting meat. It’s a pirate’s life I shrugged.
Sea Turtle Adventure
The trip out there was phenomenal as we sailed past the islands at the mouth of the bay and then on past Witch’s rock on our starboard side. As we glanced at the glassy conditions we started to spot sea turtles. Not just a handful of sea turtles but a over a hundred dotted the horizon. As we approached each they would look on with curiousity and then dive out of view. It was a spectacular phenomenon to see so many in one place.
Surfing with Sharks
The arrival to Ollie’s was just as exciting as we saw white water along the north shore of the bay. There was a small swell and the waves looked fun. There wasn’t a boat in sight. Capt. Dave agreed to drop me off while he anchored in which I caught mini Ollie’s Point screamers I had heard so much about. They were perfect, little zippy right handers and I was happy. So exotic surfing in the middle of nowhere with a natural amphitheater of a rocky headland and jungle. Capt. Dave joined me for a couple but he had not been surfing much over the Covid down time and he could be heard grumbling how he surfed G-land at fifteen foot plus and never missed a wave. I pointed to a bull shark seemingly feeding next to the shore in a frenzy. He laughed and said it was a baby and not worry his mom was out here in the lineup waiting for one of us to fall and feed to her young. He had a sick sense of humor.
Fishing for Crocs
After lunch and a cold one we decided to explore a little. We knew there was a river mouth we could paddle into and perhaps catch something to eat or see an exotic Nicaragua animal. I loaded up my wife on the SUP and fishing poles to see what might be in there. The waves were breaking at the rivermouth and little Zach decided to surf those waves while we paddled deeper in the river. After jumping and playing in the fresh water we trolled around the widest part of the river to see what might be there. Liz caught a nice rockfish and as she brought it to the board she literally said she felt something was watching her. She screamed at the sight of a crocodile and I saw the splash. That was enough frollicking as we raced back to shore.
Searching for Jaguars
We informed Capt. Dave and he quickly grumbled it was probably a little one (if we saw one at all) and to stop whining. But we noticed he stopped fishing at the river mouth pretty quickly after that. Hmmm. On to more exploration as we hiked the beach and saw very large jaguar paw prints and a torn up turtle shell. It got real as we scanned the beach horizon for any sign of the big cat. The captain told us they were more nocturnal and not to worry as it was probably chasing “the supposed” crocodile we had just seen.
Dinghy Time
We chilled back on the boat with our lines in the water as we watched the point surf, which had all but gone flat. Capt. Dave said he had a secret spot and we could troll for fish on our way out there. We loaded up the dinghy with and off we went back around the corner. The coastline was spectacular with the contrast of the jagged dark rocks dropping into the deep blue water. The birds dove for their dinner and what lurked below we thought.
Captain Dave’s Secret Spot
We arrived at the surf spot and I was surprised because it was bigger than Ollie’s and looked a little more intense with boils around the take off zone. We anchored and I paddled in while the rest of the crew fished from the boat. The water color was crystal green in the lips as it jumped out of the deep blues of the open ocean. I was a bit initimidated with each take off because of I could see clearly each and every boulder head under water. It was a sensory extravaganza!
Surfing with Sharks
While I am just getting into the flow with the waves I hear Capt. Dave yelling “shark, shark”. I didn’t get too riled because I saw they weren’t pulling anchor to get me and could hear Dave laughing in between each yelling of “shark”. They had caught a bull shark off the boat was all. More fun in paradise.
The trip ended too soon as we pulled anchor the next day and back to the reality of living in the jungle while working onour next real estate deal. It’s a rough life but somebody has to do it. Join Us!
