Malpais - Costa Rica

I had my reservations about going to Malpais. The Planet describes it as a surfers paradise but nothing special if you don't hang 10. This posed two problems for me. One, I am not much of a surfer and even though I am always willing to give it a try, I couldn't see myself falling in love with it and wanting to do it everyday. Second, I don't much like surfers and surfer towns. In my experiences in California and other places, they tend to be clicky and have an elitist, even snobby, attitude. But, having talked with more than a few people who had been there and loved it, I thought I would give it its fair chance.

Malpais is not like other tourist destinations in that it's not actually a town, but a series of small collected hamlets stretched out along a long dirt road for about 3 or 4 kms. Driving along in a bus, you'd pass by a collection of hostels, a bar, a pulperia (shop) and a few eateries before the road would dwindled off into forest and beach again for a few minutes until you came to the next encampment. But what it lacked in centrally located enmities it made up for with it's accommodations. One in particular.

Tranquillo backpackers is probably the best hostel I've stayed at in all my travels. Only a few years old, the place is brand spanking new with clean bathrooms (co-ed), a huge kitchen, sturdy beds, and a fresh coat of paint that gives you the impression that you're staying at a upper class hotel and not a $12 dorm room hostel. It gets better. They offer free Internet, a big plus for me since I spent a lot of time writing to you guys, free pancake breakfasts every morning, that you make yourself, and boy did I. I'm talking about pancakes as big as a car tire. It also had a pool table, ping pong, and DVD library, all for free! And, the icing on the cake, it every spare corner of the place was lined with hammocks. It had everything you wanted.

Plus, the surfers that I dreaded so much turned out to be some of the coolest, nicest people I've met on my travels thusfar. I made more than a few freinds who I would gladly invite to crash on my coutch in Cali and who extended an invitation for me to do the same if I ever found myself in there neck of the woods. Likewise, the town itself had an non nonse and unpretensious vibe that was evedent from the onset, just look at the restaurant signage.

The only problem was, that is all there was. After spending a week there, surfing or swimming in the mornings, lounging around in hammocks in the afternoons, and socializing over pool, and card games in the evenings, I began to get a little restless. Plus, though I never thought I'd say this, I was beginning to get a little sick and tired of pancakes. So, along a Swedish guy I had befriended there, we decided to move before we got adult onset diabetes from the sugary breakfasts and coconut cocktails.