Malpais, Playa Carmen and Santa Teresa

Tranquilo backpackers... a great hostel if you want lots of people, entertainment, and free pancakes.
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We arrived in Malpais around midnight and had 2 places on our mind to stay.  Niel knew 2 girls that were staying at "Juicy Pasta" (so he recalled) and Adam heard to stay at Tranquilo Backpackers.  We came across Tranquilo first and walked in to find it full, but were offered 3 hammocks for the night for $7 a piece. Exhausted and needing to sleep we took it and crashed with the mosquitos outside in a hammock.

The next morning, we headed to the beach and surfed some of the easiest, most fun beach break I have had in Central America.  The break at Playa Carmen is pop-up A frames all over so crowds are spread out and good waves are everywhere.  That first session was amazing, as Niel and Adam and I took turns riding perfectly shouldered peeling waves all morning.

I need to learn Italian.. STAT!

Walk to the beach through the trees, monkeys and iguanas overheard
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After a breakfast of pancakes, we moved our stuff into an actual room downstairs and went looking for "Juicy Pasta" and Niel's 2 friends.  After walking 30 minutes towards Malpais down the dirt road and back up the beach, we discovered that "Tropical Pasta" was 50 feet the other direction from our hostel!

The friends of Niel's were 2 girls from Rome that he had met while traveling through Morocco 2 years ago.  We ate dinner together that night and spent the next several days surfing and partying together.  In an excercise in language barriers, Naoko spoke Italian, Japanese and some English. Arianna only spoke Italian and understood a little English but spoke none.  It became a running joke that the only way Adam and Niel and I could communicate with Arianna while surfing was with a smile and a wave. OH, and I should mention that she totally ripped. Ive never seen a girl charge as hard as little Italian Arianna into solid waves.

Sculpture of Life... thought it would be funny. I am not a sculpture of life.
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I spent 10 days in Playa Carmen and Santa Teresa.  While there we has a full moon party on the beach, with bonfires and fire twirling hippies, kinda reminiscent of the parties at Blacks in San Diego on the full moon with JD and the Ks.  We also went out to D&N, a local bar only open 2 nights a week for Raggae night and Hip Hop Night. I would love to have stayed in Playa Carmen for longer but without a job, it was very hard to afford. I was spending around $25 a day for room, food and drinks.  Definitely a must see if you are headed to Costa Rica, I can see myself buying property here and retiring.