| Each
year when Spring Break is approaching, we sit down as a family
and discuss where we'd like to visit. We don't
take a lot of vacations, so it's always a big decision. Snow
skiing in Lake Tahoe or
New Mexico has been a couple of
our favorite destinations. But this year, we received a call from
Jim Kilsdonk, owner of Waterski Costa Rica, inviting us down to check
out his setup. Many pro skiers go to Jim's place each year because
of the great weather and chance to get a jump on the season.
We decided that Michele and I would go
to Costa Rica, and since Kathryn has been doing so well with her
barefoot training, she'd get the opportunity to go away for a week of
barefoot school by herself. Choosing the barefoot school for my 9
year old was easy. Ron Scarpa Watersports, run by Paul and
Jennifer Macdonald, was the 1st and only choice. I knew Paul,
Jennifer, and Ron would
make sure Kathryn had a great experience and more importantly, would be
safe and in an atmosphere she'd like. We put Kathryn on a plane
to Orlando, Florida where Paul would be waiting to pick her up and we
hopped a plane south to Costa Rica for a week.
 I didn't know what to expect.
I imagined being in a 3rd world country where everyone only spoke
Spanish and I wouldn't have a clue what was going on. One night I
had a dream that I got captured by rebels and held hostage. So
those were the images I had in my mind of Costa Rica.
As
soon as we arrived in Costa Rica, all my worries lifted. Jim had a driver pick us up at
the airport. We'd have about a 2 hour drive from the airport in
San Jose to the villa where we'd be staying. Our destination was near the
town of La Fortuna. The drive there was nothing short of amazing.
You're driving over and around a huge volcano to get to Fortuna, which
sits at the base of another volcano. There are farms and beautiful
scenery all along the way. Our driver would tell us about each
town and something about the culture as we drove. I can only
describe the scenery as being much like what we saw in New Zealand.
Lush tropical forests, sugar cane, pineapple, and coffee bean farms.
Small farm after small farm. People live off what they grow and
the towns are very small and quaint.
 After
the 2 hour drive, we arrived at the villa we'd be staying at.
The words :Buena Vida" were painted on the outside of the vila.
It translates to: "Good Life". In Costa Rica, you here "buena
vida" and "pura vida" a lot. In place of saying "Adios", they'll say
this which means wishing you a good or pure life.
Jim Kilsdonk
welcomed us at the villa and reviewed the daily plan with us.
He'd wake us up at 6:30 for coffee and fresh fruit. We'd
watch ski videos during coffee then head to the lake around
7:00am. It was a 15-20 minute drive from the villa to the
ski sight. In the US, it would be about 5-10 minutes, but
in Costa Rica, the highway is a 2-lane road. No
interstates. You share the road with sugar cane trucks,
busses, motorcycles, etc.... So you spend some extra time
following some slower vehicles, but the time flies due to all
the cool scenery.
What's amazing
about Costa Rica is when you get off the main road, it's just
bumpy gravel and rocks. No road signs. No addresses
because there's no mail service. No signs pointing the
way. If you didn't have a guide, you'd surely get lost
very quickly. So you drive down a back country road that
you'd easily mistake for a dirt road to nowhere, and all the
sudden you find a 5-star resort, or in our case, an extremely
amazing ski sight. We'd ski this site every morning.
After everyone had a morning set, we'd break for breakfast which
consisted of local fruit, juices, eggs, cereal, yogert, toast,
etc... Then back to the water for a couple more sets
before a noon lunch. Then back to the water again.
We'd ski so much our hands felt nearly bled. And that was
day 1. We had 5 more days to go.
Lucky for us,
Jim has more than skiing on the menu. Around 2pm each day,
he took us on an excursion and then capped the day off with
dinner at a local restaurant. We hiked the Arenal volcano,
relaxed in the natural hot springs, went zip lining, and horse
back riding. Other available activities included class
IV&V white water rafting, canoeing. 4-wheeling, climbing down a
500 ft waterfall, hiking the rainforest to see exotic frogs &
monkeys, boating down the river, going to the beach, and more.
The options were endless.
By the third
day, I could barely hold the ski line. So I borrowed a
pair of Clincher gloves and kept on skiing. Jim pulled us
on barefoot runs and gave us some great slalom instruction. He
took us to some beautiful & scenic places and introduced us to his local
friends who treated us to some amazing meals. It was
just a great time. One we'll remember for a long time.
If you're
looking for a great get-away, put Waterski Costa Rica on your
list of possibilities. Whether your a barefooter, show
skier, or serious slalom skier, you'll have an amazing time both
on and off the water. The best months to visit Costa Rica
is between Nov 1 and May 1. Rainy season is June-August.
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