Although we windsurfed in Costa Rica, the following information would be useful to kiteboarders as well.

If you're going to Costa Rica, do your homework. We went to Bahia de Salinas on the coast across the bay from Nicaragua. We were told to fly into San Jose where we would pick up a rental car to drive to Three Corners Bolaños Bay. Our rental car was not at the airport so we called the hotel. They told us to take a cab and they would wait up for us.

To make a long story short, five hours later, the cab driver pulled over in the middle of the jungle and said he was tired and we would go no further. I told him I was left in a Columbian jungle for three days once and there was no way he was leaving Jane, me and all our luggage in the middle of the jungle at 3:00 in the morning. I finally convinced him to go a little farther and, just around the next curve, was the road to Three Corners. Little did we know that it was another hour down one the worst roads we ever traveled. We finally arrived at 4:30 am. Despite our problems I would have to say the people of Costa Rica are some of the nicest and friendliest people we have ever met.

After our arrival things got much better. Our room was simple but clean. The food was incredible. The deal was $475 a week for the room, 7 days of windsurfing and all meals and drinks (including alcohol) were included. They had a gourmet chef who studied with a French pastry cook and everybody looked forward to the desserts. This is the best windsurfing vacation deal we've ever had.

The wind blew between 35 and 50 miles an hour side-onshore the whole week. The gear was first rate and all new. They had a gear hut similar to the hut in Aruba. We just kept downsizing as the wind increased. The bay was extremely choppy, sort of like a washing machine, until you got about half a mile out. Then you could sail for a mile or two in a couple of directions. You could even sail to a small island and rest.

We took a day and drove to Lake Arenal to sail. Unfortunately, the weather there was terrible. The fog was very thick, it was raining hard and we barely made it to the Tico Winds rental trailer. Between the mud and the giant potholes, our rented Toyota Corolla barely mad it. I did, however, manage to score a Tico Winds t-shirt!

Since windsurfing was out, we decided to go see the volcano. About half way there we turned around just before being swallowed by the biggest pothole I ever saw. You definitely need a four-wheeler if you decide to go there.

We also took a side trip to horseback ride through the jungle to see monkeys. This was a great adventure. The jungle was beautiful and we saw lots of Howler monkeys. I highly recommend it. We hadn't been riding for years so after four hours, we were glad to dismount.

After our arrival experience, we decided to take a small plane flight back to San Jose from a local airport in Liberia that was about an hour from Three Corners. If you go to Bahia de Salinas, this is the only way to go.

Overall, this was a memorable trip and a destination everyone should experience at least once.