Some Kind of Paradise

Costa Rica has always seemed like a good place to go. An abundance of waves, wildlife, nature and warm water had always beckoned. We were speaking with our friends at House of Somos and they convinced us to get on down to Santa Teresa to check out paradise ourselves.

We landed in San Jose, walked over to the domestic terminal and got straight onto a little half hour charter flight over to Santa Teresa. This is where the jungle spills out from the land straight into the Pacific Ocean. But not the cold Pacific of the US - the face of the Pacific here is tropical and warm with clear blue water and consistent head-high surf. Oh and the wind is off-shore every morning… Although there’s a handful of surfers out in the water, you can paddle up or down the beach to find an empty peak to yourself. Or if you despise any semblance of a crowd, you can get on an ATV or motorbike and rip around to any of the multiple beaches in this zone to score more waves for yourself (you greedy pig).

Santa Teresa is a small beach town located at the tip of the Nicoya Peninsula - one of the five blue zones of the world. What’s a blue zone? Those are places in the world where people live longer than the average. That’s right - this place sustains life better than most places. Costa Rica is widely referred to as the happiest country in the world… you live longer and you’re happier there.

We were fortunate to be holed up at The House of Somos - the spot in Santa Teresa. It’s everything you could want in the surf town at the end of the road... tattoo shop, surfboard rentals (good ones, no wave storms on this rack), in-house shaping and glassing bays to produce surfboards there as well as a full bar & restaurant (they call it the Somos Cafe, but it does it all). This place goes off - in the morning you can find ex-pat "digital nomads” sipping a fresh smoothie and tapping away on their laptops and by night there could be a DJ set with a line of people outside trying to get in. One thing I learnt during my time there is that there are many faces of Somos.

One thing that’s obvious when walking around House of Somos is that this isn’t just a venue. It’s a cultural oasis in the jungle. They’ve launched an artist in residency program where artists can come stay and work on a body of work in Santa Teresa. While we were there we spotted Allegra Pacheco’s series “Imaginary Landscapes” decorating the walls throughout the place. Add to that the tattoo studio, shaping bays and live music it’s a god-damn good time for all.

We were quick to hire an ATV. This was a must - getting to private beaches, hiking trails, natural reserves and local waterfalls all required it. Luckily, you can rent one at the front desk at House of Somos. Also the dirt roads around Santa Teresa are balls, so having the traction and power of a quad is nice.

We took the bike about half an hour away across the Dog House Shortcut to Montezuma waterfalls. Even in dry season, there was an impressive amount of water cascading down multiple waterfalls - all which lead down the track to the ocean.

Three of Allegra’s works in the room. It’s nice to stay in a place that curates the art on the walls as well as Somos does.

Hiking around the jungle we came across a bunch of rad little waterfalls and swimming holes to jump into.

Falls like this are only 20 minutes away from House of Somos.

Coming from cold Californian surf, I was excited to get in the water. The waves here are good. Consistently good. It’s a stretch of beaches with multiple peaks you can choose from. Our man in the know said that the points light up on bigger swells (May - Nov) however the beachies were more than enough for the week. I didn’t take many shots of the waves, it’s the kind of surf you can’t look at for too long without having to get out there. But take my word for it - the surf’s fun. It was every single day we were there.

There’s some unreal beachies right out front. These photos shot by Ezequiel Rivero show the type of waves you can expect in Santa Teresa.

The very talented Micah Beutz was visiting from California too. He was busy in the House of Somos shaping bay the whole time we were there. Go check out his boards here.

The studio of Good Life Tatto within House of Somos. How many hotels boast a tattoo shop?

Thanks to House of Somos for the hospitality. We couldn’t recommend this place more. Book your Costa Rica adventure now over at House of Somos.