Costa Rica: Waterski in Tropical Climate
- maria.bristol
- Jan 15, 2019
- 2 min read
Written by Ria Bristol
Ever fancied a winter ski destination in a tropical climate? Waterski Costa Rica could be the perfect place to combine your passion of water skiing and experience some other fun activities.
You can fly direct, or transit from many cities, into Juan Santa Maria airport San Jose. After a few days of exploring the city, as a club skier, I started to feel my usual anxieties about skiing at a new lake with new people, especially as this was my first organised group ski holiday and I didn’t have to make any decisions!
Ski weeks tend to run from Saturday to Saturday on an all inclusive basis. This means transfers to and from the lake, ski sets, most activities, food (no alcohol) and accommodation are all included in the price you pay.
We were picked up from our San Jose hotel around midday on Saturday and made the 2-hour journey to our accommodation for the week, the Tilajari Resort, in Alajuela, 22 kms east of La Fortuna.
Our activity week ran from Sunday to Friday with skiing taking place in the morning and other activities in the afternoon. Expect early starts to get the best water, early nights after a full day of activities, and as it's tropical, some rain.
The site has two freshwater lakes both with slalom courses and whilst we were there we skied behind the Malibu, but they also have a Nautique. The early morning conditions were great and, even with some wind, the skiing was good. Wetsuits are not required as the water is warm. The lake is very pretty surrounded by palm trees, parrots and monkeys.
The site has a great deck to spectate from with hammocks and sun-beds for relaxation and lots of fresh coconuts to drink.
Lunches are taken at the ski lake or at a neighbour’s house – these are fresh and really tasty. Costa Rica is lush and produces year round coconuts, pineapples, papaya, oranges, bananas and cacao.
The afternoons are reserved for other activities such as horse riding, hot springs, zip wire (extra) and waterfalls, followed by an early dinner at a restaurant that Jim chooses.
As it turned out, I didn’t need to worry about anything, Jim organised everything, he caters for all levels of skiing and offers great coaching, often with guest coaches such as Corey Vaughan, Seth Stisher and more. Our fellow skiers from Canada and USA were very friendly and like-minded.
If you like a welcoming and friendly host, boutique skiing where guest numbers are limited and meeting new people from around the world, then it’s a great place to try – you can even combine seeing the amazing beaches and wildlife in Costa Rica.
A small word of warning, don’t wear anything white - the lake is iron rich and it won’t be white for long!
Find out more at: http://www.waterskicostarica.com
Comentários