Malpais News and Articles

December 30, 2011

Punta Barragona is one of the most beautiful spots in Malpais and yet hardly anyone ever goes there because it’s difficult to find. The point is a huge rock, and there are surf spots on both sides of it (Mar Azul and Bahia Barragona). In front of this giant rock is an amazing set of tidepools. Check out photos of them here: Costa Rica tidepools.

Next to the point is a huge flat grassy area. Most of it is public land, and there’s rarely anyone ever here.

To get here, drive from the Playa Carmen area south into Malpais, and when you see a large sign on the right that says “Mar Azul”, turn right towards the beach. Go to the ends of this road and go to the left. You’ll feel like you’re driving into someone’s driveway, but you’ll exit onto the grassy area, and you can park out there underneath a palm tree.

To your left will be a beautiful protected cove with hardly any waves, which is in direclty in front of the well-known luxury villa rental March House. At low tide, it’s mostly rocky, but at mid/high tides, it’s a gorgeous white sand beach with hardly anyone on it. It’s very safe for kids.

On the other side of the cove is a mellow lefty point break inside the bay, which is good for beginning surfers.

High on the hills up above, you can see various villas such as Mel Gibson’s house, and both Casa de Amor and Villa de Amor.

This is a great place to go on a day when you’re surfed out or want to spend the whole day on a tranquil beach without a lot of people around.

Los Suecos means, “The Swedes” because of the Swedish family that lived down by this beach years ago. Los Suecos, also know as “the secret beach” is one of the truly hidden gems of the Malpais / Santa Teresa area, and isn’t visited by many tourists.

People who have lived in the area for years come to this beach because of it’s beautiful white sand, it’s extremely photogenic beauty, the best snorkeling on the southern Nicoya peninsula, and its amazing tidepools. It’s also located next to the epic Sunset Reef surf spot.

To find it, drive past the Fisherman’s beach at the very southern end of Malpais and just keep going off to the left. You’ll know you’ve found it when you see a gate. This is Cabo Blanco National Park, but this entrance to the park isn’t open to the public.

Park near the gate and find a trail winding down to the small beach. It’s a very safe place to swim. A rock reef protects the beach so no large waves make it inside.

On a good day, the water can be very clear here. I’ve seen octopus, several species of eels, a turtle, a gigantic ray, lobsters, giant hermit crabs, and lots of fish species. The proximity to the national park, where there’s (theoretically) no fishing means that there’s more sea life here… at least until the spearfisherman kill them.

A picture is worth a thousand words, so I’ll leave you with a set of photos taken from various trips to Los Suecos:

Malpais and Santa Teresa have a great snorkeling spot at Playa los Suecos, which is located at the southern end of the Malpais beach road.

For scuba, however, there are a couple of dive outfits in the general area that will take you to some spectacular locations.

Tortuga Island is known for its beautiful beach and hordes of tourists, but the waters in the area are great for scuba diving. You can see whale sharks, dolphine, whales, octopus, white tip reef sharks, and large schools of fish.

This area is the only place in all of Central America that has THREE shipwrecks. Costa Rica shipwrecks that are suitable for diving occur in very few places in the country, so if you’re into wrecks, this is the best opportunity in the country to see them.

There are also great dive spots around Tambor and Montezuma in various rocky reefs and coves, as well as a great spot off Cabo Blanco.

Scuba Dive options:

Anamaya Yoga Retreats – Anamaya offers week-long yoga retreats that include scuba certification classes, or just go for a couple of scuba sessions during your stay there.

La Escuela del Sol – Scuba Certification program that can include yoga, spanish language classes, and other add-ons.

The best way to do Scuba Diving however is just to call Michele (pronounced like “me-KEL-eh”) who is the Italian boat captain with the best scuba experience and boat in Tambor Bay. You’ll have a great time with his crew of Italians and Argentians, and they offer a great CMAS scuba certification program. Michele’s # is (011 506) 8823-0831

Dr. Neill Wight
BSc MSc dc, Dra. Nina Sawczyn BSc MSc dc
Telephone (011-506) 2640-0085

Location: Santa Teresa, north of the center of town, next to Tanogas.

I highly recommend Neill Wight’s services as a chiropractor. His knowledge and skill are excellent… better than any chiropractors I worked with in the United States. If you have back or neck pain and haven’t had chiropractic work done before, then please do yourself a favor and go to Neill. You’ll have nearly instant relief from most pain… no need for painkillers or just toughing it out for days.

Dear Friends & Neighbors,

I hope all is well.

In 2010, during the AVSTN’s 1st year we were able to formally register our non-profit neighborhood group with the original round of membership dues.

We raised over $ 1,300- with a local charity event at Tropico Latin Hotel on Dec., 4 to connect a new (1st ever) computer lab for the Escuela Santa Teresa, and still have funds for future educational projects.

We also made great strides with regards to resolving the water dilemma in NST.

Although there are still no liquid results, for the fist time in the history of the town an official ASADA (community water board) was legally formed, holding the ASADA legally responsible for it’s actions.

Everyone’s monthly water payments now are being entered into an AyA (Acueductos & Alcanterias) approved software system, also holding the ASADA legally accountable for it’s actions…

We also solicited and received support from the AyA’s Regional, Central and Legal offices, as well as the Ministerio de Salud.

We have attended numerous ASADA meeting, which take place every Tues at 4pm at the ASADA office, (located at Playa Carmen.net, and open to the public).

We cooperated with the ASADA to voluntarily pre-pay our monthly bills, 670,000- colones were raised in total, to inject the Jose Alfaro well into the existing system, at Virginia Vargas’ request. We are still awaiting a detailed report from Virginia Vargas, promised for this Wed Feb. 9, ’11, as to the specific results and reasons for it’s apparent lack of results to NST.

As a result of this fiasco, we petitioned the ASADA and were granted their approval to conduct a Diagnostic test of the existing (pipes) system, at our cost, as they were unwilling to do commit any funds to this end other than providing and installing the shut off value to Playa Carmen, after much resistance from Gerardo. The entire test was generously paid for in full by one ASADA member.

Furthermore, we have documented the current state of affairs and conducted numerous field inspections, financed by less than 1/2 dozen group members, with water experts and consultants from San Jose.

We have formal written bids based upon those field studies & reports and have even been offered private financing by a builder, Don Carlos Madrigal, to complete the project. Our proposal was turned down by the ASADA in November, ’10, based on one members position that the backhoe cost was too high and that his uncle could complete the work at a better price. Neither the ASADA or the uncle have provided any formal written offers.

This is just the tip of the Iceberg.

We have learned that the ASADA is the only legal body/instrument available, at this point, to guarantee permanent change and we are at the tipping point of seeing real results.

In short, AVSTN is making a difference and will continue to work towards bettering our community, with water and justice for all.

However, none of this comes for free, except for the time and energy that is invested by a neighbors like myself.

If you would like to be part of the solution, by supporting our neighborhood cause, please consider joining or Associacion Vecinos Santa Teresa Norte (AVSTN) group, or renewing your 2011 membership, and please encourage your neighbors to do the same.

Our 2011 membership dues are currently due and maybe deposited directly to AVSTN account :

Banco Nacional
Account number : 100-011-191-000046-1
Cuenta cliente # 15119110010000460
Cedula juridica 3-002-614449

2011 membership dus are $ 100- per household.

Thank you !

If there is anyone that you know who is not receiving my emails, but would like to please let me know.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me by email or directly at 2640-0511.

Sincerely,

Stefan Canas
AVSTN Secretary

We are now working with Vamos Rental Car, which we’ve found to be the best in Costa Rica.

Most of the familiar name brand car company franchises are all owned by the same people, so the prices tend to be high, especially in the dry season.

Vamos is independently owned, has over 100 cars, mostly 4x4s, and is 30% cheaper. In addition, the don’t charge extra for extra drivers, a child seat, a cooler, etc.

The main disadvantage of Vamos is that they only have offices in San Jose and Liberia, so if something goes wrong with your car, they need to send a mechanic with a new car to you which takes nearly a minimum of 5 hours and probably more. But, if you’re willing to take the risk, Vamos is the way to go. They keep their cars in great shape.

Contact us at info@malpaisbeach.com if you’d like us to book you a 4×4 rental car with Vamos.