
A day of sand & sun
Today we decided to rent boogie boards for the kids and see how they liked it. Playa Guiones has a very nice long beach with shallow waters during low tide – which is why it’s considered one of the best places to learn to surf in Costa Rica – so we made sure to hit low tide which was around noon that day. During high tide it’s quite a bit rougher to take the kids in, even just to wade in the shallow water, so it’s important to time it right.

We stopped at a shop called The Frog Pad on our walk from our house to the beach – and luckily, they had exactly two boards left for us to take for the day.

Tim took the two older kids out to teach them the basics. They caught on very quickly.

Each time the kids rode a wave in, they’d grab their board and turn around as quickly as they got up and run back out to the surf.
Rylan caught many more waves than Aubrey, but that didn’t break her spirits – they both had a great time. I was also amazed at how well she recovered when she wiped out. She’d sink under the wave, nowhere to be seen and I’d think “oh no, do I need to go help her?” and then a second later she’d pop up and head back out for another wave!
The kids took a few breaks, and after a couple of hours we had to force them to come in.
Before we could go in, Sierra said she wanted a turn for herself. So we borrowed Rylan’s board to give her a try. I took her out, strapped in her wrist to the board, and showed her how to hold on and kick when the wave came. She caught the first wave I sent her on!
I couldn’t believe my 9, 6 and 4 year old all had been able to get out on the waves and boogie board on their first day out! It’s still amazing to me that here my kids are riding boogie boards in the ocean on their own — since just last summer both the girls were still learning to swim!
I asked Rylan on our way back to the house what he thought of boogie boarding – and he couldn’t stop talking – about how the waves worked, catching the wave just right, trying to stand on the board… he said he loved it as much as riding the quads and was ready to go out again!
After a day out in the ocean, we had a few errands to run and returned to Beach Dog Café in hopes that they had the kids’ favorite treat that they were out of earlier that week. And, indeed, they did, and the kids were lucky enough to get chocolate chip pancakes for lunch!
Back at the house, we enjoyed some quiet time during another thunderstorm that rolled in and out for the afternoon.
But then, as if the day weren’t packed with enough excitement, we decided we’d go ahead and pick up quads before the evening hit, so that we had them here and ready for our next day’s adventure. We figured since they were 24-hour rentals, we might as well get some use out of them the day prior.
Tim walked across the street to the shop behind the Guilded Iguana hotel to pick the quads up, and suddenly our tired out little kids perked up and were ready for a ride. We made an excuse for a short ride and went out to Playa Pelada, a nearby beach, to enjoy the sunset there, then returned home.

Playa Pelada Sunset
At the end of long days like this, you’d think the kids would just fall asleep the second they hit their beds. But, instead, they become too tired and too hungry all at once as soon as the sun goes down… and by the time they’re fed and bathed they often get a second wind. We still have a few days until summer camp starts, but we’re going to have to work towards an earlier bed time that has these kids out before 9:30pm!
But then,who can blame them… isn’t this what summer is all about? Being out in the sun all day, filling your day to your heart’s content with excitement and fun, and being totally wiped out when the day is over, only to stay up late and tell bedtime stories and soak every last minute possible out of a wonderful day.
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