Manuel Antonio Riptide Almost Kills Two

[CALADANA]

Last Wednesday (July 8th) my wife and I were walking along Playa Espadilla enjoying the sunrise. The waves were very strong and were piling in on top of each other. When we reached an the area where most people hang out, it SEEMED safe to wade into the foamy water a bit. Short story: in a matter of seconds we were both taken by force out into deeper water. There were currents running in opposite directions that essentially created a whirlpool. I only just escaped, but my wife was dragged out further to be spun around by the current while being pounded by 6 foot waves. There weren’t many people on shore as I frantically demanded help, a board, a rope, whatever! Thank God, two things occurred: a guy on the shore got his surf buddies out in the water to paddle toward my wife whose head was barely sticking out of the water. Then a huge wave came along and with her last ounce of power she half body surfed, half tumbled into the shallower waters where I could reach her and drag her to the safety of shore.

My wife is from Hawaii and grew up swimming in the Pacific and knows about all the things one must do to avoid rip currents and what to do if caught in one. But folks, we’re here to tell you there are situations like the one we were in that don’t comport with the typical rip currents. While we are not Olympic swimmers we’re both fit and workout intensively with a trainer. This is most likely the reason I got out and my wife stayed afloat long enough to catch the big wave.

So, I’m sending this out to all of my compadres at WLC just as a reminder to watch out for these situations even on the most public of playas, and for everyone to remember how good the Pura Vida really is.

Coleman

[Alfred]

Coleman,

Happy to hear everything turned out well for you and your wife. When we were at Manuel Antonio in ’06, the Cruz Roja pulled a body from the water as my son was Boogie boarding in the surf. It is something you never forget, and makes you understand why they tell you not to wade in the water past your hips. I’ve seen rocks the size of watermelons thrown up by the surf there. The rip-tides along with the lack of lifeguards makes for a dangerous situation.

Thanks for the warning, Again, glad that all is fine.

[CALADANA]

Thanks, Albert. There was an effort to keep lifeguards on the public beach at Playa Espadilla, but if they are there it’s only during peak times. BTW later that day we met two ladies who were just walking along the surf line and were literally almost taken out by a wave that engulfed them. They weren’t even wading past their ankles. So even the above the hips admonition didn’t apply. Seems that there could be a system that could use flags to warn folks of such ominous conditions. We’d certainly support such an effort.

Thanks again for you kind words. Pura Vida!

Coleman

[GringoTico]

It would cost a lot less to put flags on “safe” beaches, but even those aren’t safe at times. The fact is that there are unlabeled dangers of all sorts throughout Costa Rica. People have to decide for themselves what is safe and what is not, without anyone telling them. If you want to walk around the rim of the Irazu Volcano, no one will stop you (unless they changed the rules in the last decade).

The up side is this is one of the things that make Costa Rica a freer society than the U.S., where our elected representatives believe they should write more and more laws to “protect” us. This overkill results in bourgeoning bureaucracy, a diversion of police services to enforcing petty ordinances instead of concentrating on real crime, and a general reduction in liberty.

Costa Rica is still the “Wild West” in this sense. More dangerous, more free. Everything has its price.

Playa Espadilla, like almost all Costa Rican beaches fully exposed to the ocean, is indeed very dangerous. I avoid it completely, opting for the incredible beauty and tranquility of the beach on the other side of the park.

[Author]

Posts