I just spent the first two weeks of May down in Costa Rica, hitting all my usual spots in the Guanacaste province. It was a familiar trip for me, but a solo jaunt, a little quiet, very restful, and extremely refreshing. It felt really good to surf in warm water, and to absorb the air of a tropical climate. Having grown up in South Florida, I'm not a stranger to heat and a high uv index. And while I now happily live in one of the more colder areas of the country, returning to a higher humidity, and being connected to the ground by a pair of flip-flops was a welcome respite.
I brought an old GoPro Black with me this time, and I clamped it to a nearby tree for all of my off-the-beaten-path surfing sessions. Because of that I was able to capture a few good rides on video. I'll post a few frame grabs in the gallery below. After pairing the GoPro surf footage with some scenery stuff I shot on my iPhone, I was able to create a quick montage to highlight the entire trip.
I've been using Final Cut Pro a bunch lately. I'm not sure if I miss my job or not, but I really enjoyed whittling the raw footage down into this condensed mash-up of sights and sounds. I also edited this piece in the vertical orientation, which was challenging since half the footage was shot in landscape, on the GoPro. The audio is a tune I like from the artist Jawny. I just felt that "Adios" was a fitting track for my trip and it matched the vibe of the edit I was going for. Some pretty rough cuts in there to be honest, but I cringe less and less each day seeing what passes for content in today's world. Can't beat 'em, join 'em I guess. So enjoy my craptastic montage, and I hope you're surfing where you are.
Guanacaste Gallery '23