After a long and sweaty week, the boys and I arrived in Jaco – aka the beach. With 2.6 miles of supreme coast line, Jaco offers world renowned surfing. For those who don’t know me, I may be a cowboy but when it comes to the ocean I gladly exchange my horses for the waves. Riding gives me a sense of freedom I am unable to find elsewhere! The only problem when it comes to surfing is that I am an amazing horseman.

I was also super excited to get to Jaco because this is where Long Rider Orion Kraus has his horses. The American explorer rode horseback from Southern Mexico to Jaco, Costa Rica 2 years ago and left his horses here with a friend. Orion helped me so much with my own journey by sharing contacts and vital information, I was really happy to be able to give his amazing ponies a pat.

Ulises, Orion’s friend, met me just outside of Jaco and guided me to his pasture. I untacked Frenchie and Bruiser, found hay and feed for them, and then headed to the beach! Emma had arrived earlier by bus and was waiting for me to arrive to enjoy this beautiful town.

Without losing any time we got our bathing suites on and ran to the ocean. I found a surfboard rental store and spent the afternoon surfing – or trying to anyways.

I started surfing in 2006 when I backpacked through Central America. I had always idealized the sport but never had the opportunity to try it. The first time I got in the water I realized just how hard it would be to learn to surf. At first I couldn’t even get my balance to paddle out, let alone imagine standing up on the board. But with time and hard work, I began to get the hang of it and fell in love!

Surfing is a lot like bull riding. It is one of those sports that is extremely hard to learn and dangerous, but the moment you taste a second of success you are addicted. After a ride, the adrenaline in your body is through the roof and you are all smiles. They are also two sports which require you to find harmony with nature, while also understanding its power and respecting it.

After 3 days in Jaco I was more sore than when I arrived, but the important part is that Frenchie and Bruiser enjoyed a nice break. It was hard to say goodbye to Jaco but knowing that we would be following the coast all the way to Panama made it a little easier to ride off.