THE REFUGE

At the south end of Hermosa, the most consistent beach break in all of Costa Rica – past the Tree, past the Pig Farm, past the seldom seen Buddha Hut – is a nature reserve. It’s where the ocean turns tan and starts to cool down from the river runoff. The Playa Hermosa Refuge is not that difficult to get to, but most surfers don’t bother. There are plenty of other sandbar setups before you arrive at the reserve, and its crocodile infested waters fed by the Tuline River.

The Pig Farm no longer raises and butchers swine then discards the carcasses into the lineup, since Hermosa Palms supplanted the land with million dollar residences. Even so, several years hence, not all of the crocs are convinced that the area isn’t