The best of the worst.

IT SEEMS STRANGE that pro skaters need vacations. Traveling around the world skating the best spots with the best skaters is what most of you dream about. On top of that, they get paid to do it. Throw in video deadlines, having to skate a demo in 110-degree heat with a heel bruise, or finding out your sponsor needs an ad tomorrow and all your muscles are sore--it can sometimes turn into a job. I'm sure you don't give a shit about how rough a pro skater has it and I can't blame you, because unless you have a trust fund or a winning lottery ticket, chances are your life is rougher than theirs.

FIND YOUR LINE

Lots of friends of mine have been taking trips to Costa Rica over the past few years. They'd come back with stories of erupting volcanoes, monkeys running wild in the streets, exotic birds in the trees, and sandy beaches with good surf. But after a few came back with stories of stuff to skate, that's when I really grew interested. I didn't care how good the skateparks were--just where they were. I wanted to go to Costa Rica, and this was my angle. I just needed to find a couple pros that also wanted to see what Costa Rica had to offer and we'd be off on a skate vacation.

I called up a few guys I thought might like to go. Dan Drehobl had just finished up filming for Krooked Kronicles, and Chet Childress had just wrapped up filming for the next Black Label video and would begin filming for the Nike video before too long. Plus, Chefs girlfriend recently broke up with him, so he could use a rest. Toad and Dan Pensyl heard about it through Drehobl, and since both of these guys have day jobs (Toad's an electrician and Dan is a carpenter) they were also into the idea of a little rest and relaxation along with a skate trip. No midnight handrail sessions and all-day drives to the next destination; this was as far from a King of the Road mission as we were going to get. That's what makes this crew the Best of the Worst.

Costa Rica is a tourist hot spot right now, and I can easily see why. All the stories my friends had told me were true: nice clean beaches, active volcanoes, wild monkeys running through the trees, and cheap food and lodging make it an easy choice for the active traveler. It also helps that the local language is Spanish and that the locals have a pretty good grasp of English, making the typical game of charades not so necessary. And it was for these reasons that we bumped into several people we already knew while we were in Costa Rica.

Jamie Weller and Mike Zink had been in Playa Grande since January, just hanging out, skating, and surfing. We quickly enlisted these two as our tour guides, and their assistance was much appreciated. The ability to locate the cheapest lodging in town along with knowing where the unnamed roads would take us seemed to be their specialty. They even took us to a Costa Rican rodeo--where the real third world freedoms, AKA "dangers," were exhibited. We knew it was going to be good when an ambulance passed us on its way out as we pulled into the parking lot. A Costa Rican rodeo is a whole lot different that the PBR here in the States. Imagine you've got a friend who has a couple of bulls, a fenced in area, and a lot of beer. After that, anything goes. That pretty much sums it up. You want to ride the bull? Just get in line. Feel like getting chased by a bull? No need to go to Pampalona, just step in the ring at any time. There were at least 30 participants in the ring, their ages ranging from early teens to late '30s, and most all of them were drunk. Especially the teenagers. After the bull would buck the rider off, four horsemen would enter the ring with lassos to catch the bull and return it to the pen for the next rider. One time the horseman had his eye on the bull, as did this Tico running away from it. Well, neither the horseman nor his horse saw the Tico, who got a ride out of there in another ambulance.

PUT IT DOWN

There was a skate and surf shop a few blocks from our hotel in San Jose. We were waiting for the rental cars to show up when Drehobl and Pensyl walked to the shop to see if they knew of any spots to skate. It was more surf and clothing oriented, so the guy behind the counter didn't know of many. But the latest issue of Blast magazine, the Costa Rican skate mag, was on the counter and the cover photo was Miguel Castro doing a stalefish to flat on this obstacle. The shop worker made a couple phone calls and pointed to an area on the map and we found it no problem. Drehobl, Pensyl and Toad were all coming really close to making the transfer but Pensyl was the one who put it down first. About the time this photo was snapped some local swiped my board.

EL SALBA

There are no leopards in Costa Rica's jungles and the monkeys don't wear kneepads, but Salba's influence was obvious once we got to Tamarindo. Kids were wearing the trademark leopard print kneepads, and there were a few locals who looked to be riding Salba's hand-me-down old boards. While I didn't see anyone doing push-ups on the coping, many skaters at the park were talking about him and he wasn't even there. This could probably be attributed to the fact that he visits Costa Rica often. In his eternal quest to ride the fullpipes of the world, Salba has made several trips to skate one deep in the jungles here. He stays with his friend Alex in Tamarindo who happens to have a bowl built for skating in the backyard. We had hopes of getting a chance to skate Alex's bowl 'cause even though he was out of town, he left us a message saying that Mike knew how to get there and we could skate it.

But Alex has a combination lock and several pit bulls making sure no unwanted guests decide to ride when he isn't around. Also, the pit bulls that Alex raises had puppies--and the mother dog was eating her puppies. This sent Alex's mother, who was taking care of his house at the time, into "a bad one." As a result we never did get to skate the bowl and spent too many days skating the Tamarindo snake run.

'TIL NEXT TIME

The new spots we should have been seeking are out there. How do I know? The locals told us all about them--except not until the last day. "Have you guys checked out Liberia? There's good street stuff. How about the nine-foot bowl on the gulf coast?"

I don't have enough fingers and toes to count the number of times right before leaving a town that some local shows us photos of all the good spots. If only this happened on the first day. I did get a response from a skater I questioned via email before going, asking about spots in San Jose, Costa Rica. He responded with directions to his friend's indoor skatepark. Well, as they say, you live and learn. Por vida.