The beach mistake that catches strong swimmers

The beaches between Dominical and Ojochal are long, wild and often empty. That is the attraction, and it is also the risk. The mistake that catches visitors, strong swimmers included, is walking into the water wherever the beach happens to be quiet.

What a rip current is

A rip current is a channel of water flowing back out to sea through the breaking waves. Researchers at the University of Costa Rica describe how to spot one: a strip where foam and stirred-up sand are moving away from the beach. It can look like a calm gap between the waves, which is exactly where people choose to swim.

The same university reports that around sixty people drown in Costa Rica in an average year, in the sea and in rivers, and that drowning is the country's second cause of violent death after road accidents.

Where the lifeguards are

Lifeguards on this coast are not a public service on every beach. They exist because the community pays for them. Guardavidas Costa Ballena, a local programme funded by donations, puts lifeguards on Playa Dominical and works to keep Playa Hermosa covered as well. Coverage changes with funding, so ask us which towers are staffed the week you are here.

Where there are lifeguards, swim in front of them and do what they say. Where there are none, ask a local or a surfer about that beach before you go in, stay where you can stand, and never swim alone or after drinking.

If a rip takes you

Do not swim against it. That is how people exhaust themselves. Stay calm, float, and swim sideways, along the beach, until you are out of the channel, then come in with the waves. If you cannot, float and raise an arm. A rip pulls you out, not under.

Two more things

River mouths are not swimming spots. Crocodiles live in the estuaries of this coast, and the national parks service asks people not to swim there. And check the tide before walking out to the Whale's Tail or the caves at Ventanas: the water comes back faster than people expect.

The University of Costa Rica publishes a free sea forecast with rip current warnings, called MIO-CIMAR, with apps for phones. It is worth a look on the morning of a beach day.