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While the rest of the northern surfing world is gearing up for snowboarding for the winter, Costa Rica is heating up for the 2012-2013 summer season. Sunny days, blue skies and dry trade winds are soon headed our way … ideal for surf vacations!

Look your best and get the most stoke with the latest in surf fashion and gear. Check it out!

First, Costa Rica is positioned at approximately 9 degrees north latitude. That means our water is warm – averaging 26-30 C (79-85 F) all the time! No neoprene wetsuits, dry suits, hoods, boots or gloves needed here! You just need a cool pair of board shorts or a bikini.

Trending in world fashion all spring and summer this year was surf apparel. Quiksilver surf wear is still hot in all the fashion magazines for Fall 2012. When talking about surf wear, which is all about comfort and “laid-back” styles, you’ve got to know the Big Five: Quiksilver and Roxy, Billabong, Hurley, O’Neill and Rip Curl. Surfing News Daily tells us to go for a burst of bright color in flip flopsto accessorize any summer outfit for your “just off the beach” surfer look.

Sun protection is a must, especially since Costa Rica is so near the equator. Make sure to use plenty of sunscreen (SPF 30 or higher and waterproof) and a lycra rashguard when out in the water; add a sun hatfor the beach.

Try a new board. Surfer Magazine recommends trying a new board to give you a new challenge and mix up your regular surf routine. Firewire recently introduced their new “Sustainable Surfboards” that meet the “Ecoboard Project” benchmark from the environmental nonprofit organization Sustainable Surf.

The “Enviroflex” boards are glassed with Entropy Super Sap epoxy resin made with 25% biologically-derived carbon, and are being released in 2012 in limited quantities; the main launch will be in 2013. Sustainable Surf is a nonprofit organization that promotes surfing as a global leader in sustainable lifestyles and business. The “Ecoboard Project” gives surfers the opportunity to buy high-performance surfboards made from the latest in “green technology” and recycled materials.

When not in the water, or to get ready for your big Costa Rica surf vacation, keep your surfing skills in shape on the Bamboo Series Skateboards by Arbor. Why is this cool? Bamboo is the world’s most sustainable “green” building materials. Bamboo produces more oxygen than most trees; the giant woody grass grows incredibly fast, maturing in only 3-5 years; it’s durable and strong and you don’t have to use pesticides to protect it; and bamboo decomposes into 100% reusable compost. Arbor Skateboards has 3 Bamboo models: Timeless, Fish and Axis.

Help plant trees in the rainforest in Costa Rica and Brazil when you buy Jameson 2 Eco shoes. The etnies brand top-selling shoe is big in the surf-skate-snowboard-BMX crowd. The low-top canvas shoe is part of etnies’ “Buy a Shoe, Plant a Tree reforestation program,” and is made using recycled rubber from old bike tires in the outsole and recycled plastic bottles in the PET shoe laces. The program is simple – for every pair of Jameson 2 Eco shoes sold, one tree gets planted. In Costa Rica, they’ve already planted 35,000 trees working with the nonprofit charitable organization La Reserve Forest Foundationand the Maleku indigenous tribe.

What do you do with leftover surfboard resin so it doesn’t end up in a landfill? If you’re Donna von Hoesslin, owner/designer of Betty Belts ocean-inspired jewelry and accessories, you turn it into wearable, durable and eye-catching jewelry. Each color stripe on the jewelry is excess resin from a surfboard made in Donna’s home of California, which means that every original handmade piece is connected to boards out there riding ocean waves. How cool is that?

Back to surf vacations! Go for the ultimate surf vacation experience in Costa Rica with Del Mar Surf Camp. Choose from three spectacularly beautiful locations – Nosara Beach on the Guanacaste Pacific Coast, Santa Teresa Beach on the Pacific’s Nicoya Peninsula, and Hermosa Beach on the Central Pacific Coast. Del Mar Surf Camp specializes in surf vacation packages, yoga-surf retreats and day surf camps for adults, women only and families. Whether you’re a beginner, intermediate or advanced surfer, enjoy an epic surf vacation in this rainforest paradise with Del Mar Surf Camp. Domestic flights and transfers to all of Del Mar’s locations are included in all surf vacation packages!