Not so long ago, the neighbouring towns of Mal Pais and Santa Teresa on Costa Rica´s southern Nicoya Peninsula were little more than sleepy surfer´s hangouts.

Lots of shirtless foreign males flocked here to smoke weed, ride the waves and eat pot-fulls of pasta (usually in that order). They were living out the surfer dude dream on a rock-bottom budget.

Then someone let the cat out of the bag about Mal Pais´s dramatic, jungle-flanked coastline, and suddenly every yuppie and their yapping puppy was here, snapping up cheap beachfront property from bewildered Ticos.

Truckloads of salivating developers trailed in their wake, as did the odd hip-to-the-moment Hollywood celebrity.  Before you could say: ¨Woah...dude¨, there were swanky hotels opening up along the beachfront, charging $500 a night. A handful of top-quality budget backpacker´s hostels also opened, but the damage had already been done.

Now there is no turning back the tide of foreign money rolling into the area, the slicing up of the mountainsides and the rampant development of a once-pristine coastal strip.  The nail in the coffin for the Mal Pais/Santa Teresa area will be when the dusty, pot-holed road that runs through the area is finally paved. It´s gonna happen. As Muriel Heslop´s dad would say, ´´You can´t stop progress¨. 

So, what´s all the fuss about, you wonder? Where is this Mal Pais you speak of? Well, it´s 12km southwest of the unremarkable town of Cobano, which in turn is about 6km inland from Montezuma, a laid-back beach village on the tip of the southern Nicoya Peninsula. Mal Pais is also just a few kilometres from the Cabo Blanco Reserve, notable for being the first protected  piece of land in Costa Rica.

The Mal Pais area everyone speaks of is actually made up of the two adjoining towns of Mal Pais and Santa Teresa which extend for about 8km along a rough road that parallels three grey-sand beaches - Playa Mal Pais, Playa Carmen and Playa Santa Teresa. The Mal Pais beach is lovely but rocky, and is appalling for both swimming and surfing. In short - look, but don´t touch. However, if you're a pro surfer with a death wish, you might fancy surfing the extremely shallow Sunset Reef, located at Mal Pais's extreme southern end. Playa Carmen is a good beach to learn to surf, while Playa Santa Teresa is where experienced surfers park their boards. Swimming in the entire area is not pleasant - rip-tides are notorious and rocks are prevalent.

Back on dry land, you'll find oodles of gorgeous new accommodation to choose from,  catering to a wide range of budgets. Most accommodation is concentrated along the Playa Carmen and Playa Santa Teresa stretches of beach. It's really worth paying a bit extra for a hotel room with air conditioning. It can be unbearably hot and humid here - both day and night.

The number of Argentineans, Israelis and North Americans with gourmet taste buds in the area has given birth to a wide variety of excellent cafes and restaurants. There's also three well-stocked supermarkets, and since most accommodation comes with shared or private kitchen, self-caterers are, um, well-catered for. 

As for getting around the area, you'll really want to have wheels. A mountain bike is the cheapest way to go. It's sweaty work, but your buttocks will love you for it later, and many hostels and hotels rent out rickety old bikes. All the locals get around on ATVs - they're sweat-free and great for getting over pot holes and splashing through puddles in the rainy season. Budget Car Rentals have an office in town if you prefer cruising in air-conditioned comfort.   

So, what's there to do in Mal Pais if you´re not a surfer? Well, frankly, not an awful lot, which is just how we like it. You could do a day trip to Tortuga Island, although it's much cheaper and closer to leave from Montezuma. There´s a zip-line canopy tour here where you can ¨fly¨ through the treetops while strapped to a lofty steel cable. You could always catch your dinner on a deep-sea fishing trip. Horse-riding along the beach or on jungle trails is also popular, as to are day trips to the wildlife-rich Cabo Blanco Reserve. Other than that, you better like beachcombing and swinging in hammocks.  

And finally, it´s really hot, it's really sunny, you're close to the equator, so trust us on the sunscreen. Really.