Unfiltered Opinions from Nosara

Rich Rants

Real talk on surf, community, real estate, expat life, and whatever else Rich can’t stay quiet about.
Rich Burnam has been in Nosara since 2008. He’s seen the booms, the busts, the good waves, the bad developers, the Grateful Gringos, and the ones who just take. He has opinions about all of it.

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SURF, Top 3 Surf

TWINosara 85: January in Guiones

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Unfiltered Opinions from Nosara

TWINosara 85: January in Guiones

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SURF, Top 3 Surf

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Rich's Favorite Rants

TWINosara 85: January in Guiones

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This Week in Nosara 77: Early August, 2025

TWINosara 76: Stunning aerial, water & land views of Nosara, Costa Rica + community updates

Latest Rich Rants

SURF, Top 3 Surf

TWINosara 85: January in Guiones

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RANTS

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SURF, Top 3 Surf

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SURF, Top 3 Surf

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SURF, This Week In Nosara

This Week in Nosara 77: Early August, 2025

Rich Burnam, SURF, This Week In Nosara

TWINosara 76: Stunning aerial, water & land views of Nosara, Costa Rica + community updates

Episode 76 is special because it is filled with stunning

SURF, This Week In Nosara

TWINosara 75: Life is good in Nosara this week… Great Surf & Beautiful weather + Happy Guanacaste Day!

This is a special week because we get to celebrate

Rich Burnam, SURF, This Week In Nosara

TWINosara 74: July Surf in Guiones, Fishing, Pickleball, Costas Verdes plants 100,000th tree + more

We hope you enjoy this episode from late July, 2025.

Rich Burnam, SURF, This Week In Nosara

Surf Playa Guiones, Nosara 14th. Music: El Chivo Open Mic w/Rocker Erik & Taku

Rich Burnam, SURF, This Week In Nosara

TWINosara 73: Surf, Surfers, Turtles & Life in Nosara, Costa Rica mid July 2025: Enjoy!

Episode 73 is local pro surfers (Dorian won national championship!),

Rich's Take

"Nosara doesn't need more people who love it. It needs more people who are willing to work for it."

The hardest conversation to have with someone who just fell in love with this place is about what loving it actually requires. It’s not Instagram. It’s not sunrise yoga. It’s showing up — to the messy stuff, the unglamorous stuff, the community meetings you’ll want to leave after 20 minutes. Love that doesn’t do anything isn’t love. It’s tourism.

Start Here

Just Got To Town?

7 reads that will help you understand Nosara, the surf, the people, and why Rich is the person to know.

TWINosara 85: January in Guiones

Occaecati dolores nam et dolores impedit

Est sequi at asperiores

Debitis adipisci alias nesciunt ut qui quidem

This Week in Nosara 77: Early August, 2025

TWINosara 76: Stunning aerial, water & land views of Nosara, Costa Rica + community updates

TWINosara 75: Life is good in Nosara this week… Great Surf & Beautiful weather + Happy Guanacaste Day!

The Philosophy Behind the Rants

The Grateful Gringo Standard

Rich came to Nosara with a surfboard, some money, and an idea that a beautiful place would sort out the rest. What sorted him out was the community that was already here — Tico families, old-guard expats, kids who'd been surfing that break since before he knew it existed. The Grateful Gringo isn't a cute phrase. It's the operating system he runs everything through.

Rule 01

Give more than you take.

Time, money, skills, energy. It doesn't matter what. The ledger has to be in the community's favor.

Rule 02

Know why you're here.

Nosara is not a lifestyle brand. It's a living place. Know what you're taking from it, and what you're offering back.

Rule 03

Speak up when it matters.

Being grateful doesn't mean being quiet. Bad development, unfair practices, community harm — that gets called out.

Rule 04

Help the next person in.

Someone helped you understand this place. Pay it forward. Always.

Rule 05

Stay humble about what you don't know.

Twenty years in and Rich is still learning. If you've been here two years, you're just getting started.

Rule 06

Don't mistake love for ownership.

This is Nosara. You are a guest who stayed. Act like it.

— Rich Burnam, Nosara, Costa Rica

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Take a Ride with Rich

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TWINosara 85: January in Guiones

Occaecati dolores nam et dolores impedit

Est sequi at asperiores

Debitis adipisci alias nesciunt ut qui quidem

This Week in Nosara 77: Early August, 2025

TWINosara 76: Stunning aerial, water & land views of Nosara, Costa Rica + community updates

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