Costa Rica - 2013
Nine intrepid travelers ventured to Costa Rica the first week of February 2013. What a glorious place! Sun every day, warm clear pool to dip in when we wanted, the Pacific Ocean just a couple hundred feet from our door. That's what greeted us when we arrived at Casa Velas in Playa Grande, Costa Rica. This is just a mile or so north of the town of Tamarindo - a surfers paradise - or so they say. We had howler monkeys that howled just before sunrise. While we never saw them at our house we did hear them. There was the iguana we named Ralphie that visited us several times a day - and his relatives that lived in the ceiling of our house. We had lots of other critters that greeted us on a daily basis from geckos to birds to dragon flies.
We ate well. Swam in the ocean. And drank some too. We visited the local estuary where we saw shore birds as well as monkeys and crocodiles. We did a day trip to Buena Vista Lodge and Adventure near the National Park Rincón de la Vieja. There some of us rode the zipline and horses. Others did the waterslide. We were treated to a tasty lunch buffet. It's a beautiful place. On Thursday all but me did a sunset cruise on the Pacific. I stayed home and recovered from Montezuma's Revenge.
All and all it was a fun trip. Highs each day were in the lower 90s. At night it would dip to near 70.
If you visit the area, Benjamin Peña will do a great job transporting you around. He came to us by accident when our original driver did not show up at the airport because of a car breakdown. Benjamin provided all our transportation while there. He also convinced us to buy a tour from him and use the sunset cruise company he also worked for. He was one hard worker. He hired Jose who spoke English quite well and served as our guide for the day. Victor Hugo was our boat captain and tour leader for our 2 hour tour of the Estuary that separated Playa Grande (where we stayed) from the town of Tamarindo. The walk to the Estuary was about 15 minutes then you'd pay $1 to cross via these little Pango boats and walk another 15 minutes into the heart of town.
We had nice lunches at Nibbana Beach Bar and Restaurant and Nuggies in Tamarindo. But we also found 3 restaurants within 15 minutes of our home. Twice for dinner at The Great Watinis at Bula Bula and twice for lunch at Melinches where you could get pizza for $15 and all the soda you can drink. It was enough for 3 people. Their ice cream with fresh fruit was awesome (water melon, pineapple, pear, and papaya). We also had the house chef fix two meals for us. Did I say we ate well?
It was a very nice trip. Below is a collection (large at that) that represents the trip as I experienced it. I missed the sunset cruise.
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