San Jose, CR

We took the day to venture into the actual city, which as it turns out, is about 45 minutes away from the airport and our current hotel. It was typical big city for the most part. We did go to the Pre-Columbia Gold Museum; it was actually super interesting. There were three floors (going down) of cultural history. And, there was a coin exhibit on the first floor that explain their whole process of developing a monetary system and eventually minting their own coin. Super cool, like way better than I was expecting. I was very interested in the descriptions. Ryan was loving the actual coins on display. It was a fancy place. Recommended.

Volcan Barva, CR

We hiked a volcano today! It was a long, curvy, narrow drive up most of it. The vast majority was paved, but it turned to dirt, rocks and potholes the final four kilometers. Even in an SUV, we decided to walk the last couple kilometers to the actual entrance of the park. Once we were out of the car, we could see an amazing view of San Jose. We hadn’t realize exactly how high we had climbed during the drive.

There were a couple path choices, we opted for the lookout view. The trail was actually much more mild than the road we walked to the entrance. It was a bit muggy, but we were plenty prepared with bug spray and sun screen. I think it was 1800 meters to the lookout. When we turned down the side trail to the lookout, it became really mucky in areas and the midday drizzle came. I hadn’t thought much about the altitude again until we arrived at the lookout. We were 2,906 meters up, and practically in a cloud. We couldn’t see much at all. 

 

On the hike back through the park and down to the car, we noticed a lot more wildlife. It’s  possible that the rain, now coming down quite steadily, scared the gnats away, and we were able to look around a bit more than before. We decided we prefer hiking in the rain, even through we were expecting it to be much warmer. We were rather underdressed. We survived. 

 

 

Oh, and we found a cow walking past a farm on the way to the car. 

We also had another incredible view of San Jose on the way down. 

Parrida, CR

We were quite sad to pack up Casa Tranquila; it was pretty much the perfect place. 

Then, we basically just drove all day.. but, we did make it to mass in Parrida. 

The church was beautiful, especially the stations of the cross. We still couldn’t understand a word, but the priest was very engaging. I much preferred the music, too. There was even some clapping songs! 

After mass, we promptly packed up and drove to San Jose, checked into the hotel and found a drink. 

Playa Penca, CR

It has been an eventful day, full of wildlife.

First, we hit up Playa Penca bright and early, well, after making a smoothie at home. It was definitely a locals beach. There was only one good shade tree, but we claimed a spot before too many people rolled in. We decided it’s possibly the best sand we’ve been on; it was actually sandy. There were relatively big waves, too. One took Ryan by surprise while we were floating, and it flipped him over. Apparently, my expression as it approached was enough of a warning for him to take a breath and prepare.

So, the big waves were quite fun. Then, as Ryan let another one roll over him, a bit further down, maybe a wingspan away.. the wave was clear as could be just before it crested.. I saw FOUR stingray!  They were beautiful, like something straight out of National Geographic. I wish I could have taken a picture, but it was such a brief moment. Even if I had a camera in hand and ready, I still wouldn’t have captured it.

So, after a brief moment of shock and awe, I panicked and forced Ryan to protect me (not sure what I expected there) as I booked it to the shore. After sharing the experience with Ryan, I tried for a long time to spot them in the waves again, but it never happened. So, we went to lay in the shade for a while. I was adamantly not getting back in, but alone in that opinion. Until...

There was a family that had laid their towels behind us and went down to play in the water in roughly the same area we were swimming. Also note, there were a handful of people swimming a bit further down either direction. Anyway, they’re riding around in the waves, same as we were, nbd. Then, dad yelped! He passed his kid to wife and immediately took off toward shore. As soon as he was able, he looked at his foot. It seemed to be giving him a great deal of pain. We’re quite sure he got stung by one of the stingray! It was crazy. Ryan was no longer interested in returning to the water after seeing this guy hobble around.

Of course, we did some research later.. it seems that stingrays typically don’t bother people, even if disturbed they just swim away. On most occasions, the only time they sting is if someone steps on them. We figure that is exactly what happened to this guy since he kept checking the bottom of his foot. It was QUITE the experience. After all that excitement, we just laid around in the shade until it was time for lunch.

 

We ended up back in Tamarindo to check out a brewery and grab lunch. 

It’s still not our favorite spot. The brewery was decent though and we met a lady from Nevada. 

Wildlife Adventure #2 occurred when we got back home after lunch. We knew there was a tiny house gecko hanging out inside, but we weren’t too worried about it. They’re actually a sign of good luck in Asian culture, and they don’t bother anything. We’ve seem a bunch on the porch; they eat the bugs for us. So, as we were just laying around cooling off, friendly house gecko showed himself on the ceiling. After a bit of chaos and scrambling, we managed to capture him in a basket, and return him to his home outside. 

 

Mar Vista, CR

So, we were livin’ the high life today. We hung around the restaurant onsite with an infinity pool all afternoon. It was wonderful. We probably fried from staying too long, but the food was good and the drinks were better.  There were less people than we expected, mostly due to the time of day. And, it was fun to eat lunch at the swim up bar. It all felt pretty fancy. Now, we’re about ready for a nap.

Also, as promised: Turkish towel as skirt. It’s a good look, and a good view of the ocean from up there. The view is slightly better than our place, Casa Tranquila, but the wind was constant! Ryan actually got a bit chilly at one point. That may have been from the three straight hours in water though.

Playas del Norte, CR

Again, beach bums.
We hit up Playa Panama bright and early to check out the black sand beaches. It was wonderfully empty, and it was definitely dark sand. It had a lot of silt, or something. Ryan kept saying it was really fine, and we decided someone would pay big money to have it during a massage. Anyway, we found a shady spot under a thorny tree for a couple hours. I finished my book; Ryan looked for crabs. We tried out the ocean. The mucky-ness of the sand made it very hard to see your feet. Also, the sand went out so far! You could practicality walk to the tree line if desired. We didnt because there were hidden rocks everywhere. So, we enjoyed the water quite close to the beach.

Next stop: Playa Hermosa.
This one was only 10 or 15 kilometers further north. It seemed to be just around the trees to the next cove. There was such a big difference though! The beach was busier, sand was sandier and the water was much clearer, less rocks too. It was rather overcast while we were here, but that worked out just fine for us. We spent most of the time floating around in the clear waves.

We stopped at Playa de Coco on the way back for some food. We didn’t stay long after enjoying a slice of pizza. We checked out some shops down the main stretch, but it was almost entirely cheap souvenir shops. 

Oh, and on the way back, we saw two cows just wandering a dirt mountain road!

Playa Conchal, CR

So, we plan to be beach bums for the week. We kicked it off early this morning with the nearby Playa Conchal. This one is pretty popular for it shell sprinkled beaches. Well, more like someone dumped trucks full of shells onto the beach and completely replaced the sand. We found a nice shady spot to lay around all morning, and play in the very strong ocean waves to keep cool.

Sidenote: I am 100% loving these Turkish towels. They worked as both pillow and blanket on the plane. They’re light and fit into our beach bag while still an excellent size for a beach towel as seen here. Then! I folded it hotdog style for a skirt to walk the couple kilometers back to the car. It knotted well and looked great with my floral swim shirt. Next time, I’ll snap a photo.

We also went a bit south to Tamarindo to find a supermarket. Ryan found a good taco spot there, too. Turns out it’s total tourist town. It was insanely busy and American-like. Also, the tacos were only fine. However, like most in this place, it was a pretty drive!