We've had some nice adventures in the last few days. Sunday we had decided it was time to go on an excursion, so we made a car reservation online for the local National office. We couldn't seem to find the local phone number anywhere. Our plan was to go to Samara to the south or perhaps drive north and do a little exploring. On Monday Michael went over to the office to pick up the car but they didn't have one. They said it takes 2 days for the online reservations to get to them, so maybe we'd have something the next day. Consequently we decided to spend the afternoon on a different part of our beach. After packing some towels and water, a beach umbrella we found in the house, and some fishing gear, we bicycled down to the south end of the beach, picking up a rented beach chair along the way. We walked down the beach a ways to where Michael wanted to fish and found a spot to set up our umbrella and chair. With the tide pretty high, the beach was narrower and we had the illusion that we were the only ones on the beach.
Sitting in my chair I could look out at the waves and ocean and see no one but Michael. Down that end of the beach there are a lot fewer people and we only saw a few passersby. It was as if we were on a totally different beach! Michael did some surf casting and I watched. After a while I started a new book, The Belly of Paris by Emile Zola. Michael gave it to me for Christmas and I'm really enjoying it. It is set in Les Halles, in Paris, around the mid 19th century. The descriptions of the markets and the food are fabulous.
Monday night Michael got out the charcoal and fired up the built-in grill on our porch. He barbecued a whole chicken he had marinated in jerk seasoning. It was so delicious! The charcoal really gave it great flavor. Later we went down to the beach for a walk in the moonlight. The moon was almost full and the tide was as low as I've seen it. There was that eerie half light when you can see a lot once your eyes adjust, but everything is still sort of greyed out. Michael brought his camera and we tried to take some shots with the tripod.
On Tuesday we called the car rental place with the number Michael had gotten when he went the day before. They still didn't have any record of our reservation since their system had been down for two days. I don't think they even had internet. The rate they quoted for a car they had was exorbitant as they don't like to rent them for less than three days and we only wanted it for one. Online they had no problem with one day. They did tell us if we brought in a printout of our reservation they might be able to help. So I went to the Frogpad and used their computer to print out a copy. Then we rode over on our bikes to see what we could do. We had also made reservations for a trip to Monteverde in the future and our drive back to San Jose and wanted to make sure those were going to work. With a little coaxing and explanation we basically got what we wanted. They had a car which they let us have for one day for, more or less, the rate we were quoted online. Hurrah! Success. I think it just works better here if you do things in person, not on the phone. The clerk was very chatty and asked a lot of questions about Colorado. So once the paperwork was done, we went back to the house, packed up some gear, and off we went.
We had decided to drive to Samara which is a larger town about 24 Km to the south. It may not sound like much, but the dirt roads really slow you down. There are two ways you can go and we tried to take the more coastal route. We didn't quite manage to come out where we intended, but we got there and we saw some pretty countryside in the process. We even forded a river! There were beautiful Guanacaste trees with a thick trunk that rises up to branches and leaves in the shape of an umbrella. We also saw what we think was a teak wood farm. Samara has a paved road going into it from Nicoya, the bigger city inland. It is a popular destination for Ticos on the weekends or for vacation, in addition to attracting international tourists. There is a Spanish Language and Culture Institute where you can study spanish and take lodging with locals if you choose. Michael had spent a month there when he was here before, so he was familiar with the town. There are small hotels and bungalows, some right on the beach, and restaurants and bars and a few souvenir shops, a Farmacia, and the usual grocery stores. I've heard that on the weekends it's a pretty happening place and the "discotheque" is full until the wee hours. We stopped for lunch at a restaurant called Casa Esmeralda and I had fish with Avocado Sauce that Michael remembered was really good. He was right! It was delicious. He had a whole fried fish, which is one of his favorites. After lunch we drove a little further south to the next beach over, Playa Carillo. This is a very picturesque half moon bay with a palm tree lined beach and a paved road running the length of the beach just behind the palms. Apparently one of the Presidents of Costa Rica was fond of this spot and so he had a road paved there so he could visit easily. It really is gorgeous and there weren't many people. We found a place to park and settled in the shade of the palm trees, careful not to sit directly beneath any coconuts lest they fall on us! Michael napped in the shade and I read some more. After a while we went back to Samara and walked around a bit. It is different from Playa Guiones because the waves are really small by comparison, the sand is more black, and there are businesses right on the beach. In Guiones, there is a 200m buffer of vegetation between the beach and any house or business. It's protected so no one can build or develop there. In Samara we enjoyed sitting at a beachside bar and having a cold drink and some nachos for sunset. Not a very impressive sunset, but fun to be doing something different. Before heading back to Guiones we stopped in at the grocery store for a few supplies. Earlier we had gone to the Farmacia to get some ibuprofen. Having gone through the supply we brought with us, we discovered that if you want more than a single dose packet, you have to get it at a pharmacy. Even so it was sold by the dose and we found it surprisingly expensive. Next time we'll bring more from home. We took the bigger road home, and even though it was dark, it wasn't too bad.
Wednesday morning after a surf and walk on the beach we used our rental car to run errands. We didn't need to return it until 1pm. After hitting up the ATM for some more cash, we bought bread at the bakery, veggies from the truck, and drove up to Nosara to go to the Super. On the way back we gave a woman and her young daughter a ride up the road to their house. We've had such good fortune with rides we knew we needed to pay it back a little. The afternoon was deliciously lazy with lots of book reading and a little napping. In the evening we went to the beach for the usual sunset. After the sun had gone down but the light lingered, we noticed some people down the beach had gathered and we heard there was a turtle hatch. So we strolled down the beach and got to see an incredible sight. There were about 30 or 40 little baby turtles scrambling over the sand towards the water and waves. People lined their path watching and taking pictures. Alas, I did not have the camera, so no pics for us. I moved up to where the nest was and saw about five baby turtles climbing over each other just erupting out of the sand like a spring welling up. Soon five turned into thirty in another wave of babies. They were so tiny; only about 2-3 inches long. With great determination they made their way down the beach to the water. When they were close enough, a wave washed up and, once in the water, they swam like mad. You could see their little heads bobbing on the surface as they got washed out to deeper water. I can't even imagine how they made it out past the waves.
Today we had a great day. I had a good surf session in the morning and we read books and went for a walk on the beach and took a nap etc. The sunset was really pretty with light reflecting on the clouds afterwards.
Pura Vida!
Sojourner Sarah
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