Day 10 - Day trip to Samara

After waking up early, I read for a bit and then decided to take a drive around town and scout things out. The Nosara area is pretty spread out and the roads are like a maze. The town of Nosara itself is actually located a few kilometers inland from the beaches where the hotels are located. The hotels are actually located in the areas of Playa Guiones and Playa Pelada.

Driving around I saw how while there were a lot of houses, they were very unobtrusive with many of them hidden amongst the trees. I am assuming that the Nosara Civic Association keeps a tight reign on development and on what can be built. There is a 200 meter exclusion area along the beaches where no development is allowed. There are a few buildings in the exclusion area in Playa Pelada that were grandfathered in since they were there before the exclusion zone was put into place.

I made my way into the town of Nosara and found it to be a typical Tico town with a few stores, bars, and restaurants. Nothing special there. They are building a new modern gas station just off the road into town. It looked to be 90% complete. The nearest gas station is back 45 minutes south on the road to Samara so this will be good for the locals and tourists.

Other things of note - there is a Banko Popular (no ATM though) next to Café de Paris and a mini super with internet café just down the street from Blew Dog’s and Gilded Iguana

After driving back to the Gilded Iguana I ate breakfast at their restaurant. I had the typico breakfast and it was very plain and uninspiring (in contrast to their lunch and dinners. More on that later).

My wife finally woke up and we decided to take a walk up to Café de Paris which was maybe 1km away. It started to sprinkle so we took umbrellas with us. When we were almost half way there it really started to rain really hard so we were forced to turn back and get the car. Once at Café de Paris my wife had a really good chicken sandwich on freshly baked bread (I saw the bread come out of the oven). I was still full from breakfast so I just had a coke. We played some cards to pass the time. I saw a Tico kid park his quad by the bakery entrance and he forgot to set the brake and it started to roll downhill towards our rental car! Fortunately it hit a rock that stopped it before it crashed into anything. Café de Paris has a fast (but expensive $10/hr) satellite internet connection so we decided to take advantage and check email.

It looked like it was going to rain all day so we decided to take a drive to Samara. It’s about 45 minutes over bad road to Samara back the way we came into Nosara. During the dry season there is a shortcut but when it rains the Rio Buenavista crosses the road and you need to take the long way around to get there.

Once in Samara, it had mostly stopped raining so we parked the car and had lunch at Shake Joes which is located right on the beach. It’s a funky place with giant chairs with mattresses on them and tables with thatched covering. Unfortunately, due to the rain they had to take all the mattresses off of the chairs so we had to sit on normal chairs under the awning of the restaurant. I had a really good tuna sandwich with a few beers. After staying in Nosara we had originally planned on heading to Montezuma or Mal Pais but since we had already been to those places last year and I wasn’t looking forward to the long drive we decided to walk around the town and check out a few different places that were recommended in the Moon and LP guides if we decided to spend a few days there after leaving Nosara.



After walking around we drove back to Nosara and stopped at Marlin Bill’s to check out their dinner menu. The choices looked good but expensive. The cheapest thing on the menu was $16. We then took a walk on the beach and watched the sunset. We returned to Gilded Iguana for a dip in the pool and then headed to Blew Dogs where new friends Dave and Phadera and another couple joined us for a yummy dinner where I had chicken enchiladas and my wife had spaghetti.

When we were going to bed we found one of the hotel’s cat hanging outside our door. We invited her in and she spend the night in our room with us (she was very well behaved). We finally hit the sack at around 11pm

Day 8 - Tamarindo

As usual I woke up early and took a walk around town and along the beach. I checked email at the office at Pasatiempo (free for guests). They now also have free wi-fi for guests as well. While eating breakfast, I met one of the owners of the hotel and she told me that they were disappointed with the direction that Tamarindo is headed. They have put Pasatiempo on the market and plan on opening a new hotel in the Playa Negra or Avellana area.

Since it was a gorgeous day we decided to chill at the beach. On the way we stopped at the Super-2000 to pick up some beers and snacks. In the store we met a Tica who had been living in Tamarindo for the past three months working in real estate. Even though she was making a lot of money she said she couldn’t take it anymore and had to move back to Escazu. Other locals told me that they can no longer afford to live in the area and don’t know how they will be able to get to work as their rents keep getting raised and they need to move further and further away.

After the beach we headed back to Pasatiempo for a dip in the pool and a late lunch. We played cards and talked to other people in the restaurant/bar. That night at the bar, it was the weekly Tuesday party that features local bands that played some really good blues music. They stopped selling food at the restaurant when the music started so at around 10pm we were a little hungry and walked into town looking for a snack. We ended up at Fiesta del Mar where I had a tasty dish of arroz con pollo. After that we headed back and went to sleep.

Day 5 - Puerto Viejo

We had another great breakfast consisting of gallo pinto, eggs, tortillas, fresh fruit and juice. Collin and Roberto’s other dog, Cody, was at the veterinarian in Bribri getting spayed. Since I am a veterinary nursing student I thought it would be interesting to meet the veterinarian and see what kind of medicine is practiced there. We drove to the clinic and I got to meet the veterinarian who didn’t speak any English but we were able to communicate with the little Spanish I knew. The hospital was somewhat primitive by US standards but they make do with what they have.



After leaving the vet clinic we stopped by a roadside stand where a woman was selling some tasty frozen mango juice in plastic bags where you bite off a corner and suck the frozen juice out. Collin also bought some fresh eggs and fruit from her and we then headed back to Puerto Viejo stopping at the school in Hone Creek where Roberto is a teacher and watched the kids play drums in the soccer field.




We were a little low on gas so we went into town and bought two gallons from a local guy who sells it out of his house from cans. He only marks each gallon up a few hundred colonies so it was a pretty good deal.

We then drove up to Cahuita for lunch but the restaurant, Cha Cha Cha, which was recommended was closed. The town seemed pretty dead but there were people around the national park so we ate at the National Park Café and watched kids playing with a soccer ball on the beach.





We drove back to Banana Azul, had a swim in the ocean and then headed into town for dinner. Since it was Saturday night the town was quite packed with people walking around. We ended up eating at Café Rojo (excellent curry) and a late cocktail at El Dorado before heading back and going to bed.

Day 4 - Puerto Viejo

I woke up early and went for a walk on the beach with their three dogs. Came back had had a good breakfast of eggs, toast, fruit, and juice. Roberto then took us to an amazing waterfall on the road to Bribri. There is a 50 foot waterfall and another smaller 15 foot fall that you can jump off of.




On the way back we stopped at a local ingenious family’s house where the mother showed us how she made chocolate from the coco bean. Very interesting! We then bought various chocolates and brownies flavored with nutmeg, mint, and clove. All were delicious!



After getting back we went into town for lunch and ended up at Amimodo, a Italian restaurant on the southern edge of town right by the water. We sat outside with a view of the ocean and had some pretty tasty antipasto and pizza. We then checked our email at the internet café and then had some drinks back at El Dorado (becoming our local watering hole). After going back to Banana Azul for a dip in the ocean we drove to Playa Chaquita with Collin, Roberto and the other guests for an awesome dinner at Jungle Love. After returning to Banana Azul, Roberto and I stayed up talking and drinking beer until pretty late.

Day 3 - Puerto Viejo

It rained heavy during the night with thunder and lightning. Our room had good ventilation and a ceiling and portable fan so we were comfortably cool through the night. In the mornings Collin makes a giant pot of coffee available for guests on the downstairs deck (which also contains a pond with fish and turtles). A yummy light breakfast was served upstairs and consisted of frittatas, homemade bread, fresh fruit, and more coffee.

After breakfast we decided to head down and check out the beaches towards Manzanillo. Kay from El Dorado said to turn left after the third bridge past Punta Uva but we couldn’t find it and ended up at the end of the road in Manzanillo. We took a turn towards the Marisqueria Arrecife restaurant and ended up at a picture perfect beach that only contained about 12 other people as far as we could see. After a few hours on the beach and swimming we were getting hungry so we drove back north a little bit to the other side of Punta Uva where we had some tasty casados at the Ranchito Beach Restaurant.





After driving back to Banana Azul we met up with the other guests and all headed into town for dinner at El Loco Natural. AWESOME food and live Caribbean style music consisting of a guy singing and playing electric guitar accompanied by another guy playing a homemade standup bass.