Day 9 - Nicoya and the drive to Nosara

We took a somewhat better road out of Tamarindo to Santa Cruz where we headed south towards Nicoya. On the highway, I saw a speed limit sign just before a crest in the road and I checked my speedometer. The speed limit was 75 kph and I was going about 70. Just over the crest of the hill were some trafficos and they pointed the radar at the car and then pulled me over. The guy asked for my passport and then told me I was going 89 kph. I told him that there was no way I was going that fast and he suddenly said “no ticket, no ticket” and to drive slower. I thought for sure he was going to ask for a bribe. I thanked him for the warning and continued on our way.

I had been in contact through email with an American veterinarian who lived part time in Nosara. He wasn’t going to be there when we visited but he told me to stop by a veterinary clinic in Nicoya and the doctor there would show me around. I forget to bring the directions with me to the clinic but remembered it was near the central park. We drove up and down every street looking for it. We then stopped at the police station where nobody spoke any English but were very eager to help. They showed me a map of the city and pointed at a few areas but I don’t think they really knew what I was looking for. I finally stopped at a human medical clinic and fond someone who spoke English who knew where the veterinarian was located and give me precise directions.

I finally found the veterinarian. He spoke good English and showed me around his clinic. I was very impressed with his equipment and found that in some ways they do things better there then what we do here in the states. He had a lot of plans to upgrade his hospital and want to make it more state of the art (at least by Costa Rican standards).



After leaving the vet we continued on to Nosara on the paved road to Samara. After the turn of to Nosara the road deteriorated into the typical pot holed road that Costa Rica is famous for. We arrived at the Gilded Iguana at about 3pm. The property consists of three buildings that contain rooms (I think 12 in all) Our room was on a second floor and wasn’t fancy but it was huge. It included a small refrigerator and coffee pot with café Britt coffee. The room had bug screens and louvers on three walls to allow fresh air to come in.

Kat was tired and took a nap so I hung out in the bar and had a few beers with the hotel owner, Patti, and a few expat locals. Everybody was very friendly. The bar/restaurant area is on the ground floor and is covered with graffiti and drawings from past guests.





After Kat woke up we went across the street to Blew Dogs Surf Camp for a late lunch. Blew Dogs is a fun bar with a continuous stream of surf videos playing on the two TVs and also has a pool table. There we met Dave and Phadera who live about 90 miles south of us in California. They were also staying at Gilded Iguana. We all then walked down to the beach which was very pretty. The only drawback to the beach is there are no trees directly on the beach so people have built little shade huts from driftwood that line the beach every 200 meters or so.

After watching the sunset we all headed back to Gilded Iguana and found a small party to be going on in the pool area with some of the locals who work at Blew Dogs. The bartender was making sure that everybody was having a good time by mixing up some really strong drinks! We stayed in the pool area for a few hours before going to bed at around 10pm

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 7 - Drive to Tamarindo

I woke up early and went outside and was greeted with a very clear view of the volcano. I can’t even describe how impressive it is. It’s there, gigantic, taking up the entire view. WOW!



We ate a tipico breakfast of gallo pinto, eggs, tortillas, coffee and juice that was included with the room at the hotel. After breakfast we drove back into town to get some pictures of the church with the volcano in the background.



We then checked out of the hotel and drove around Lake Arenal on our way to Tamarindo. The road around the lake was mostly well paved with only a few rough spots. We made it to Liberia in good time and the good road continued to Belen but after that the road condition really deteriorated the rest of the way to Tamarindo.

Once in Tamarindo we were horrified with all the changes since our visit last June. Lots of construction and new buildings - mostly 5-6 story condominiums, a pizza hut, subway sandwiches, TCBY yogurt and a Burger King! After checking in at Hotel Pasatiempo we were also disappointed to learn that several of our favorite staff members were no longer working there. We walked down into town dodging the trucks hauling construction equipment and choking on their dust clouds. We found that several of the restaurants we liked last year were either out of business or had been replaced with new buildings. We ended up at Nibbana (we ate there last year) and found that most of the tables closer to the beach were gone as a result of enforcing the 25 meter rule that nothing can be built or owned by non citizens that close to the water. We had pizza that was ok. We then walked down to Witches Rock surf camp which is now more fancy with higher prices and the waiters wearing uniforms. With advertising “Nachos as big as your ass” you would think this place would be more laid back! We then went back to Pasatiempo for a swim and hung out in their restaurant/bar playing scrabble until it was time to go to bed.