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August 19, 2007
Pura Vida - Día Cinco
On the menu for today was breakfast at Grinds, located at another restaurant called Kahiki's. It is apparently where the locals go for breakfast..not that I noticed too many choices. It was typical breakfast food..and it was good.
Today's activity was surfing...the reason many people go to Costa Rica. Not having much experience (maybe 30 minutes about 17 years ago) I took a lesson. We learned the basics in about ten minutes before getting into the water. We then spent nearly two hours surfing. I was able to stand up on the second or third wave I caught..and many more afterwards. Unfortunately the waves were breaking fairly close to the shore so you couldn't ride for too long..and when you went down, you were likely hitting the ground. The teacher was relentless. It was probably the best workout I've had in ages. As soon as you'd get back out to where the waves were breaking, he'd have you turn around and catch the next wave. At the end of the lesson I was glad that he had pushed us that hard because we got some good practice. During the lesson, however, I would have really liked to have been able to breathe. My arms weren't too happy at the end of the two hours either..
Dinner was pizza at Pizzeria Las Baulas, next to Dragon Fly. Again, nothing out of the ordinary (well nothing like Papa Johns and Pizza Hut)..thin crust pizza with some odd topping choices.
Posted by mhader at 6:30 PM | Comments (2)
August 18, 2007
Pura Vida - Día Cautro
The fourth day in Costa Rica is a day I had been looking forward to for quite some time. It had been 12 years, 1 month, and 2 days since my last [SCUBA] dive. Very early in the morning we were picked up outside the villa and taken about an hour north to la Playa Flamingo where we were stripped of our shoes and boarded a boat to take us to a boat (no docks) headed to the Catalina Islands.
Once on the dive boat we were divided into groups of about six people and given the game plan for our first dive and a quick refresher course on hand signals that would be used while under water. The trip out to the islands took about 30 minutes, most of which was filled with our bilingual dive plan. Not long after our talk we saw the only 2 turtles we'd see for the day floating at the surface.
Our first dive consisted of following the northern flowing current on the west side of the Catalina Islands between 40 and 60 feet under the surface. Not long after our descent we went into a small area that could be called a 'shark wash'..sharks go in here and the smaller fish clean them. I was quite excited about this because I had never seen a shark while diving. I was not disappointed. Here we saw several white tip sharks just lounging on the ocean floor mere feet away. Apparently we scared them all away because it sounded like we were the only group to see more than one shark. We saw 5-6 throughout the dive. After leaving the house of the sharks we went further north where we saw two schools of spotted eagle rays off in the distance. After a three minute safety stop at 15 feet we ascended to the surface and were promptly picked up by the boat. Total dive time: 55 minutes
After a bit of rest and refreshments, our second dive took took us close the the island pictured above. This dive was a bit of a let down after the first..though no dive is a bad dive. There didn't seem to be much in the way of life..besides a few small fish and a bit of coral. The only creature worth noting was an octopus. This dive was supposed to be around 40 feet, although we did briefly hit 60 foot. Total dive time: 46 minutes.
I was very happy with the crew of the dive boat. Everything was taken care of for us..they even took our flippers off in the water. For anyone else with the misfortune of seeing Open Water, I was pleased with the safety measures taken to insure everyone made it back to Flamingo. Not only were we in small groups with a dive master, while on the boat everyone had to sign a paper before diving and once again after we finished diving. The final test was making sure we had no leftover shoes when we returned to the beach.
For dinner we ate at Taboo in Langosta, just down the street from the villa. I wasn't thrilled with the menu here because it was mostly seafood and a bit on the expensive side. The restaurant itself was very nice however.
Posted by mhader at 6:30 PM
August 17, 2007
Pura Vida - Día Tres
On the third day, the adventures began. Just after lunch we were picked up at our villa by the Canopy tour crew. We drove about 20 minutes outside of Tamarindo, signed our lives away, and began to zip between the trees. I think there were eight lines on the tour which was not enough. It went by way too fast. At the highest point we were roughly 60-70 feet in the air. One of our guides took my camera and snapped one of the few shots you'll see of me in Costa Rica:
He also took a video of me going upside down on one of the lines..maybe I'll figure out a way to post that one day. The zip line tour was very fun and it is something that you must do when you go to Costa Rica.
The rest of the day was a normal vacation at the beach day. We didn't do anything until dinner. For dinner we ate at the Dragon Fly, which was probably one of the best restaurants we ate at during the week..so much so we almost went back. While we enjoyed our dinner, the sky fell..we had a great view (because, again, we were outside) of the thunderstorm and pouring, pouring rain. The rain helped to bring down the temperature a wee bit so we didn't mind. We were joined at this meal by an Alaskan Malamute/Siberian Husky (I can't tell the difference between the two, but I know I want one) which was also in the restaurant avoiding the rain. I wasn't shocked to see a dog in the restaurant because they were everywhere, but I was surprised to see a husky due to the ill-suited weather.
Posted by mhader at 6:30 PM
August 16, 2007
Pura Vida - Día Dos
I never adjusted to the time in Costa Rica and was up most days well before 5:30 am local time, which is when it started to get light outside. Most of my mornings were spent reading and going on solo walks on the beach armed with a camera, usually.
The beach was across the street, through a short wooded path from where we were staying. The beach here wasn't very good for swimming. In fact it was quite a dangerous place to get into the water due to the lava rocks that took up the shoreline. The pool at the villa was definitely the saving grace for our location. Without it we would have been some unhappy, overheated tourists. The picture above is looking north, towards Tamarindo. In the southern direction, across a small channel (which was dangerous to cross at higher tides), was a beach that reminded me of a beach you'd find in South Carolina.
Our second day was mostly spent lounging around the house, watching the WB (yes, they still have the WB) summer reruns with spanish subtitles, some sun at the beach, and bathing in the pool. We also set our plans for the rest of our time there.
We booked all of our excursions through a company called Hightide (pictured above). The booking process brought back memories of renting the car. It seemed to take forever. We were actually able to negotiate some discounts because we set up so many trips with them which made my wallet happy. The staff were all very nice and most of them knew us by the end of the week. I'll talk about the different things we did as the week progresses.
For dinner we went to a restaurant called Fish & Meat where we enjoyed some sushi mixed in with the heat of the outdoors. They had an 'all you can eat" $15 special which was way more than any one person could (or should) eat. Even though I am not really quite sure what I ate, I thought it was good.
By this point we realized that almost everything is outside in Costa Rica. The only exceptions were a couple stores and the banks. Now I know why the ticas are rumored to shower as many as five times a day.
The adventures begin tomorrow..
Posted by mhader at 6:30 PM | Comments (2)
August 15, 2007
Pura Vida - Día Uno
For those that don't know, I spent the last week of July on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica en La Playa Tamarindo (well, actually La Playa Langosta, just beyond Tamarindo). Over the next few days I'll try to write everything that you really didn't want to know about the trip..
The overall flight to Costa Rica was a bit shorter than I thought it would be. Obviously it is a short flight from Charleston to Atlanta. In Atlanta we had a long enough layover to grab a bite to eat before boarding our flight to Liberia, Costa Rica. Note to all of you who might one day go to Costa Rica in the future (take me!): Eat at the airport before you leave. Other than some snacks on the plane it's likely going to be the last good chance to eat for a while. The flight from Atlanta was about 3.5 hours--and very comfortable due to the lack of passengers.
I'll admit that I expected a bit more from the airport. The airport consists of not much more than a couple hangars with some really big fans and a small control tower. The hangar on the left housed the 'boarding gates' on one side and check-in on the other. The hangar on the right side was used for immigration, baggage claim, and customs. With only one plane coming in at a time our trip through immigration and customs was fairly quick. Once through customs you enter the gauntlet of Tico's trying to sell you stuff. We were picked up here to be taken to the rental car company. Here's another tip. It's a good idea to pay your $26 Exit Tax at the airport when you arrive because it will likely be quicker than when you leave and are trying not to miss your flight. You may also be able to be pay this in the town in which you are staying (we payed it in Tamarindo).
Renting a car in Costa Rica seemed a bit worse than actually buying a car..or a house. The selection was nothing to write home about.
The trip from Liberia to Tamarindo is slow going..though the narrow road is actually paved the whole way (no painted lines however). The drive takes a little over an hour and there isn't much to stop and see along the way, excluding the only 2 gas stations between Tamarindo and Liberia.
The main street in Tamarindo is made of paving blocks. The rest of the unnamed roads consist of potholes and dirt..mud when it rains. This time of the year is known as the wet/rainy season so we saw our fair share of muddy roads. I so wish I had my Jeep on several occasions.
Upon arriving in Tamarindo, we sought out food in an outdoor (that's a common theme) restaurant called the Copacabana, no relation to the nightclub. The food was good, but it brings about another tip for those traveling to Costa Rica. Be Patient. Nothing in Costa Rica is quick.
After food we checked into our villa. When you walk through the private gate the first thing you see is a pool with a fountain and a sitting area where you could enjoy the sun, heat, and humidity of Costa Rica. The downstairs consisted of a tv room/living area, dining room, full kitchen, and master suite. Upstairs were two bedrooms that each slept two. The main problem with the house was the lack of central air. The three bedrooms were the only climate controlled rooms. Of the four bathrooms in the house, none had AC, and three were practically outside. When it rained, you could just about take a shower without turning on the water..
We made a trip to the Supermercado for some food and snacks where we tried to figure out how best to convert colons to dollars so we knew how much we were paying for our Cheerios. Luckily most everywhere took Visa and Mastercard, and if they didn't, they would take US dollars (a lot of prices in some stores and restaurants were actually in dollars).
Just before the sun went down we took a short walk on the beach. Despite the two hour time difference, the sun came up and set close the the same time it does in South Carolina. So the sun rises and sets very early in Costa Rica. As the sun went down, so did we.
Posted by mhader at 6:30 PM | Comments (3)