Travelling to Costa Rica -- Day 2

Today we terminated our brief stay at the beautiful Mangroove hotel. After a rough night of restless sleep, I was motivated to wake up and energize myself by walking. It was very easy to become excited in this foreign country, the moment I entered the sitting room, I was embraced by the 7:00 AM sun, shining through the thin leaves of the trees My father and I immediately strolled through the complex in search of some coffee and breakfast. I was shocked by the heat of the day at such an early hour, but I guess the surprise helped to wake me up. After we located the buffet nestled in the outdoor, fancier restaurant across the path from the restaurant we ate at the previous night. We returned to the room to fetch my mother and Zoe. The Mangroove is so beautiful.

After the breakfast of some classic gallo pinto, platanos con azucar, a fried egg, empanadas, and enyucados (which is fried yucca and cheese), I was ready for the day. My father and I borrowed bikes, and rode them along the beach trail in the back of the hotel. Down the path to the right, we travelled through dense trees and through soft sand in some points. Large iguanas were abundant along the path. The trail eventually opened up to a secluded beach with sand filled with broken bits of coral and shells on the sand. As we examined the shells, we noticed them start to move. They were not just shells, but hermit crabs! The sand close to the water contained copious amounts of hermit crabs. Whenever we would move, they would stop, and whenever we would stop, they would move. After we were done exploring, we collected our bikes and rode back, past the hotel and down the path in the opposite direction. The beach on this side appeared to be a popular spot for locals to camp. This trail was much shorter, but near the end, we noticed an incredible tamarindo tree filled with bromeliads. Every branched was lined with bright red epiphytic plants, with tamarindo pods hanging down in juxtaposition. We found one of the pods on the ground and tasted the sweet fruit inside.

When we returned to the hotel, it was time to pack up and prepare for the taxi ride to the place we are now: Playa Grande. Before departing I wandered around the hotel, everything is so perfectly landscaped, and I saw the namesake tree of the Costa Rican state we are staying in, the Guanacaste tree.

The taxi ride was relaxing, and allowed time to practice some of my Spanish providing directions to the driver. Driving in the daytime was much more interesting, as we were provided the chance to actually see. All along the way we saw roadside mercados selling watermelon, pineapple, cantaloupe, mangoes, and other fruit. Since it is practically the last week of the dry season, all of the vendors are trying to sell the last of their crops, and most of the farms we past were empty and burnt -- probably to clear the area or maybe it was for sugar cane.

Before we arrived at our destination, the roads turned to dirt -- it was an ongoing construction site so the last stretch of the drive took quite a while. When we finally reached the house in the Palm Beach Estates, I was amazed by the woven wood pillars which looked like the woven roots of a banyan tree, and the wide open feel of the rooms and backyard.

The first activity in Playa Grande was to curb our hunger. The Currigans who had already been in the house for a couple of days led us to El Mar Azul restaurant. Service is not quick here, the meal was long, and relaxing, perfect for vacation. I ordered the national meal of the country, Casado, spanish for “married” since it is a perfect marriage of rice, beans, chicken, salad, and plantains. Afterwards, we headed down to the warm beach, where we surfed and swam in the comfortable water and allowed our bodies to cool down from the hot day. Walking to the beach is quite surprising, the house is located in an area densely covered in trees, so emerging from this scenery, the stark, open beach is a drastic change. We stayed at the mostly empty beach until sunset, and played with the crabs and snail-like creatures in the sand in the meantime. Everything is so relaxing, it is a nice change of pace from the normal quick-paced everyday life.

Being dark outside, we decided to go to dinner, which was yet again delicious. The enchiladas, at The Great Waltini restaurant in La Bula Bula hotel down a dirt road from the house, I consumed appeared very similar to Mexican enchiladas, but were coated in a melted cheese crust on top and with Costa Rican seasonings, providing a very different flavor.

After returning to the room, most decided it was time to go to bed, but my father and I instead walked to the beach, one last time to capture photos of the stars and the city of Tamarindo visible a mile or so down the beach. Alright, I’m tired time to go to bed!