Reality Check

7 Days at Samara Beach, Costa Rica

Editors Note:  This article is a sequel to a previous article I wrote on Costa Rica called Backbacking on Local Buses in Costa Rica. Special thanks to Bob and Pauline Kyte for the pictures for these articles.

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The main road leading in to Samara is flanked on both sides by small hotels, surf shops, bars, restaurants, gift shops and banks. As with most coastal towns in Costa Rica, the road ends at the beach which is located in a bay.

 Our hotel, the Sol Samara, was located at one end of the beach but not directly on it, about a 40 minute walk from the centre. Generally, you will find that accommodations on the beach are significantly higher in price, and you may question the need to pay double the price in some cases for similar lodging.

 The Sol Samara, only 200 metres from the beach, turned out to be an excellent hotel for our stay. At $80 per night including breakfast, this 3 year old, 12-room hotel provided for all of our needs for 7 days.

 The hotel is cement construction on two levels, has an attractive bamboo roof, and a teak walkway around the building.

The tropical setting and the landscaping were lush and inviting. The gardens included: bamboo shoots, hibiscus, bougainvilleas, palm, mango and banana trees, plantanilla, ginger plants and much more. One bonus was that our morning fruit plate came from the hotel’s own gardens.

  The staff treated us like we were long lost friends. They served us breakfast each morning in the open air lobby, and we chatted with Larry, the owner, numerous times. He was always present, directing the staff, helping clientele and managing the finances. He seemed to take a personal interest in his guests, and when we wanted to carry our plastic chairs to the nearby Samara Beach, he insisted that a staff member would take care of that.

 Larry recommended that we visit Carrillo Beach for a day while we were there. We ended up spending two full days there, even though we do not consider ourselves to be “beach people.”

 On Bob’s (our friend) birthday, we hopped aboard a tourist bus with Germans staying at the hotel. Another time, Larry got one of the gardeners to take us and a family of four in his pick-up truck, along with 8 chairs and a cooler of cold beer and wine. No seat belts, no fuss, standing room only in the back.  Just hop in the truck and go. That’s “Pura Vida” as they say. Roughly translated it means: the good life.

 Playa Carrillo, about 15 minutes by car from our hotel, took our breath away as we got close. It is a stretch of beach, mostly fine, white sand in a protected cove. It is a provincial, or state owned beach, and largely uninhabited.

 The towering palm trees form a barrier between the road and the beach itself, so there was ample shade.

It was easy to find a quiet spot, alongside a cement table, four stools and a driftwood log for sitting. We relaxed, read, dozed and then walked the beach around 10:00 am and before the heat of midday.

 You really feel like you’re in touch with nature when you walk this beach. There are no buildings to be seen, no hotels, no beach bars and no vendors- just a half mile stretch of virgin beach. It is intoxicating to simply walk along and listen to the waves.

 The breakers at Carrillo get your attention right away. Every fourth or fifth wave is 6 footer with enough energy to topple a 200-pound man. 

 The water is not cold, and is clean so we decided to go for a swim. There is something about ocean water that is rejuvenating. The four of us ran in and waited for the waves, and felt their power as they hurled us towards the shore. We laugh hilariously, as we relax and let go and give in to the power of nature. You don’t ever forget this kind of experience.

 At around noon, just like clockwork, the same pick-up truck pulled up beside the curb. The driver brought our lunch for us that had been ordered the previous night.

 We were treated to a huge, fresh salad for 4 and individually wrapped chicken sandwiches, still warm from the oven. Our white wine was on ice and we huddled around our table, starting a game of Scrabble as we savoured our meal.

 Time seemed to pass quickly, and in mid afternoon we met our pickup truck for the short ride back to the hotel.

 It was a truly amazing experience to be at Carrillo, so much so that we repeated the experience another time.

 On the day that we rode with the Germans we joined them again in the evening, for a BBQ on Samara Beach near the hotel. Around 6:00 pm, as is the case in the tropics, we watched the sun set and shortly thereafter the beach bonfire became our focal point.

 A roaring fire held centre stage, surrounded by tables and chairs and a lot of hungry tourists. We enjoyed two huge brochettes, filled with chicken, beef, shrimps and sausage, served with cooked vegetables and a cold beer. Oil lamps surrounded our space on the beach. It was a very special evening.

 One of the things that most impressed me about our trip to Samara was that it is an excellent place to get away from it all, to be close to nature and to appreciate Costa Rica in its full glory. Somehow, I think this kind of setting has a calming effect on the local people, since there seems to be no mad rush to do anything.

 As always the Ticos make you welcome; they smile and they want you to have a good time.  They become your friends away from home.

 

Backpacking on Local Buses in Costa Rica

 Perhaps you remember or have read about the heady days of the late 60’s or early 70’s, when hordes of North American and European youth bought cheap airline tickets and backpacks, and took off somewhere, anywhere!

These thoughts and others crossed our minds, as the four of us, two couples in our 60’s, grabbed a cab in Liberia, Costa Rica and headed for the bus station. Our destination was Samara, a small beach town on the Pacific Ocean, two or three hours by bus from Liberia depending on the number of stops.

Canadians Return to Playas del Coco, Costa Rica

When you visit any tourist area for more than a couple of weeks, you start to feel the pulse of the place. You start to feel the vibrations.

 In our latest visit to Playas del Coco(or “Coco”) in February, 2012 it was our third time visiting this beachfront tourist town on the Pacific coast, about 30 minutes from the newly transformed Daniel Oduber international Airport in Liberia.

 Returning to a place gives you the benefit of experience. Questions come to mind. What changes have taken place? What remains the same?

Costa Rica and Panama from 12,000 Feet: Nature Air Revisited

Editor’s Note:

 Three years ago, my wife and I flew with Nature Air for the first time. We flew from Liberia to San Jose with a connecting flight to Quespos. We enjoyed the air travel so much that we decided to take a side trip on our holiday to Costa Rica again this year to the Bocas del Toro Islands, Panama.

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Introduction

 It would never happen in North America, but as we checked in to the Nature Air counter at the beautiful, new air terminal at the Daniel Oduber Airport in Liberia, we presented our documentation and placed our hand luggage on the weigh scale.

 Then we were asked to get on the scale with our luggage. That’s right. You ‘weigh’ in when you board a Nature Air flight.  Fortunately, we had no problems as the weight of our luggage plus out body weight was well below the maximum of approximately 250 pounds that are allotted for each passenger.

Nature Air is a Costa Rican airline whose small passenger planes make 74 flights each day.  A 19 passenger, Canadian-made aircraft known as the Twin Otter, provided an aerial adventure for us with stops in Tamarindo and San Jose.

 The DeHaviland Twin Otter opened up the Canadian north and is said to have made more trips to the North Pole than any other plane. However, the Otter is perfectly at home in tropical Costa Rica as we found out.

The Green Turtles of Costa Rica

We left Playas del Coco, Costa Rica at 5:30 pm one evening in February, 2012. There were 11 of us in a tourism van, ready for the 90 minute ride to Midas Beach, near Tamarindo, a major tourist centre on the North Pacific(Guanacaste) coast of Costa Rica.

The road was paved but curvy as we traversed the familiar mountainous regions which hug the Guanacaste coast. The sun was in its final descent on its daily 12 hour cycle. At around 6:00 pm in the tropics, the sun disappears as quickly as it rises. On one curve we saw the sun from the hilltop, a bright, crimson red, and by the time we reached the bottom of the hill it had disappeared.

 All of us were Canadian tourists, looking forward to an evening amongst the green turtles on Midas Beach.

 Several tourist vans arrived at the same time at about 7:00 pm in complete darkness. About 30 of us assembled in front of our guide/interpreter, eager to experience an evening of natural wonder- the opportunity to see green turtles returning to their birthplace to lay their eggs.

Dental Tourism is Alive and Well in Costa Rica

Editor’s Note:

 Four years ago while visiting Costa Rica, my wife and I went to  Enrique Parra Dental Care in Liberia, Costa Rica. We saw an advertisement for ZOOM teeth whitening in the Tico Times, and took the opportunity to meet Dr. Parra and his staff.

 We did not know at the time, but this first visit was the beginning of an ongoing relationship which we developed with Dr. Parra. In a previous article on this website I documented our experience in 2008 and again in 2009.

 In January 2012, we returned to Liberia for extensive cosmetic dentistry. The article below summarizes our treatments spread over the month.

 

Cruising the Atlantic Ocean with Holland America

A good friend of mine crossed the Atlantic Ocean in March in a catamaran manned by a crew of 16, powered solely by rowing, which took 45 days from Morocco to the Barbados.  It was an incredible feat.

However, it was the furthest thing from our minds as my wife and I flew to Ft. Lauderdale on April 12 to embark on the Holland America Eurodam, a newly christened member of the fleet, complete with all of the latest bells and whistles.

 

We opted for a re-positioning 16-day cruise, one that crossed the Atlantic to begin its spring season in the Mediterranean. The crossing included the following ports of call: Bermuda, Azores, Lisbon, Portimao(Portugal) and then the Spanish cities including Cadiz, Malaga and Barcelona.

Big Blue Arrives in Barbados after Miraculous Atlantic Crossing

BIG BLUE ARRIVES from Kelly Saxberg on Vimeo.

 ‘Big Blue’ arrived at Port Charles, Barbados on Friday March 4, 2011 after an Atlantic crossing that began in Agadir, Morocco on January 5.  Family and friends at the port greeted an exuberant and exhausted crew of 16.  The custom built catamaran became the first boat in its category to make the crossing. It is also the first time that a crew of 16 reached the finish line.

Former Cornwall Resident To Challenge Cross-Atlantic Rowing Record

 

  Well-known Canadian writer and former resident of Cornwall, Charles Wilkins has succeeded in getting a new writing assignment, undoubtedly the most exciting one in his illustrious career.

 Charlie is a crew member of an international rowing team, which was scheduled to leave Agadir, Morocco on January 8, 2011 on a voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. The final destination is Barbados, a distance of 3165 miles. The goal is to beat the world record of 33 days for the crossing.

  The craft has been dubbed “Big Blue,” a custom made catamaran designed to contain a crew of 16 members, mostly elite athletes in their field. The living quarters are basically a roofed area in the middle of the boat containing bunks, food supplies, a desalinater for water and a rudimentary toilet.  To say the living quarters are spartan would be a huge understatement.

Memorable Week at Royal Hideaway Ensenachos, Cuba

  If you are looking for mild winter temperatures, you might want to consider Cuba, a sub-tropical paradise with more Canadians per square mile than anywhere else in the world, except Canada.

 Landing in Santa Clara in central Cuba, it is amazing to see an airport smaller than a high school in a city of over 200,000 people. The kicker is that there are signs for only four airlines in the airport, all of them Canadian- SunWing, Air Canada, Air Transat and Westjet.

 You need to pinch yourself and remember that you are in one of the few remaining communist countries of the world, which means that for Cubans, only domestic flights are permitted. The government doesn’t allow them to leave their country. 

 Our all-inclusive week in Cuba took us to the Royal Hideaway Ensenachos, a stunning, five star resort located on one of a cluster of 500 small islands, or keys off the coast of Villa Clara. The five year old, Occidental Royal Hideaway has a welcoming, Spanish style lobby with its polished marble floors and high column ceilings. The huge property surrounding the lobby features lush vegetation and gardens, and the guest villas have their own courtyard and concierge services.