Our final day in Costa Rica came way too quickly. The alarm went off at 6am on Wed. 1/20 and we dragged ourselves to the beach for our early morning run and this time a swim afterwards. Note to self the beach, even at 7:30am, is hot/nice enough to lay out on. After taking it all in for about an hour and realizing this was it, we headed back to the condo to clean, pack, and chow. Our flight was leaving at 1:45 so we planned to leave for the airport (a 20 min drive) around 11:45. After a quick and uneventful checking in process we discovered our flight was delayed (of course), so we decided to take one last flip video for kicks. What an amazing trip...thanks Mom and Dad for taking the plunge and somewhat randomly deciding to buy a place in Costa Rica! Hopefully this blog has helped to to put into words (and video) what an amazing place Playa Hermosa is. ADIOS and MUCHO GUSTO!
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Last Day of Lounging
Tuesday 1/19 was our last full day in Playa Hermosa so we decided to make the most of it by doing what we love; a morning run on the beach, coffee/breakfast at the condo, and then lounging all day in the sun. I managed to finish two books on this trip, one of my fav's being Too Big To Fail by Andrew Sorkin. I also enjoyed my daily swim to the raft that sits off the beach about 1/4 mi away. We discovered the little beach bar Aquasport where we had an amazingly simple lunch including the fresh catch of the day and a beer (or two). Delicious!
After our skin felt too crispy to sit any longer we headed home and enjoyed a glass of wine on the balcony while watching the sun go down and then headed to a French restaurant in Playa Coco that was recommended to us called Suely's. It's off the beaten path, cute atmosphere, and had great food. We stuck to the seafood of course ordering tuna tartar and ceviche for app's and sea bass and creole shrimp for entree's. Overall one of the best meals of the week and sadly our final one in Costa Rica. Our attempt at a pic did not work out so well since we only had the automatic timer to work with (no new friends sitting near us). Funny nonetheless!
After our skin felt too crispy to sit any longer we headed home and enjoyed a glass of wine on the balcony while watching the sun go down and then headed to a French restaurant in Playa Coco that was recommended to us called Suely's. It's off the beaten path, cute atmosphere, and had great food. We stuck to the seafood of course ordering tuna tartar and ceviche for app's and sea bass and creole shrimp for entree's. Overall one of the best meals of the week and sadly our final one in Costa Rica. Our attempt at a pic did not work out so well since we only had the automatic timer to work with (no new friends sitting near us). Funny nonetheless!
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Tamarindo, Costa Rica
On Monday morning (1/18) I woke up thinking, "crap only two more days of vacation left!" I hate that feeling, but determined to put that thought aside and enjoy the last few days we decided to spend the day in Tamarindo. This is was where we stayed almost 3 years ago to the day when we came to Costa Rica on a family vacation. It left such a wonderful impression on us that my parents came back 2 months later and bought their condo in Playa Hermosa. Three years ago Tamarindo was still a small third world beach town with dirt roads that attracted the 20 something surfers who wanted to spend their days with the waves and their nights getting drunk for $20. This time around, we were surprised at its growth and how Americanized it had become even having it's very own Pizza Hut and Subway. Despite, it's mainstream feel, we had a great day on the beach and then headed to the Hotel Diria where we stayed in 2006 for a late lunch on the patio while enjoying the ocean views. Ahhhhh heaven!
Four Seasons, Costa Rica
Once our hearts stopped racing from all the scorpion excitement, the rest of our Sunday consisted of more lounging on the beach (are you sensing a theme here??) and for dinner we decided to head to the newly built Four Seasons which you can actually see from the distance when standing on Playa Hermosa. Tucked away onto it's own private peninsula with not much else around, it's about a 45 min drive from the condo. As we were sipping cocktails at the bar, the nice bartender told us that after the resort was completed there were plans to build a whole town with shops and restaurants nearby, but because of the economic downturn the plans were pushed aside. He was hopeful though that eventually there would be more liveliness around the area. Dinner was expensive and bit overrated, but the cocktails were delicious, worth the trip at least once we thought!
El Scorpian!
I won't go into full detail on this event for fear of scaring people away but when we woke up on Sunday morning and got dressed for our morning run on the beach, Chris found a little surprise waiting for him in his shoe. Good thing he didn't stick his foot in all the way. Note to self, don't leave your shoes on the floor when traveling to Costa Rica!
Day 3
Saturday we woke up with our skin a little toasted so we decided to take a break from the sun and head to one of the waterfalls close by. After an early morning run on the beach we showered, ate, and headed out in "the bucket" for the Llanos Cortez Waterfall which is about 20km south of Liberia. We had no idea what to expect really, both of secretly were thinking it might be kind of lame and were pleasantly surprised when we came upon this sight...
WOW, totally worth the drive down the bumpy dirt road in the bucket. Seems that this spot is a watering hole for locals to picnic, swim and play in the waterfall. We both (separately) got in and swam out underneath it to get some photos. After hiking back to the car we headed to downtown Liberia for lunch which really wasn't all that impressive. It's definitely not a must see town so plan on skipping it unless you need to head to their version of Walmart. We headed home with our belly's full of pizza and beer for some downtime and to prep for dinner.
For dinner we decided to head into Coco Beach which is a 5 min drive and the beach just south of Hermosa. My mom had recommended the Papagauyo Seafood House so we headed there and a delicious meal full of seafood. If you like tuna sashimi and/or ceviche you should definitely order them as your appetizers.
Overall an amazing seafood meal for a reasonable price with great company. Cheers!
WOW, totally worth the drive down the bumpy dirt road in the bucket. Seems that this spot is a watering hole for locals to picnic, swim and play in the waterfall. We both (separately) got in and swam out underneath it to get some photos. After hiking back to the car we headed to downtown Liberia for lunch which really wasn't all that impressive. It's definitely not a must see town so plan on skipping it unless you need to head to their version of Walmart. We headed home with our belly's full of pizza and beer for some downtime and to prep for dinner.
For dinner we decided to head into Coco Beach which is a 5 min drive and the beach just south of Hermosa. My mom had recommended the Papagauyo Seafood House so we headed there and a delicious meal full of seafood. If you like tuna sashimi and/or ceviche you should definitely order them as your appetizers.
Overall an amazing seafood meal for a reasonable price with great company. Cheers!
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Day 2 Video
Hubby got me a Flip video for Xmas which is my new obsession! We brought it down here with us so here's a recap of our 2nd day which is basically what I described in the post below. Note how sharp the video is, hubby likes to give himself props for choosing the "HD" version," which based on the quality of this am in agreement!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
