If It Ain´t Broke, Don´t Fix It

If It Ain´t Broke, Don´t Fix It
Central America Caribbean » Costa Rica » Samara By TicoTime
May 16th 2007

Dolphin, off the Port Bow!
They were just too cool.Hello All,

We´re still loving our time on the beach here in Samara, and when we realized how sad we were about having to leave, we decided to stay another day.

The thought of camping amid torrential downpours, mud, humid tropical heat and most of all, bugs that are out of this world, we made the decision to abort our planned camping trip to Corcovado. Which is somewhat disappointing but we figured after being forced down from Cerro Chato we could end up having a similar experience. And it takes a day of travel on the bus from San Jose to get there (after staying overnight) and then a day of backpacking each way just to get into/out of the park for the actual camping. So that equals 8 days for 3 camping. And we really don´t like the idea of rushing around just to do things to say we did... that´s not the relaxing vacation we invisioned.

So, today we will use some surf time and maybe check out neighbouring Carillo and its beautiful rocky beach we saw from the ocean yesterday. And for dinner, the highly recommended Argentinian restaurant is quite appealing.

Our day surfing
Showoffs...
You´d swear they´re doing tricks for you and you alone, but you never know for sure.was excellent. We signed up at the original school in town, Jesse´s, and it was super good. We learned the basics of getting up on land and were given the lowdown on terminology and then taken out amid the surf. There they worked us up toward the bigger waves (still small, which is why Samara is perfect for beginners) to catch one into shore. I got up and into shore on my 5th try, while Jenny was having trouble because of her bummed arm. So her instructor patiently took her back to the beach and taught an alternate method, which did the trick because before long she was up and into the beach on her own power. It was a great time, and we both really enjoy the sport.

The young man who runs the business, James (only 26), took over from Jesse and is even married to his daughter. James is really the quintessential surfer. He even competes at the national level, formerly as a member of the Costa Rican national team. But the cool thing about him is his friendly manner. He took a shine to us for some reason and offered Jenny the student rate too,
Howler Monkeys
These family of about 20 howler monkeys were checking out the clothesline outside the hotel. Jenny saw them from the bathroom!and even gave us an extra hour of board rental free. Then when we came back he told us we could surf any time we liked. Now that´s stretching value in the US $35 each it cost us. The next day he even told us we could have a tune up lesson and that was a factor in us staying another day. Wow. What a guy.

Yesterday we had so much fun. First thing after breakfast at our place (Entre Dos Aguas B&B... couldn´t more highly recommend a place in the area with the combination of ambience and room quality) we went out on a dolphin watching tour.

At first I was a little leary of our craft, as the fishing poles onboard appeared more sturdy but it proved to be more than enough. We headed out to sea for around 20-30 minutes and then they were upon us. Literally. The pod was at least 100 strong, likely more and they were all around. Initially we were trying to look everywhere at once and see the all, but then we relaxed and started just looking at the ones close by.

They must be able to sense our
Howler Monkeys II
The babies were so cool... they came down from the tree branches to test the clothes lines while the males howled at us. From 20 ft. away.wonderment, because they would come alongside our little vessel and then crisscross just ahead of the bow or go right under and then come up for air where we could get a good look. There was plenty of showboating on their part too, as they´d jump clear of the surface in a nice half-moon arc like in the movies or at Sea World. Other times they would slap their tails on the water´s surface with a loud crash. We even heard their high pitched voices a couple times, and it seemed like they were checking us out.

When I thought hummingbirds and moths/butterflies were difficult subjects to photograph, boy was I wrong. At least you can see them and watch their patterns and wait on a spot to get a good frame, but with dolphins they´re under the water most of the time so you only see them as they come up and usually end up with a shot of a tail or splash in the water. I found that if I got on the bow and watched for them to swim alongside then I could kind of guess when they´d have to come up for air and try
Our room
We couldn´t believe our eyes when we saw this place. US $40 a night, for a room as big as our apartment.
And free breakfast too!to follow them with my lens for a shot. I hope I got a couple with my camera. Jenny got a couple and they do convey what it´s really like. Just amazing. It´s so interesting to see them frolick around, alongside their mate and such. They´re so curious.

After that we went fishing. Jenny got a bite and it jumped clear of the water -- where we saw its silvery-blue arm length body -- only for it to unhook itself. Ah well, it was great just to be out there trolling for the fun of it. Once we were done that our captain took us over to the nearby Isla Chora for some snorkelling. Which didn´t last long as Jenny was getting water in her nose and my leg was weaking fast (after my encounter with a surfboard fin the day before) swimming against the current. But the fish were there busily maintaining the reddish-brown coral and that was enough for us. We got the point. So we opted instead for a bit more fishing even though we didn´t get any more bites. For a mere US $60 each it was an exceptional experience we´ll not forget.

For
Our shower
Hot water for the first time in two weeks, and what a shower!!! Amazing.dinner we went to the highly recommended Al Manglar (our hotel proprieters and James both raved about it) which is run by an Italian lady who was a known pizza chef in the old country but came here to make pies. Our waiter was actaully Jenny´s surf instructor... which was cool. The pie was made from scratch to order, and the vegetarian consisted of: onions, tomatoes, artichoke, heart of palm (yes, palm tree) and mushrooms. On the side was (real!) parmesan and a spicy chilli sauce. MMMMM. It was hard to believe they only wanted 4,500 colones for such an amazing meal. We even had leftovers for the fridge at the hotel.

Tomorrow we´re off to Cahuita, via San Jose. We´ll stay a couple days before shoving off to the coast because there´s supposed to be an excellent farmer´s market, with organic produce and local artisan´s fare. Then we´ll get to see the Caribbean for the first time. Should be great.

Take care everyone, keep up the comments, we love seeing them.

Ciao.

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Part of trip: Costa Rica

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