Happy Holidays to all!!!

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12/24/08 posted by John
Settling in at the farm… Yes, as Megan stated, we are now on a farm and it is quite nice. We have been spending our days exploring some of the other beaches in the area. Yesterday, five of us went in search of Playa Izquierda. The hills here march all the way into the sea creating many crescent shaped coves that in time have become a series of sometimes small and almost inaccessible beaches. Playa Izquierda is such a beach. The directions are cryptic at best. After a couple of reroutes, we found ourselves on a small trail cutting up and down through the jungle finally opening up on a cliff two hundred feet above the ocean. Needless to say, the view was sublime. Getting down to the beach was another story. Following the trail, we come to a steep set of concrete stairs straight down to the beach below. My first thought was to wonder who would have carried all the bags of cement necessary to build a set of stairs all the way up here. This small crescent beach is truly no than three hundred feet long. The rocks on each end jut out into the sea hiding the neighboring beaches behind curtains of stone. The stairs tell us that this is a favorite beach with the locals, one that they won’t advertise and that we feel fortunate and a little guilty for finding. I surely wont tell where it is (even if I could) but plan to return for more time to enjoy the solitude of it all.
The group is planning on returning to Playa Buena Vista later today to surf. This is the closest decent surf beach thirty minutes down a dirt road from the farm. You must time your arrival to the beach correctly. There is a river that you have to cross to access the beach. The river is highest when the tide is coming in which in turn can be a good surfing time. Unfortunately, when the tide is high and the river is high it allows the crocodiles to advance closer to the beach. We have learned to just watch the locals and make sure we cross down stream from where they call it safe.
12/25/08
Merry Christmas to all! Christmas here is celebrated at midnight Christmas Eve. Last night at midnight there were fireworks over the beach and bonfires could be seen up and down the beach. Apparently, the families here go to midnight mass and then return home to be with family and open presents. Tonight our landlady is having a party for Christmas. All of us that live here are required to bring something to eat. Megan and I are making Arepas and Pico de Gallo (unheard of here) as well as a salad.
Today, we returned to Buena Vista to surf and be in the sun. Buena Vista is such a beautiful beach. It is a protected turtle-nesting site. The piles of driftwood and long stretches of untouched sand add to its feel of isolation. It was abnormally hot today. Probably in the low nineties so a swim was welcomed. Megan still hasn’t found a used surfboard in her price range. I think this town is too small and the selection too limited. She has been borrowing one from our landlady. Megan was too tired to surf much today so I used it like a body board and surfed some. The waves are incredible here, so very big and powerful.
12/27/08
I went on a long walk today down the beach from the north end of Samara all the way to Buena Vista. The only time it is accessible is during low tide so I got up early and headed out. I felt like I had the world to myself. No foot steps in the sand and no people. I felt like Robinson Crusoe. Lots of tidal pools and rocky outcroppings. Very Beautiful. Ended up at the south end of Buena Vista and laid in the shade for a couple of hours before heading back to the house. If the tide hadn't been coming back in I might have stayed longer. Home by noon and now we are getting ready to go to the festival. This town gets crowded when a party comes to town... Happy Holidays to all! We miss you!

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Photos

the farm
We are staying in a building behind the one here.

The farm
This is our house. We share it with 5 other people. It feels like a hostel.

Red Tree Squirrel
All the Squirrels here are red with a black and white stripe down the back.

Playa Buena Vista
The new daily surf spot.

Biking back from Buena Vista
Look at that tan!

Raptor hunting the tidal pools.
On the way from Congrejal to Buena Vista