Pacific side of Costa Rica

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We arrived at Playa Samara, on the pacific side of Costa Rica. Playa Samara has a reputation of being one of the country’s safest beaches due to the protection provided by a coral reef. The beach extends for 4 miles. The tropical forest surrounding the area gives you a chance to see Howler Monkeys and Sloths.

We stayed at Hotel Las Brisas del Pacifico, which is located on Samara Beach, Guanacaste. We were fortunate to stay in the top bungalows which gave us a view of Samara Beach.
In staying in the bungalows, don’t be afraid if you hear a deep howl or grunt over your roof. It's probably howler monkeys hanging around your bungalow. It wasn't surprising, around the hotel area, to see Iguanas as they were part of the landscape.

The area is incredibly beautiful and I enjoyed the sunsets as well as walking along the beach. The sand is soft and pretty white, the cool water felt good on my feet. There is nothing more heart grabbing than to see the sun setting over the Nicoya Peninsula.

One of our afternoon activities was a horseback ride along the beach. This has always been one of my dreams. The horses were quite small in size but they did the job. We stopped for a coconut break, I drank some milk, it wasn't sweet at all, but it did taste good. The sunset made the ride even more special.

During our ride, we met some people living in the area. They weren't the least bit hesitant about asking us over for supper for some beans. On the way back to the barn, we could smell the aroma of beans and it made my stomach growl with hunger. The horses knew when the ride was coming to an end as they seemed to head for the barns rather quickly.

One thing about eating in Costa Rica, the most typical dish in all of Costa Rica is gallo pinto, "red rooster". This a rice and bean dish served with breakfast and sometimes lunch. Different recipes include herbs or garlic, but the basic ingredients are always black beans and rice, bell peppers and onions. Another thing I loved about Costa Rica is their coffee is fantastic! I didn't have time to tour Cafe Britt, which is one of the coffee farms in Costa Rica. However, I did manager to come back with 8 huge bags of coffee! Cafe Britt has a website.

I had to catch a sunrise flight back to San Jose. In walking to the dirt landing strip, I saw an Owl in one of the trees. I kept walking toward it, being as quiet as I could. It appeared to be white or cream in color. I was shocked seeing an Owl in palm trees of all things. Just as I was putting my finger on the button to take his picture, he flew off. It just wasn't meant to be.

This ends my trip in Costa Rica. It's a great place to visit!

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Photos

View of our room from the pool
There are two swimming pools here. We had the top floor.

Hardscape Iguana style
Iguanas are part of the landscape.

Iguana crossing
Don't trip over these, they come in different sizes.

Lizard
This is not the Geico guy.

B & W Butterfly
This black & white butterfly blended in.

Squirrel
His face is almost a ghost like white. The tail is bluish-gray. He's very much alive and into mischief.

Costa Rican kitty
He joined me for breakfast.

Crabby
This crab had yellow eyes.

Coconut break
My horse wasn't very tall. At first I thought I was being put on a pony until I saw the size of everyone else's horses. They weren't any taller than my horse.

Red flowered tree
I hadn't seen a tree like this before.

Bulls
These bulls look like they are starving in comparison to Longhorn Bulls.

Costa Rican farmer
This was a surprise, but a nice one.

Pizza oven
I had pizza in Costa Rica! It was quite good, the crust was a bit crunchy. It was topped with fresh basil.

Sunrise
From the landing strip at the "airport". Moments after I had taken this picture, I saw an Owl in the tree. I couldn't get close enough to get a photograph of it.

Puddle jumper
The puddle jumper that would take me back to San Jose. These planes really do a great job of hustling us back and forth.