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Published: October 13th 2007
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Samara Sunset
This is the best time to be on the beach. We enjoyed the waves and taking fun pictures. Another week has passed and I thought it would be quiet; however we have lots to write about. Just as I posted the blog last week about settling in, Ron and Owen arrived home on Thursday night with news that we were going to look at two more houses for rent. The school bus driver knows someone, who knows someone, etc. So off we go to look and the second house we visit is clean, ready to move into, closer to downtown but still in a nice area. And the price is very good. It also has hot water in the shower which is really a sweet bonus. We decided to take it and now we have a permanent place to call home. We will go to buy some furniture this weekend and probably settle in next week. While Owen was sad that we won’t have a pool anymore, there is a big beautiful yard with several mango trees which means the monkeys might visit and of course that would be pretty cool. You can also see Puntarenas to the west and a small bit of ocean from the yard.
As we did not foresee having a house rented we
Hotel Brasilito
A sweet beachfront hotel at a good price. were pursuing other leads on houses at the beach. Fernie, the guy that Ron was communicating with regarding our house in Arenal, told us about a house for rent at Playa Potrero. We thought that over the school holidays, December, January and February it would be quite nice to have a place near the beach. With this in mind we rented a car on Friday afternoon and drove off to Playa Potrero. We left Puntarenas about 4:45 and with dark falling quickly we drove north. Luckily we had traveled this road before on the bus, however, it is not recommended to drive at night. The roads have plenty of curves and the shoulder consists of steep ditches or trees with branches hanging over the highway. The highway was actually in very good shape and since we are used to driving on Saskatchewan highways we can handle most anything. Thankfully Ron is an excellent driver, and we arrived in Brasilito about 7:30. During our last visit to the area we had noticed a cool little hotel right on the beach, Hotel Brasilito, so we stopped and asked if they had a room. Yes, upstairs with a balcony and hammocks, with a
View from the balcony
The boys hit the beach while I watch from the hotel. view of the waves crashing onto the beach. Ahhhh, it was good to be back near the ocean. With the delicious smell coming from the restaurant next door enticing us we decided to splurge on a fresh seafood snack and enjoy the view. Brasilito is a cool little town, on the road between Flamingo and Conchal. It has a more local vibe than the neighbouring places which are mostly made up of tourists and vacation villas.
Upon waking the next morning the boys couldn’t wait to hit the ocean, even though it was drizzling. So off they went for a quick wave jumping session and then it was breakfast and house hunting time. We found the house that Fernie was offering, however even the good deal didn’t really make it seem too appealing. Ron calls us house snobs, but it is just a certain standard we expect! There are a lot of places for rent now as it is the green or more accurately the rainy season. Playa Potrero is a true mecca for tourists- rows and rows of houses and condos. In two months it will be filled with vacationing North Americans seeking some warmth.
Before leaving
Brasilito we went back to Playa Conchal, the boys favorite “sucking beach”, and then more seafood for lunch. We decided to take full advantage of the car rental and left Brasilito to explore another beach community that we had heard was great for kids. We drove about 2 hours south to Playa Samara. The drive was even more beautiful than to Playa Flamingo, with a winding road through mountains and rows of living fences. Suddenly Owen called out, “I see a monkey”. A few kilometers further we saw four or five howler monkeys in the trees. Ron stopped the car and we rolled down the window. Ron did a great howler monkey impersonation and then they howled back at us. It was very cool and just what we all hoped to see.
Just as I mentioned that I was very impressed with the peaceful area, we drove down the hill into town and saw the streets full of cars, people and bikes. A big biking event had just finished and the town was packed. We managed to find a room at Casa del Mar, a hotel about 100 metres from the beach. As the afternoon was coming to a
Surf Casting
This is a great way to spend the afternoon and if you're lucky you can eat fish for supper. close we quickly changed and hit the water. Samara is another very beautiful beach with some good snorkeling nearby. We enjoyed the wave jumping and the gorgeous sunset. After we went in search of pizza and went to bed early.
The next morning the boys dressed in trunks and hit the beach again. Then we got ready for some ziplining fun. Owen had been waiting anxiously for his first time ziplining. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate and just as we were about to be picked up the rain started to fall. The rain here does not just drizzle; when it rains, it rains hard and it fills the gutters within minutes. The guy who arrived to pick us up was honest and said that it would be no fun to zipline in the rain so we had to comfort a very sad boy. With the clouds settling in and the rain looking like it was sticking around for the day we ended our weekend at the beach early and set off for home.
Monday morning we awoke to more rain, the first time since we were here that it really rained that early in the day. It
Living Fences
We see these fences everywhere. They plant and trim the trees in order to create the fence The effect when you drive by is quite cool. continued to rain for most of the day and it really has not stopped for more than an hour at a time for the past four days. We were told this week that October is the official month of rain in Costa Rica. They call it the green season but we all know that is just a nice way of saying that it will pour non-stop for days. It certainly puts a damper on some of our outdoor fun, but I know the rain is necessary to keep everything so beautiful. Pura vida and keep the umbrella handy!
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carrine
non-member comment
interesting
I always enjoy hearing what happens next in tne Nolan Saga.