Blogs from Samara, Guanacaste, Costa Rica, Central America Caribbean - page 11

I've learned something important about Costa Rica. . . the destinations are beautiful and extraordinary to behold, but getting there, getting anywhere, is inevitably miserable. Yesterday, some friends and I (two Canadians and a Swiss) decided to go see the giant leatherback turtles that nest in Ostional National Park. It's supposed to be a short little day trip, well actually a night trip, because the best time to see them is the week of the full moon at night. My Tico family said it took about an hour or an 1:15min to get there. So off I went at 8pm, knowing it would probably be a fairly late night. What the heck, I'm only in Costa Rica once, no? For one night I thought I could give up my first-one-to-hit-the-sack status. It was raining slightly when ... read more

A last blog from rainy Samara......... After a fabulous trip around the country (and Panama) we ended the tour with a great day rafting on the river Pacuare. Unfortunately no pictures of that day because we obviously got soaked several times. It was one of the most fun experiences here in Costa Rica, maybe even better than SkyTrek (it's a close call). We left from Puerto Viejo early in the morning with our backpacks and slept most of the way to the adventure centre near Siquirres. We drove to the river and got our safety talk etc etc from our very cool guide Roberto. Somehow I ended up being the guinea pig, I had to jump into the river to demonstrate how someone needs to be rescued should they fall in. Quite refreshing actually, it was ... read more

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 ... read more