Potholes and Volcanoes and Imperial, oh my!


Advertisement
Published: January 10th 2007
Edit Blog Post

Total Distance: 0 miles / 0 kmMouse: 0,0

La Fortuna to Tamarindo


Tamarindo at SunsetTamarindo at SunsetTamarindo at Sunset

Enough said. :-)
All the exercise from the day before wiped me out. I lasted long enough for a quick dinner at the Lava Rocks Cafe (yummy casados pollo), and promptly got back to our room and passed out.
This morning we had eaten and packed up the car by 8:30, hoping to get an early start on things. In a fitting conclusion to our time at Arenal we were treated to our best views of the volcano yet on our way out of town. We pulled off the road to find that we could finally see an eruption - boulders rolling down the steamy side of the volcano. That must be what we heard a few nights ago. It was a great site. The second active volcanic eruption I've seen. Pretty cool.
The drive from La Fortuna to Playa Tamarindo was long and fairly boring (I guess the guidebooks weren't lying when they said Guanacaste was less than scenic to drive through), with the exception of a view of several more volcanoes). We also had our first experience with traditional Costa Rican roads - it took a full two hours to get around Lake Arenal and through Nuevo Arenal to Canos. Largely attributed
The road to TamarindoThe road to TamarindoThe road to Tamarindo

See what I mean?
to an outstanding combination of potholes and hair pin turns. From there we caught the Pan American Highway to Liberia and then back roads to Tamarindo through Belen and Filadelfia.
I think we got in to the hotel around 1:30 or 2 pm - hard to tell because Wes lost his watch somewhere along the drive. This, added to the driving boredom necesitated a warm Imperial and testing out our fancy, works 24 hours a day, AC. Having the AC, a fan, and 24/7 access to it is bound to lead to a vast improvement in our ability to sleep at night. We're sad to have no kitchen though. The hotel is great - we have our own bakery (complete with delicious empanadas pollo), a fancy restaurant, a small lagoon with a caimen, hammocks and a path directly to the beach. We also seem to have a hotel iguana or two. Good times.
After a quick walk to the beach and town to scope out dinner and pick up supplies we returned for ham and spinach pizza from the bakery (Ticos seem to really like their pizza) and Imperial and Bamboo rum & cola (in a can! how has this
Wes enjoying the HammocksWes enjoying the HammocksWes enjoying the Hammocks

A nice way to spend the afternoon after driving all morning. We love this hotel.
not caught on in the US?) and quality hammock time. Oh - and you know who this is directed toward - we totally passed Scott Foley on the street. I almost said hi until I realized he wouldn't remember me from 5 mins of pre-meeting chatter and that he wasn't someone I knew well. Funny how that happens.
We headed back to the beach for sunset and pictures until a sand fly invasion forced me back inside. We headed to the local soda for casados and tropical check and then raced back to the hotel to search for a missing $40 (not a good day for hanging onto our belongings) recovered under the bed. Now we're enjoying our AC with some relaxing chill time.



Additional photos below
Photos: 6, Displayed: 6


Advertisement

Tamarindo EstuaryTamarindo Estuary
Tamarindo Estuary

Right next to our hotel - beach, ocean, estuary, and a nice view of Playa Grande across the river.
Bamboo Rum & ColaBamboo Rum & Cola
Bamboo Rum & Cola

Enjoying rum and coke in a can in the hammocks at Laguna de Cocodrilo Hotel.
Hotel Laguna de CocodriloHotel Laguna de Cocodrilo
Hotel Laguna de Cocodrilo

The view of our hotel from the beach at Sunset.


10th January 2007

Smiles
Wes looks so nice with a smile on his face!! :) And you look so relaxed and tan and happy - I'm envious!! Please send me the pic of you in the hammock.

Tot: 0.128s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 15; qc: 78; dbt: 0.0875s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.2mb