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Published: January 11th 2007
Our Nacho expedition came to a quick end when we mistakenly thought Joe's was closed for a company Holiday Party. Because clearly we had no idea it was Thursday and not Wednesday. From there we wandered to the much publicized Stella's, who demanded a reservation despite 90% of the tables being empty. We made a reservation for Friday night while we there. We ended up at Pizzeria Portofino (see, I wasn't kidding when I said that Ticos love pizza). They also love 80s music. Pretty much all we've heard since we got here is a steady mix of Kenny Loggins, Rod Stewart and Air Supply. I'm not sure what the fascination with 80s music is here, but it is EVERYWHERE. Seriously - it's like being transported to 1986. There are even mullets! Shudder. Post dinner was a typical night at the beach experience - walking straight back to the hotel and immediately passing out.
We woke up on the early side the next morning to try to beat the surf school crowd. Braved long bakery lives and were surfing by 9. Too bad all the lessons were in the water by 9:30. After getting crashed into by a beginner I abandoned
the waves in favor of some photography. Wes stayed out for another hour or so.
We tried to rent a kayak at lunchtime, but they were all out, so we went back to the hotel for a light lunch first. Then it was back to Iguana Surf for the kayak and a tough trip paddling out past the swells and across the estuary entrance to a nearly deserted Playa Grande. The currents were rough - we kept accusing each other of paddling too hard on one side. After 45 minutes or so on the beach it was a rough paddle back against the currents to save Wes from the dreaded daystar. At this point we could no longer move, so we stayed inside and napped and read until our 8 pm reservation at Stella's. A long walk later we enjoyed some seafood and more pizza at Stella's (note: still 90% empty but only taking people with reservations). The best discovery of the night was Bavaria Beer - finally a Costa Rican beer worth spending a dollar on! Post dinner was an early night to sleep, per usual.
This morning we were up early to return the surfboards only to find
that Iguana Surf was still closed (almost as annoying as the stil painful bruise on my head from when I got hit by the surfboard). A half hour later the boards were returned and we enjoyed our final meal at the hotel bakery. Then back in the car for the 3 1/2 hours to Monteverde. The last 35 km or so were amazing but rough. The 4 wheel drive came in handy for the first time all trip. The first 11 km or so were like driving on a dry riverbed.
Once we checked into our gorgeous room at Hotel Las Orquideas we headed up to Selvatura to try out the hanging bridges in the Santa Elena Cloud Forest. Stunning. Then back to the hotel and a 400 km walk into Santa Elena for lunch/dinner casados at Morpho Cafe. And now we are too tired to do anything else.
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nathan Johnson
non-member comment
Tamarindo, pretty sunsets but not worth it!
I was ripped off multiple times in tamarindo. The guy selling produce on the corner near super 2001 over charged me and then didn't give back correct change scamming about 8 dollars off me. That was in my first 30 min in tamarindo. Every day it was something. I'll never go back and I would advise everyone reading this to avoid sleazy tamarindo and its thieves!