Starlit skies and Turtles - Playa Grande, Guanacaste

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To the beach!

After much deliberation of East vs West, we decided to go West! In search of sunnier skies and nature’s beauty, we called our new friend Alberto and asked him to drive us to Playa Grande, about three and a half hours from La Fortuna.



Along the journey, the landscape and climate changed dramatically. As soon as we drove over the crest of a hill and towards the coast, the land became dry and arid, bright sunshine and blue skies; such a contrast. I enjoyed conversing with Alberto and practising my Spanish.



We arrived at Hotel El Manglar in the Palm Beach Estates of Guanacaste. Guanacaste is the name for the region. It's was a small private gated community which provided a very relaxed atmosphere. Three minutes’ walk away was an enormous beach hence the name Playa (beach) Grande.



Walking along the vast beach gave no shelter from the strong sun, until we reached a tiny shack named “Taco Star” selling beef tacos. The Iguanas in the roof watched us as we enjoyed our late lunch! Just to perfect the situation, a local man came along with cold fresh coconuts for sale! The waves were wild and strong, the sea a perfect refreshing temperature

Starlit skies and Turtles!

Having read in our guide book that we were not visiting during turtle season, we were sad but accepted that there were plenty of other things to see! To our surprise, the manager at the Hotel asked if we would like to go Turtle watching….er, YES. What a delight when they said we could go to the beach to look, no guarantees of course.



It turned out to be quite a bizarre and entertaining evening with a comical Spanglish guide who regularly said to us "parking on the beach, I go looking". This ‘parking on the beach’ was actually spectacular as it meant lying in the balmy air looking up at an abundance of stars in the clear sky, with no artificial light around. There is something very humbling about lying on the sand with only the trees and the stars around.



We waited there for an hour and a half before moving on to another beach, thankful that we hadn’t been abandoned! In total we went to four beaches, following the infra-red light of the guide, Hector. Finally late at night Hector halted us with his arms and directed us up the beach toward a turtle trail. We could just about make out a dark shadow moving up the beach, but with only starlight it was hard to tell how big it was or how far away it was. We waited patiently, as the turtle had come up onto the beach to search for a suitable egg laying site. Once it has decided it was not suitable, it would turn around and return to the ocean. When we got close to the turtle I could not believe how big it was! A green pacific turtle, about eighty years old was making its way back to the great Pacific Ocean. We followed it as it struggled across the sand (gosh that looks like a struggle), the turtle waiting for the waves to be strong enough to sweep it away. The turtles come all the way from the Galapagos Islands because it is warmer in Costa Rica and a better temperature for hiding eggs for 45 days. The temperature of the egg decides whether it will hatch a male or female.



We continued in search of one more turtle and were lucky to find a black turtle this time. It too came onto the beach and then swam off again. It's so wonderful to see animals in their natural habitat and as it swam off into the ocean I couldn't help but wonder how many other turtles were in the depths of this mass of water. Looking out to the ocean, there was nothing but sea between myself and the Philippines. A wonderful, memorable night.

Rich Coast, Costa Rica

A relaxed morning indeed before hunger meant we threw on a sarong and walked down the street to Bula Bula for breakfast, gosh holidays can be tough. Bottomless coffee, fresh fruit, juice, and pancakes! Que rico! Just a casual iguana strolling by to complete the picture.

Costa Rica may be famed for its surfing, but that also means playing in those waves is a lot of fun! Swimming in the deceptively strong waves was quite exhilarating. As the day drew to a close, we settled down on the sand with a cold beer to watch the sunset on the beach….Bliss. We indulged in fresh seafood once more, Mahi Mahi for dinner this time. You know it’s fresh when you can hear the ocean as you eat it!

What a wake up…

Now here's a wake up I’d like to repeat every day. Eyes open, throw on a bikini.... take a three minute walk through the trees to the beach.... walk straight into the ocean, and allow the waves, the wind and the sun to start your day! No one was around on this enormous beach. The abundance of nature is other worldly, especially considering I live in the concrete, technology crazed jungle that is Hong Kong. Certainly realigns your perspective of the earth.



JHG



HotelEl Manglar: http://www.hotel-manglar.com/

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Comments

[Christine]

Pictures
Superb photos as ever, some great memories here.