Costa Rica – Coast to Coast June 2005 and August 2006

It wasn’t raining but the sky was pretty overcast and it was very humid so we decided to spend some time at Tamarindo beach. We got some beers at the super mercado and did some swimming in the water which was very warm! After a few hours at the beach we went to a beachside café were we had some drinks and met a couple from Florida who offered us the rest of their tasty pizza that they couldn’t finish. A stray dog wandered in and I fed her some of the pizza crusts.

We returned to Pasatiempo where we met the couple from Texas and all decided to all go out to Dinner at the Fish and Meat restaurant that was located across the street. The atmosphere at the restaurant was very nice but the food was expensive and left us hungry afterwards. We then made our way to the Mambo Bar located on the circle and just as we arrived, Dan from Pasatiempo pulled up with some other people in a golf cart! We all went into the Mambo bar which was packed full of a younger crowd dancing to American and Latin hip hop.

After a few hours at the Mambo bar we returned to our room and waiting on the porch to our room was one of the hotel cats, Perro (which means dog is Spanish) that we befriended earlier. We let him into our room and he immediately made himself comfortable on our bed so we let him stay the night sleeping on our bed with us. He was very well behaved in our room and we enjoyed his company.

After breakfast and going to the internet café to send emails back home to family and friends we had hoped to go to the beach but since it was raining we decided to go for a drive and explore the beaches to the north. We made our way north passing several large resorts before stopping for a delicious lunch at Marie’s in Playa Flamingo. We had a bit of a scare when we returned to the car and discovered that I had left the headlights on. Fortunately it started right up and we drove back to Tamarindo.

After we got back to Pasatiempo it was still raining so we retrieved our travel scrabble board and played a few games in the bar while we passed the time. We ended up meeting another couple from Texas who were on their honeymoon and ended up hanging out with them for the rest of the evening. That night at the bar, it was the weekly Tuesday open mike night and they featured local bands that played some really good covers of blues, rock, and reggae songs ranging from Santana to Aretha Franklin. The place was packed with several hundred people in attendance and a good sized line waiting out in the street to get in.

At about 11:00pm we were hungry so we walked down the road into town looking for an open restaurant. The streets were pretty deserted (since everybody seemed to be at Pasatiempo) but we found that the Fiesta Del Mar café located at the circle in town was open where we had some tasty rice and chicken. The walk back to Pasatiempo was a bit tricky as the road was very muddy and slippery in places from the rain (we forgot to bring a flashlight) but we made it without getting too muddy and the party was still going on full swing but we decided that we had had enough fun for the night and retired to our room and went to sleep.

We woke up early and had a wonderful buffet breakfast by the pool. Breakfast included gallo pinto, potatoes, fried yucca, sausage, orange juice, yams, plantains, coffee, as well as a made to order omelets and pancakes. There was a parrot ... [Continue reading this entry]

Day 1 - Arrival in Alajuela We woke up at 3am for 6:30am flight to Miami with a 4 hour lay over before catching our connecting flight to San Jose. Our layover in Miami was uneventful and we had some expensive ... [Continue reading this entry]