A Few Words About Tamarindo

As you know, our primary experience with Costa Rica was in Tamarindo, a small beach town on the Nicoya peninsula. While there, I kept some notes on the town with the express purpose of eventually posting them here. A bit edited but here's the gist of them...

High Tide at Sunset at Tamarindo Beach

Tamarindo offers a great beach location with the secluded and expansive Playa Grande just a brief minute boat ride away... water taxis cost 500 colones or roughly a dollar. Don't believe that it only takes 15 minutes to walk to Las Tortugas once you cross the estuary - that was the estimate I was given at Iguana Surf Shop. It took us about 45 minutes. The water taxi drivers will also offer to take you on an estuary tour for about 2 hours for about $20/head. You can just show up and go whenever you want as there are plenty of water taxis running.

During low tide, the beach in Tamarindo is wide enough for plenty of people to hang out. However, as you can see from the picture above, once high tide hits... the beach tends to disappear as the difference between high tide and low tide is, going from memory, about 8 feet. Pretty drastic. Just take a look at the lava reefs in front of the Diria below and you get the picture.

...and This is Low Tide

The town has an excellent mix of restaurants in all price ranges. Many of them are a welcome retreat for the shady scene on "the circle", particularly at night. The closer you get to the circle, the more likely you are to see prostitutes or be offered drugs. We were asked three times on a Tuesday night if we wanted pot and one time on a Wednesday night for a harder option.

"Hello my friend... how are you... want to buy some weed?"
- Drug dealer puttering by on his dinky motorcycle

Honestly, you can walk around without being hassled - small crowds of locals sometimes are unnerving but no one really messed with us. At the same time, sometimes you feel like you're being watched. Some roads are pretty dark - like the road from the main part of town that then leads to the Kahiki. No streetlights, really.

Souvenir shops are more than plentiful, some of which have unique items worth buying while the rest are filled with your typical tourist fare. A couple of galliers (one next to Kahiki and the other next to Nibbana) offered nicer items. The shops at El Diria are more boutique-like although prices are definitely higher. Several surf shops are also in town - High Tide, Iguana and the like - so you won't have any problem locating board rentals, ding repair or a surf school. A handful of small supermarkets (more like convenience stores stuffed to the gills) are located throughout town. Since construction is taking place all over town, new shops, markets and restaurants are sure to pop. Many of the owners are expats - Americans, French, Swiss, Argentines and Italians.

Browsing Some Great Hardwood Items

The town is small enough to walk pretty much everywhere and, given enough time, you can take a comfortable walk to Playa Langosta. Many people opt to rent cars to visit nearby beaches or head to/from the airport. I have no idea where people park, though. If you do walk, expect to get plenty of dust all over you as each passing vehicle leaves a cloud in its wake. I'd say maybe 10% of the roads in town are paved -the rest are rocky. They must me a muddy mess during the rainy season. Ladies would do well to leave their heels at the hotel.

It's Tico Time at the Diria

When it comes to currency, you can probably do just fine without colones as everyone accepts dollars. In fact, if you're a gringo, they'll assume you're paying with dollars. You'll see USD prices all over the place. ATMs are located throughout town with two right by El Diria and one just west of High Tide Surf Shop. Keep in mind that prices are inflated in Tamarindo.

Next time... more information on various tours from Tamarindo.

The Story Behind the Shot:Tamarindo, Costa Rica

I love this shot because it just typifies what we saw every single night from our lounge chairs at the Tamarindo Diria in Tamarindo, Costa Rica. Each evening, we would pick a spot facing the beach and just relax with a drink in hand as the sun went down. Not bad, huh? A local told us that living there was like being stuck in a time warp. Save for the rainy season, every day was the same - beautiful weather, clear skies, gorgeous sunsets and relatively constant daylight hours due to its latitude.

Flights from Houston to Liberia in Costa Rica are about 2 1/2 hours long on Continental - convenient enough for a week-long trip or a weekend getaway. From Liberia, a car can take you to Tamarindo in about an hour. Tamarindo makes for a good introductory trip to Costa Rica.

Surf Spots in Tamarindo

One of the things I really enjoyed about staying in Tamarindo was having a surf spot or two right at your front door. Now, Tamarindo proper is not necessarily known for world-class waves. Yet, if you're itching for some surf and don't feel like bouncing around on some of the more notorious backroads of Guanacaste, you'll have at least three options within walking distance of most of the hotels in Tamarindo.

Let's start with Tamarindo. There are two primary spots located right in town - the first is directly in front of the Tamarindo Diria...


Of the breaks I'm going to list, I would say this was the lesser of the three. But let's be honest... it was right in front of our hotel (the picture was taken from one of the hotel restaurants) so how can you pass it up when it's right there!? This picture was taken on the heaviest day... maybe head high on some sets. The waves had quite a bit of power on this day but were usually relatively mushy and not that hollow. The break hits in a couple of different spots - one in the middle of the lava reef and one directly over the right part of the reef. The middle part tends to be more crowded - the lineup is full of locals as well as a handful of surf schools. The right is less crowded but is more shallow with rocks just below the surface. Just visit the spot during low tide and you'll know exactly what I mean.

Five minutes down the beach and across from the Witch's Rock Surf Camp is a rivermouth break...


Looks nice, huh? Admittedly, this was a relatively small day and there were only a couple of people out. This shot was taken from a beachside hotel so the perspective makes it look like shorebreak but it's the actual break. However, it makes it clear that the rivermouth was faster and hollower. I don't know that the size was that different from the Diria but you can expect better quality waves. Of course, as with any rivermouth, the area can have a few "sea critters". Watch for crocs after heavy rains.

Further afield is Playa Grande, by far the best spot in the area and known as one of the better waves on the Pacific side of Costa Rica...


There are a couple of ways to get to Playa Grande. The first way to get there is to drive from Tamarindo. Theoretically, the beach isn't that far away but roads being what they are in Costa Rica, it's more of a 20 minute drive. Mind you, you can see Playa Grande from the rivermouth. The other way to get there is by foot... you first walk to the river where you can catch a ferry for about a buck. Now, some people will paddle across the rivermouth but I'd just as soon pay a pittance to dodge the crocs. From there, you start walking.

A note about walking. We were told at the Iguana Surf Shop that the walk to the spot in front of Las Tortugas hotel was about 15 minutes long. Don't buy it! Walking along the crescent shaped beach during low tide to the spot across from Las Tortugas takes about 45 minutes. Now, you'll cross several spots along the way and there will be random pockets of surfers here and there. The most popular is definitely across from Las Tortugas because it tends to be the best break on Playa Grande.

Grande is typically 1-2 feet bigger than Tamarindo but we got stuck with a small day. If anything, I got a few rides in and just chilled on the beach. No complaints here.

Of course, if you do have a car and feel like exploring, you'll have all kinds of options at your disposal... Playa Langosta (right around the corner from Tamarindo), Playa Negra and Playa Nosara. Chartered boats can take you further out to classic breaks like Ollie's Point and Witch's Rock. Ultimately, you won't run out of options and finding a wave to your liking with take little to no effort.

Dining in Tamarindo

The surfer town of Tamarindo has changed over the years. The influx of expats has brought a whole host of dining options to the town. Here are some of the restaurants that we visited in Tamarindo:

El Jardin Del Eden - Wonderful outdoor atmosphere overlooking tropical gardens and very good food. We would consider this hotel next time as the pool/gardens were gorgeous.

Lazy Wave Cafe - Reminescent of an Asian or Moroccan hideaway. Outstanding seafood with an exotic twist. Some seats are traditional dining tables while others are couches and low chairs in a red-tinged outdoor dining area (see above). The restaurant and the Delice Del Mar is highly recommended.

Nogui's - A good beachside restaurant on the circle. I'm not quite sure I see why so many people fall all over themselves for this place.

Nibbana - Probably my favorite restaurant in Tamarindo. The restaurant had an Asian feel - we sat under a large polynesian style covering. Outstanding pork loin and the tuna tartare was delicious!

El Coconut - An expensive but elgant restaurant. Norwegian-run and a good choice for a fancier dinner. Prices are far from Costa Rican.

Kahiki - Very cool tiki-themed bar with a good local vibe and tasty mojitos. Located next to the Iguana Surf shop.

Pasatiempo Hotel and Bar - Good if you're looking for an American-style hangout - a total gringo place. More of a party place than anything else.

Panaderia de Paris - French-run bakery attached to Laguna del Cocodrilo. Good pastries and coffee... comes with authentic French "service" ;)

Witch's Rock Cafe - Located at the Witch's Rock Surf Camp, the cafe has good casual hangout food and is gringo friendly. Defnitely not gourmet but if you're craving some "bad" food (nachos, chicken tenders, etc.) this is a good choice.

Easy Costa Rican Souvenir

In December of 2006, we found ourselves "stranded" (not as drastic as it sounds) at Las Tortugas Hotel on Playa Grande in Costa Rica. It's a long story - one better suited for a completely different blog entry. Suffice it to say that the hotel and its restaurant were a Godsend. Anyway, for lunch I ordered a traditional casado. The dish is typically made up of meat (chicken, beef or fish), rice, black beans, veggies/salad, a local soft cheese and a fried plantain or two. The name, casado or "married", is somewhat of an inside joke as Ticos will tell you that what you see before you is what your wife will cook you for the rest of your married life.

When the waitress brought out our dishes, she handed me a small jar of a greenish brown sauce. I asked her about it and she told me it was Salsa Lizano and that I could put it on the beans. Not one to pass up a new flavor, I put some on the beans and... wow... it was fantastic! How do I describe the flavor? Hmmm... not sure but it's good. In fact, once we got back to Tamarindo, I picked up a couple of bottles at the little market across the street from our hotel. I've since used it at home on broccoli (a vegetable I normally avoid), sauteed veggies and, of course, black beans.

The next time (or the first time) you visit Costa Rica, run by a local market and pick up a couple of bottles - one for yourself and one for a friend. They're inexpensive and a nice reminder of your vacation. Hint: If you don't have any plans to visit CR, you can find them on Amazon.com in all kinds of sizes. I used some this past week on some sauteed veggies - tasted great!

Flyin' in Costa Rica (Part I)

Superman

Upside Down

The Butterfly (!?)

No, they're not abdominal exercises. At the Congo Trail Canopy Tour near Artola in Costa Rica, these are ways you can ride the zip lines. If your first experience with a canopy tour was in the U.S., riding a zip line upside down might be a bit unnerving, if not disorienting. We tried not to look too hard at the safety standards (no helmets and... yeah, that platform has a bit too much electrical tape) but still had a great time. The entire experience is worthy of a much longer post (that will be part II) but the following quick videos show the butterfly (my wife) and upside down (me) in action.