Costa Rica, 05-03-2007
We sleep though my wristwatch alarm, but wake up in time to have some watermelon for breakfast and catch our shuttle to Playa Samara. We end up circumnavigating nearly the entire peninsula: from Mal Pais to Paquera, a shuttle change, Paquera to a shuttle change in the middle of the road in rural Guanacaste, from the to Nicoya for another shuttle change, and finally to Playa Samara.
There’s a little mixup at the Nicoya transfer, as the first driver wanted $17 for the first leg of the trip, and the driver at Nicoya wanted the full $70, which was supposed to be the full sum of the fare. A quick call to the office rectified the situation, hopefully with no hard feelings.
Church in Jicaral
By the time we are out of Nicoya, a full scale thunderstorm has moved in, but just prior to entered Samara, it departs as quickly as it arrived. We pulled up to what we thought was one of the choice budget picks from Lonely Planet, Pasado Matilori. The owner introduces himself and takes us straight up to give us our pick of the three rooms. The double only has twins, so we take a triple for $25/night including free breakfasts. It looks doable, and the owner was Donal (if I didn’t mangle that too badly) is a very friendly and well educated Tico teacher. He informs us of some local points of interest and appeared quite genuine.
We wander Playa Samara for a while, up and down the beach, soaking up the beauty. Although Samara is distinctly more touristy than Mal Pais (although it is still definitely a tranquil small town), I get a more welcoming vibe here than in Mal Pais. In Mal Pais, I got the feeling that being non-surfers, we were seen as interlopers and precursors to an Americano invasion. I got this feeling more from the regular American visitors than the Ticos.
REI Model
We stopped for some fruity drinks at Shake Joe’s on the beach, which looks like it probably caters to the young party crowd during the high season, but currently offers an array of large lounge-booths overlooking the ocean. We camp and relax. Upon returning to our B&B, Donal informs us that the power might be out for two hours, but the main roads should be lit. We head out again looking for a snack and some diversion, but the first small restaurant was full. In the second, a little open air soda across the street, sat a newlywed couple, Matt and Laura, that were staying in our adjoining cabina the night before in Mal Pais. Apparently they just up and decided to drive up to Samara for the hell of it. We join them for a few drinks and trade stories.
Playa Samara
Most of Costa Rica is hydro-powered, and at the end of the dry season, there are frequently scheduled water and electric blackouts. There was electricity when we returned to our room, but no water.
The DEET still on our bodies and the itchiness of the sheets made for an uncomfortable night of minimal sleep.