Jay & Nicole's Trip to Costa Rica - May 2007 

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         Cruise (part 1)      Cruise (part 2)       Central Coast Area        Northern Beaches      Volcano (part 1)    Volcano (part 2)
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This page picks up during the second week of Jay & Nicole's trip to Costa Rica.  


We left the central coast area and began driving towards the northern Pacific coast.

The route took us from a rugged mountain area to a flat lowland area where many rivers empty into the Gulf of Nicoya.

We joined up with the Pan-American Highway for a short distance.  This highway, labeled "CI 1" on the map, cuts across Central America and connects North America with South America.

We were glad to be able to use a new bridge that went over the Gulf, as it allowed us to get to the Nicoya peninsula much quicker.


 

 

From Nicoya the traveling got a bit more interesting.

The coastal areas are mostly undisturbed; there are many parks and quite a few beaches.

The route took us from Nicoya to Santa Cruz, and then towards the coast.  The road conditions got worse as we neared the ocean ... and there were no longer any signs for us to follow.

When we got to the ocean, we discovered that the coast was wild ... with no villages or hotels.

We drove north and, after some treacherous roads, we ended up in Tamarindo.  We decided to get back to some bigger roads and head directly to the Playa Flamingo area where there were many hotels for us to pick from.


When we got off the main roads, the conditions and animals made for very slow progress!

When we got to the coast, the sights were wonderful.

 
It was really amazing how few people there were around, but it makes sense when there are so many beaches and so few people in the country.

If we were prepared for camping, this would have been a great place to stay ... but we needed to press on and get to the hotels.


We finally got to the area in which we wanted to stay; we chose the first hotel we checked out!
The hotels in Costa Rica have impressed us ... even places in the most remote areas are great!


Nicole needed to write out some post cards and I took pictures.


I went out the 'front door' to the beach area.  The waves weren't very big since the many islands block most of the swells.

There was a yacht harbor and a nice condominium complex across the bay.

When I zoomed in, you could see the extravagant homes which were build all over the place.  Retirees from the US have been coming here for decades since the prices were so good.


The next day we checked out and drove just a little further north, towards a Swiss-run hotel.
We were continually amazed at the homes we saw... it sure seemed like Santa Barbara!

Even though the price of real estate has risen so much that it is no longer a bargain, many people come here since they can have a dream home built without having to go through all the hassles with permits, etc.  The communities have also set up their own medical clinics and hospitals ... a good selling point!

The downside to the expansion is the impact to the environment.  The developers go in and virtually rip everything apart. 

This hillside was destroyed by a developer.  A neighbor reported the activity and he was ordered to stop ... but the damage was already done. 


It is easy to see why people would want to live in this area; a beach and island paradise!

It took a while to find the next hotel, but it was worth the hassle.

 The empty parking lot and pool area meant we had the majestic place to ourselves ... yeah!


The view from the open-air restaurant was great.
The weather was wonderful and we were able to read and relax.

The beach area was the only disappointment.  We were hoping to go swimming but there were no waves.  I tried snorkeling, but the water was too shallow and murky.  The recent storm had stirred up the bottom & deposited a lot of driftwood on the beach.  If the wood hadn't been wet, we could have had a nice fire!

We initially thought this funny colored squirrel was a cat. A bird was making very nice music; I tracked it down and found this crested & colorful guy happily pecking away at a coconut.

We walked to the north and saw more nice, expansive beaches that were mostly un-inhabited.

We walked to the south and saw basically the same thing ... we wonder how crowded these places will get in high season ..?


Straight out were some barrier islands that blocked the big waves ... white with bird droppings.

We drove to another area and enjoyed a sundowner while watching people going for kayake rides.

We would have liked to stay in this are for a few more days, but we had more of the country to see.  The next day we packed up our things and continued our journey.

As we departed the hotel, we got another good view of the lush countryside, as shown above ...
... and the beautiful coast, bays and islands, as shown below.


 

It is now time to leave the coast and head to the volcano area ... 

 

 

... but that will require going to the next page, via the menu below:


   
     Cruise (part 1)      Cruise (part 2)       Central Coast Area        Northern Beaches      Volcano (part 1)    Volcano (part 2)
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