Now For the Bad!! And Then the Ugly!!

Samara was a lovely, quiet town that I would love to go back to.  It is very relaxing!!

But, the next day we decided to visit another beach town called Nosara.  No problem!!  Hop in the car and away we go.  But, this time the road is not paved, and it made Saskatchewan roads (after our spring flooding last year) look like super highways!!

 I was anticipating a flat tire, but luckily the tires held out!

 Many people walking down the road had to cover their nose and mouth to filter out the dust.

 Now What??

 Great! It is passable, but too deep for our car!

 We found a shallower spot.  If this dude can cross, so can we!!

 Norm is walking out our path so there are no surprises!!

 Now for the UGLY!!

Not only is the road a bumpy hell hole, but the dust caused by all the traffic on the road was insane!!  The foliage was heavily coated with dust.  I'm not sure how the plants are able to use their photosynthesis to produce food.

Road Trip to Samara

Our trip to Samara can be characterized by the title, The Great, the Bad, and the Ugly!!  Samara is a great laid back town of about 4 000 people, so we were told.  I'm not sure where all the people were, but a lot of homes are hidden from view because their towns are laid out a bit different than what we are used to, and also hidden by foliage.  It was about a three hour car ride on very good roads with the last stretch being a bit bumpy.  Once we got to Samara we easily found our way around (two main drags), and found a great place to eat, named Gusto's, that was right on the beach, and we got to eat our lunch with our feet in the sand.

The long stretch of beach is a fabulously gorgeous bay with a very calm surf.  They do teach surf lessons and operate a few surf shops, but I think they have to cater to beginners. 

After lunch and a walk about we found a  great place to stay called Casa Del Mar.  It was right across the road from the beach.  Our hotel provided beach access, beach towels, chairs, pads, and loungers. Casa Del Mar is a small hotel with nineteen rooms, and a delicious breakfast included with the cost of the room. Their small pool in the courtyard was great for a cool down. The courtyard entertainment was, Bella, the parrot.  She was extremely tame and had freedom from her cage which allowed her to walk all over the courtyard and breakfast area.  She enjoys people and would often mimic their sounds and words.

 Iguana at Gusto's.

 Cute place called The Treehouse, right on the beach.  There were only four units, but comes with a full kitchen, and spacious outdoor area for each unit with a barbeque, sink, table/chairs and a hammock, the pool and bar are in the back, for $130.00 a night, which I thought was reasonable for a short stay.  This place needs to be booked almost a year in advance.

 Walking Playa Samara.

 Our hotel, Casa Del Mar.

 This is Bella, Queen Bee of the hotel!

 I loved Bella, but was a bit afraid of her.  She has a very sharp beak!!

Breakfast area.

Now that was the GREAT!!

Banana Trees

Bananas trees also take advantage of the moisture from the Tarcoles River.  I am not sure how they survive the rainy season.  The rain pours so hard, and  the water runs so fast that debris of all kinds gets swept into the river.

Watermelon Field

Farmers take advantage of the water from the Tarcoles River to irrigate their watermelon fields.

Bird Watching in the Tarcoles River

Many sights were to be had in the river, and the keen eyes of out guide pointed out many species of birds during our tour.

Fishing the Tarcoles

Crocodiles aren't the only ones fishing in the river.  Our guide told us the woman sitting in the middle of this boat who is fishing with her daughters is an excellent fisherman(woman!!) and always catches twice as much as her daughters' combined catch.  Fishing rods are very expensive for the Costa Rican people so they line fish instead.

Crocodile Tour

Tuesday, we took a riverboat crocodile tour just out of Tarcoles.  Fortunately, we were the only ones on the boat, which allowed us lots of questions for our guide.  The Tarcoles River has the largest amount of fresh water crocodiles in the world and is well known for this attribute throughout the world.  These crocodiles are now protected which enables them to grow up to around twenty feet.  Our guides had quick eyes for searching out the crocs, but in short order we were able to spot them through the murky water and mud.