¡Pura Vida!
Last weekend I decided to make the most out of my free time – the students were having exams so a lot of my classes were canceled. I basically only worked 4 hours in two days which was the least I’ve ever worked since I was here. Well, Lina and I had plans to travel to Tamarindo on the weekend, but as I was free even earlier, I took the bus to Tamarindo on thursday morning. A good 6 hours later I arrived in my hostel, got introduced to a friendly guy from Peru, a girl from Spain and another girl from Atlanta, USA. I tried to take a short nap but I just couldn’t fall asleep as I was too excited to be there. The Peruvian guy then invited me to go to the beach with them and because he had a rental car we drove out to Playa Negra. I was super thankful for this opportunity because reaching that beach without a car is very difficult. We enjoyed a late afternoon swim at an almost empty beach, and I had enough time to let my mind arrive in this new place. Everything I’ve heard about Tamarindo was that it’s really pretty, full of Gringos (Americans) and that there’s lots of partying. My first impression though, was a calm and welcoming oasis. In the evening I cooked up some leftover potatoes that I had brought from my house and later that night I went out to a few different bars with some other travelers from the hostel – it was an epic night, but I had way too much to drink and I accidently locked myself out of my room at like 4 in the morning. I was passed out on the couch in the living room, and when I woke up I still had the taste of alcohol in my mouth. In times like these I always say to myself that I will never drink again but I can’t even say that with a straight face haha. I actually do want to try to be sober for a year or so one day, just as a personal challenge, and the health benefits it has – I also am a full supporter of “sober fun” – which is basically enjoying life without needing many things (like alcohol). The hungover was spent with the same people, we drove out to two different beaches and just spent the day relaxing. Surprisingly both beaches were almost empty as well! Lina had arrived at the hostel while I was gone, so when I got back we decided to go out for dinner at this Falafel place. We enjoyed the rest of the night chilling at the hostel while listening to some live reggae music and we called it a day. On Saturday we had plans to go to Tamarindo beach but as we left it started raining so we hung out at a coffeeshop until it stopped. We rented 2 surfboards because we wanted to get back at it and practice, but it was a disaster. I was still not feeling 100% energized because of the other night, and man.. the waves were just knocking us over. The beach is apparently a good one for beginners but I don’t know about that. Maybe we were just too weak and tired. Later that night we were cooking some pasta together with Marissa (from Atlanta) and we just played board games and talked for hours. We got to know Joe, an American who’s currently riding his motorcycle through Latinamerica. He had just gotten to Costa Rica and told us about driving from Guatemala through Nicaragua to get to Costa Rica. He had decided to leave Guatemala earlier so he would be able to get through Nicaragua before the political situation got too intense and dangerous. While showing us his go-pro footage and telling us about his crazy journey, we all listened closley. Lina and I originally wanted to go to Nicaragua for our language course which we have to do during our stay abroad, but we decided not to due to the political situation. Joe contacted a news platform because he felt eager to share his story because sadly the media isn’t covering much of what’s going on there. His article got published just a few days ago and I highly recommend reading it (link down below).
On sunday Marissa, Lina and I decided to make the most out of my last half day in Tamarindo so we took a shuttle to Playa Conchal which is supposed to be one of the most beautiful beaches in Costa Rica. And let me tell you it was definitely worth it although it was more crowded than the other beaches I had been at the days before. I really didn’t want to leave, the water was so clear and calm for once, that swimming in it felt heavenly. But I had to keep going and I left Tamarindo with the 2pm bus towards San José, then I accidentally got into the wrong bus at the airport and it took me an hour longer to get home. But oh well, that was definitely not the worst thing that has happened to me. I thouroughly enjoyed my time in Tamarindo, and I think it’s a great place to stay for a couple days or even 1-2 weeks. There is everything one can desire – party, cute cafés, shops, lots of surfing, crowded beaches, empty beaches and international people. It definitely is a mayor plus if you have your own car because shuttles can be really expensive! Thank you to everyone who made my time there so crazy, fun and special.
Joe’s journey through Nicaragua: https://www.thedailybeast.com/my-nicaragua-motorcycle-diary-racing-through-a-revolution
Hasta pronto!
//Olivia