costa rica

trev and i also just returned from a week-long trip to tamarindo, costa rica. it was our first vacation by ourselves, so we dubbed it our "honeymoon" seven years later. what a time we had! we had been to this exact location 4 years ago with the shaver family, and it was great to go back to a place and see the changes and all that has stayed the same. trev surfed a lot, and i was lazy on the beach! i read my four books on the sand, by the pool, and in our hammock where we stayed. we ate a lot of pizza and typical Tico food, met some friendly people from all over, and just enjoyed each other. costa rica is beautiful, and we hope to make this spot a regular vacation destination.

playa tamarindo is right next to playa avellana, my absolute favorite, where the sand is pure crushed-up shells and the surroundings are so serene, quiet, and peaceful. the tide change is close to 200 yards everyday, so at (very) low tide, all the reefs are exposed, and at high tide, they are completely covered, which explains how trev cut his foot on one the first time we visited playa avellana. it's such an amazing place all in all. every morning we walked the beach, heading to the left one day and to the right the next. the monday we were there we were actually blessed with overcast skies all morning and walked and walked through playa avellana to the river mouth which separates this beach and playa langosta. no swimming in the swift river current though, this is where crocodiles like to hang out!

i did take the boat across the river mouth in tamarindo on our last full day, as trev paddled his board across. this brought us to playa grande, and nice spot for average surfers where there are no crowds and nice waves. i hung out on the beach and was greatly entertained by 10 crabs wandering back and forth and frightened by my every movement. i cooled off in the water for a while to try and catch a video of trev surfing and looked down upon a huge (no kidding, 4 to 5-foot) black, spotted stingray, just beyond my toes! For a split second, I actually thought about trying to get a picture, but quickly changed my mind as gushing white water was approaching and i just knew this thing would be pushed into me. it was my first time to see one in the water, i've never seen one in my many, many adventures on mustang island.

oh it was so relaxing, and i recommend this place to anyone! there are so many day tours you can go on, so many activities all over. we didn't take any side trips this time, but we will in the future. i still want to snorkel somewhere down there!