Costa Rica – Santa Teresa

Our trip is winding down, just as I’m finally feeling as though I’ve got this place sorted! I figure I ought to do at least one post with relevant and practical information for anyone that is actually planning to visit Santa Teresa.

So here are come casual observations from a North American perspective:

Meals:

– A 10% gratuity is automatically added to all meals. Tipping beyond that isn’t customary, but you might add a little extra for an exceptional meal or service.

– There is no dress-code. Anywhere. Even at the more “expensive” restaurants, no one is wearing long pants and collared shirts. Women wear sundresses, or shorts and tank tops and the men are wearing shorts and t-shirts. The one main road that encompasses all of Santa Teresa is very dusty; whether walking or riding an ATV, you’re bound to get dirty, so leave your finery at home.

– We’ve dined at every “good” (according to TripAdvisor and local reviews, I mean) restaurant in town as well as more casual lunch spots. Service operates at a very relaxed, pura vida pace. My father, for instance, is an impatient diner and would have a hard time with dining at this pace. Also, meals aren’t necessarily synchronized the way we’re used to; at home, everyone’s meals arrive to the table at approximately the same time, but I’ve found that there can be up to 10-minutes between my meal arriving and Alistair’s.

– Favourite restaurants: Habaneros for it’s fantastic grilled lobster and tuna steaks. Koji has the best sushi–sooo good. And Olam has the best breakfast and brunches (all vegetarian); fresh fruit, nuts and grains, and delicious sandwiches and salads. I’m going to miss this place.

Lobster from Habaneros. The flash has made it look far less appetizing than it was.

In-town Travel:

Lots of fun, like a high-speed golf cart.

– As I previously mentioned, ATV travel is the way to go and it’s how everyone gets around. You can rent a car but it seems to be more trouble than it’s worth as the roads aren’t very wide. Drivers are on the aggressive side, but they’ll just drive around you if you’re slow or seemingly lost. You absolutely need a handkerchief and sunglasses/goggles or you’ll end up with a face-full of dust. ATV rental is about $80USD a day, but I’m sure you can get lower rates for extended rental periods.

Money:

Colones!

– The local currency, Colones, and American dollars are both equally acceptable.

– An easy conversion trick: drop the last three zeroes and double the Colones to get the USD rate. 5,000 Colones = $10 USD. Our bill at Koji, the “expensive” sushi restaurant was 35,000 Colones…so that’s $70USD.

– Most places accept cash only.

– There’s only one or two bank machines in town and they frequently run out of money–USD in particular. So stock up on funds before you arrive or, like us, you’ll be stuck paying international ABM fees every time you want to make a withdrawal.

Santa Teresa Beach:

– I swear, everyone on this beach is under thirty. The median age looks to be about 23. Everyone is in incredible shape–most are here to surf. Where are you hiding your old people, Santa Teresa? Maybe they’re less inclined to lounge on the beach in sweltering heat, tanning. None of the women go topless, but as I’ve previously noted, there’s plenty of ass to go around as everyone seems to wearing thong bottoms. We noticed almost immediately that there is an incredible gender divide amongst those hanging on the beach; large, roving packs of boys and great gaggles of girls…and the two don’t mix much. I don’t know why? Maybe an age thing? A cultural thing?

– There’s a lot of waves on this beach, so if you’re like me and don’t like getting smacked in the face with a wall of water, then wait till low tide and hang out near the tidal pools that form around the rocks. This has been my favourite thing to do. Hundreds of crabs scurry around the rocks! I watch them for hours…

Obligatory sunset pictures…

oooooh. ahhhhhh.

Assorted Observations & Tips:

– Bring a ton of sunscreen. We brought 4 mostly-full bottles and went through them in no time at all. We just had to pay $20USD for a bottle of sun tan lotion in Montezuma.

– Roosters crow at all hours of the day, not just at sunrise…as a city person, this was news to me.

–  A friend who had recently traveled to the region had told us that “everyone speaks English”. This is absolutely not true. Aside from restaurant staff, I wouldn’t count on anyone speaking English. So grab a Rosetta Stone and brush up on your Spanish.

-If you don’t like dogs, don’t visit because they are EVERYWHERE. They’re not strays, they have owners, but they are not on leash and they just wander about freely. There are all varieties of mutts, but also a lot of really beautiful sweet-faced pitbulls…we miss our Emma.

This cat had been chilling on our porch. I adore it. Apparently, the guests prior to us had fed the cat 3-times a day. We must have been an incredible disappointment.

I’ve been spending my days marinating in ocean water and my lips always taste like salt now.

Costa Rica – Adventure Day

It’s been a loooong day, so it’s picture time! I’ll write something charming tomorrow…

We rented an ATV/quad for the day which costs about $80USD for a 24-hour period. It’s seems to be the primary mode of transportation in Santa Teresa.

 

The roads are very dusty so we wear handkerchiefs, sunglasses and hats. BANDIDOS!

 

 

It’s a lot of fun, like driving a very fast golf cart. We took off towards the Montezuma Falls, but stopped along the way to take in the glorious vistas, of which there are many.

 

We arrived in Montezuma–a nice little beach town–where we had lunch, parked our quad and started walking along the trails to the falls. You can hike up the hillside, or walk along the rocks. In either case, wear sensible running shoes cause it’s a real bitch when your ankles keep twisting in the stupid sandals you thought were a good alternative. Also, be sure to bring a boyfriend to carry your bags, because bags are also a drag…

I swear that’s his Victoria’s Secret tote.

After about a twenty minute walk, we made it! The water was crystal clear and fresh, and oh so refreshing.

After spending some time at the falls we hopped back on our trusty ATV and headed towards Cabuya. Just before Mal Pais, by the Cabo Blanco Nature Reserve, there’s a beach and that’s where we spent the remainder of the day.

We set up our beach blanket, nestled in the shade.

 

This is my beachy glamour shot. It only took 8 attempts.

 

And now it’s bed time. There’s nothing like travel to make you feel so very small in the world.

Goodnight…

 

 

Costa Rica – Getting settled…

So we’re a few days in at this point and I’m settling nicely into my new life. I don’t wear makeup anymore. I don’t do my hair. I barely even get dressed.

By the Pool…

The Santa Teresa waves are a bit much for me, and I find the beach crowded so I’ve been spending a good amount of time poolside, which has been mostly delightful when I can have it to myself or in the company of other quiet ladies. This morning I watched an adorable little girl with curly hair blow her nose into her hand and rinse it clean in the pool. After about the third time, her mother scolded her–presumably, I don’t speak Spanish, but a mother’s disapproval is universal–but she repeated the action, regardless. Mikayla is clearly a  brat; this is evident by the fact that I know her name. No parent says their child’s name with such frequency unless they are behaving badly. I find myself quietly hating this three year-old and I can’t wait for her to leave.

I’m in a losing battle with the sun–it’s a redhead’s natural enemy. Speaking of redheads, I’ve seen two others so far! I read somewhere that people with red hair have a natural affinity for one another; it sounds like nonsense to me, but why else do I keep pointing them out to Alistair like we’re playing some bizarre version of ‘Where’s Waldo’? We really do stand out like pale beacons in a sea of tanned brunettes. It’s so hot I can barely keep the sun tan lotion from gliding away, and my belly-button keeps filling up with sweat.

When not resenting children, I am fully immersed in my book — Jennifer Egan’s A Visit from the Goon Squad. If I were to write a book, I would dream that it would turn out like hers. It’s told from multiple perspective, with interconnected stories, spanning time; this has all been done before, but here it’s done really well. The scope and detail of this book is dizzying and yet, somehow, always engaging. Each character is vivid and interesting with fully realized lives that I care about. I read that HBO has optioned it to be developed as a series–I think that would be brilliant. It won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize, so it hardly needs my praise as an endorsement. You should read it. My only complaint – the Costa Rican heat is melting the book’s spine and the pages are falling out in chunks.

Mikayla now blows her nose into a towel–an improvement, certainly. She is now joined by several other children who start making howler monkey noises and belly flopping into the pool. I wonder if I can outlast them and finally have the private oasis I found first thing this morning. One of the dads ask me if I have children and I tell him that I do not. He apologizes for all the disruption and I, of course, scoff and say it’s no trouble at all. He says it’s entertainment at least. I smile and say yes…it’s something to look at.

Costa Rica – To start…

Three taxis and two plane trips later, we have finally arrived in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica!

I really am such a drag to travel with–at least the getting there part. I was feeling fine until we landed in San Jose and boarded this little plane for our 25 minute flight into Tambor. Look – darling little thing, isn’t it?

Fortunately, I made it off the plane without vomiting, but all that caught up with me on our one-hour drive through the winding, bumpy, dirt-roads that led to our final destination. Luiz, our taxi driver, was very lovely about the whole thing…probably just thankful that I didn’t puke in his car. After I stumbled out of the bushes, I was struck by the amazing smell; the air tasted warm and lush and maybe a bit like weed, but it wasn’t.

By morning, I was feeling much better! Our hotel is fantastic and spacious–it’s probably about the size of our apartment in Toronto. The hotel has a breakfast/lunch restaurant called Olam that offers raw and organic foods. I had a delicious breakfast of fresh fruits and Alistair had scrambled eggs and a smoothie. So filling and good.

We spent most of today lounging on the beach. It’s full of 19 year olds with great tans, wearing thongs. I actually felt like I was old and very pale in comparison. It has a Wasaga beach feel to it–for those of you from Ontario…and by that I mean it looks like it’s spring break.

Santa Teresa is known as the best spot for surfing in all of Costa Rica as there are waves breaking on the beach at all hours of the day. This suits Alistair well as he’s dreamed of surfing all his life. Not me. There is nothing about surfing that appeals to me–it just looks terrifying. A placid, crystal clear ocean is more the type for me. However,  I ventured into the ocean and was rewarded by being thrown into a beastly rock by a wave.

Sigh…so much for sexy beach legs. It’s not like I even have a cool story–like surfing, or racing through the jungle–just a rock. Alistair says it makes me look tough, so we’ll stick with that.

This morning I woke up at 8:30am and by 9am I was at yoga — which is literally 50ft from our front door. I plan to go once a day so I can look like the fit 19-year olds.

We were walking back from dinner on the long road that essentially encompasses all of Santa Teresa and suddenly all the power cut out — it seems to be a common enough occurrence — and suddenly it was pitch-black. No street lights or lit store fronts, just total darkness. It’s not something city-dwellers experience often, if at all. The locals lining the streets and the tourists sitting in front of their hostels started hollering and laughing the way an auditorium full of high school students might, and then pulled out their cell phones which provided tiny pockets of light along the dirt road. It wasn’t until that moment that I really felt like I was somewhere far from home. Surrounded by darkness, I looked up to the sky and saw nothing but stars. Who knew there were so many?