#5  Sunsets, Surfers ’n Such

I’ve been bitten.  Smitten.  Whatever. 

I really like Nosara.  

It’s true that there’s really very little ‘indigenous Costa Rica’ apparent in Nosara.  Apart from the stunning beaches & seductive jungle landscape, of course.  What is here is the newly-assembled “hip, holistic hot-spot” (per Post #4) that is far more gringo than native. 

Most of Nosara is very low-key. Very relaxed. Very much focused on surfing.  And yoga. And healthy living.  What’s not to like about that?

I’ve very much enjoyed my week-long yoga retreat at the impressive Bodhi Tree resort. Healthy & rejuvenating? Yes.  Indulgent? Yes.  Far more indulgent than I expect to encounter at the more bohemian AHKi yoga retreat near here.  I move from BT to AHKi today, and I’ve decided to defer any retreat-reporting until I’ve completed both weeks. 

So for today’s post? Just an odd collection of this past week’s photos.  I'm still not taking many photos.  But here are some shots of sunsets, surfers & such… even including a few ‘artsy’ shots.  (finally!)   
And one amazing drone shot of me paddling out to catch a wave. (no, not really...)  
And another amazing shot of my board (really.)

#4  Harry’s Bar

Harry’s Bar.  The venerable watering hole in Venice (named for Harry Pickering, a youthful American ne’er-do-well.)  It’s been famous for generations. Ernest Hemmingway used to hang out there. It’s been a celebrity haunt ever since. Today there’s also a branded spin-off in Rome. And another in Manhattan. 

But then, there’s also a ‘renegade’ Harry’s Bar in Nosara, Costa Rica.  It can be found at Tierra Magnifica, an 8-room luxe boutique hotel where I’ve been sheltering during my ‘transition week’ between Spanish language classes and yoga retreats. Harry’s Bar here is well stocked with all the ingredients that Hemmingway would ever hope to have assembled into the cocktail of his dreams. There's also a decorative homage to the alcoholic author.  An ancient black dial-up phone. An equally ancient typewriter. And a photo enlargement of a wistful barroom note scribbled and signed by Hemmingway himself: “My mojito in La Bodequita. My daiquiri in El Floridita.”  

And me? I rarely touch spirits. But here? I was happy to order one fine mojito.  

Por supuesto.  

Along with all the Hemmingway memorabilia, Tierra Magnifica serves up a smattering of African art in the public spaces, Buddha statuary in the garden & the yoga pavilion, superb service and dining… and a gazillion dollar hilltop view over the Nosara lowlands.  Being the dry season, that view is awash with Crayola color, but I’m told that it is quickly transformed to nothing but deep glossy green when the rains come. I was assigned a very comfy room near the firepit with a handsome view to the distant Playa Guiones.

Nice stuff.  And I’ve been very content at Tierra Magnifica. It's a slice of jungle splendor. There are birds and butterflies and morning monkeys. But... if you’re looking for the authentic Costa Rica? You’re not going to find it here.  TM (pun intended, I’m sure) is barely more Costa Rican than a Venetian gondola. It has an American owner, a Spanish bartender contracted through the posh global ‘W’ hotel franchise, and an incongruously hyper-active yoga instructor... from Germany. 

Oh, and too cute for words?  The (very animated, very talented) bartender’s name is… Harry.  Or at least he claims that’s his real name. I believe him.  

Harry’s Bar is where TM guests gather before dinner, a relaxed meet and mingle spot.

I took pains to meet and mingle with most other guests apart from an older Euro-couple who spoke only French and limited Spanish. And yet… my most enjoyable conversations were with my three favorite TM staffers, all Costa Rican. I was charmed by their warmth, their civility and their vitality.  

TM?  It’s lovely.  But the ‘real’ Costa Rica doesn’t exist at this hotel or at any of the beachy fun spots that have been newly installed to suit the tastes of the international visitors who are coming to Nosara in search of the latest hip holistic hot-spot. Yes, there is authentic ‘finca’ agriculture and small-scale cattle ranching in the tiny hillside towns scattered throughout the region. But that’s not why most tourists come here. They come for the surfing.  The yoga.  And the mojitos.   

#3 Nosara

Following my Friday graduation from Intercultura, I enjoyed one more simple yet lovely evening meal with my home stay family, and we said our fond farewells.  But the next morning?  I missed the bus that I had intended to take to Nosara, about 30 miles to the north.  In fact, everybody missed the Saturday bus to Nosara.  It was reported to have broken down earlier in the day. The stranded passengers were told that repairs would likely be completed sometime in the next week.  Right. “What now?” I wondered.

My home stay host saved the day by introducing me to Luis Jose, a very old and toothless Venezuelan who drove a very old and toothless Hyundai sedan that was held together with duct tape. Literally.  Luis Jose was delighted to drive me to Nosara for just half the price of a local taxi. I delighted in his company, his life story, and his cheerful out-the-window banter to persons we passed on the roadway; Luis Jose knew them all. The road itself was less delightful. In long sections it was very poorly paved.  And in all the other sections, it wasn’t paved at all.  No problemo. Luis Jose expertly navigated the deep ruts and rocky outcroppings. I sweltered in the heat of the day and inhaled great volumes of dust; no A/C in that Hyundai. That there are no better roadways between Samara and Nosara surprised me, and underscored the fact that this stretch of the Nicoya Peninsula is still a long way from being ‘well developed’ as a tourist destination.  Which suits me just fine.

That same Saturday morning, I managed to book a room at a nice Nosara hotel, ideally situated between the region’s 2 famous surfing beaches, Playa Guiones and Playa Pelada. I did no surfing…(!)  …but I did a lot of beach walking. I saw idle surfers lounging in front of ramshackle surf shacks. And I learned that one shouldn’t walk too close to the mangrove trees growing at the beachfront mouths of the rivers.  Cocodrilos lurk there. 

The day ended with a pretty sunset and my eager retreat to the comfy luxury of fresh,  crisp sheets, the first I’d known since leaving California. 

Again, I find that I’ve defaulted to the plain vanilla ‘postcard photos’ shown here.

Will there yet be any ‘artsy’ photos posted on this Blog? Again… we’ll just have to see. 

#2 Samara

You are one of the intrepid ones.  Because you’ve been checking this Blog site, wondering: “Where’s Michael? Where are these photos he promised?”

Well, I did safely arrive at Liberia Airport on Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula, en route to Samara, a tiny hippie-vibe beach town that’s a comfortable 2+ hour shuttle bus ride from LIR on a 2-lane road that passes by lots of woodland and farmland, lots of roadside produce stands and just 2 traffic lights.

But since my arrival I’ve taken few photos. And I’ve not posted any… until today, ten days into my Costa Rica visit. That’s because I’ve been preoccupied.  

I’ve been in Student Mode, not Tourist Mode.  My days have been spent at the Instituto Intercultura, a Spanish language school that attracts students from the world over. Americans are in the minority among the Swiss, Swedes, Germans, Dutch and Canadians. I was in the further minority in that I was enrolled for just a single week’s instruction. Most students stay for 2-3 weeks at a time, some for 6 weeks or longer. 

The language school is located on Samara Beach. Yes, literally, right on the beach. Break time between classes can be spent dipping one’s toes into the warm Pacific waters or sipping fresh coconut water – still in the coconut  – purchased for less than $1 from a beach vendor. At each day’s end, the school provides a variety of non-academic offerings including Tica (Costa Rican) cooking, yoga, and Latin dance.  I did 2 of the 3.  Guess... 

My professor, Andrea, was responsible for just 3 students: Frederik, a very bright 23-year old German business school graduate;  Lily, a 50-something Canadian holistic medicine therapist from New Brunswick; and me. Some students stay in the dormitory-like residences on campus. Some stay in local hotels or apartments. Others, like me, find accommodation in local home-stays, enjoying a deeper immersion into Costa Rican food, culture and everyday conversation. My host was Emilce, the septuagenarian head of a household that includes her daughter and her school-age grandson. The daughter staffs the bus station ticket window across a passageway from the house. 

I like Samara. It’s a comfortable mix of relaxed locals and atypical tourists, definitely not the tour bus crowd. Many of the older touristas are penny-wise seasonal residents.  Many of the younger ones are surfers. 

The photos I’ve posted here illustrate the storyline above. As such, they are more ‘postcard’ photos than the type of ‘artsy’ photos that I had imagined I’d be posting on this Blog.  As I now shift from Student Mode to Tourist Mode, we’ll just have to see what sorts of photos get posted.

#1 Welcome

Welcome.

"Costa Rica 2020" is the oh-so creatively named Blog that will document my February/March trip to Costa Rica.  There will likely be lots of photos.  There will probably be occasional captions.  There may even be some rambling narrative.

But this Blog will be mostly about photo sharing... 'cause I couldn't figure out how to use Instagram to post photos not captured on a cell phone.  "Do'h!"   There must be a way...

I expect to be in Costa Rica for up to 8 weeks.  That time will include one week of Spanish language instruction at the Intercultura language school in Samara on the Nicoya Peninsula, and two weeks at 2 separate week-long yoga retreats in Costa Rica's Guanacaste Province.

But most of my time in Costa Rica?  Unscheduled.  And all about nature.  I hope to explore several of the country's many National Parks.

Birds. Butterflies. Bats.

And Spider Monkeys.  Muchos monkeys.

Yeah, and a few caimans, too... and sloths.  Costa Rica has lots of sloths...


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