#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.