Pura Vida in Playa Grande

We announced in the last post that we are currently on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica. Here lies the town of Tamarindo, which is supposedly the Mallorca of the US Americans.
A little further north is the town of Playa Grande, which belongs to the National Park Las Baulas Marine. We have settled here for 10 days and are enjoying it so much.

Playa Grande is protected because turtles lay their eggs on the beach here. For this reason, the beach is closed between 6 p.m. and 8 a.m., and the beach is completely empty without umbrellas, huts, sun loungers, etc. - the turtles should feel very comfortable here.

During the day, you can meet some surfers, birds, crabs, and a few people who, like us, prefer Playa Grande over the more touristy town of Tamarindo.

In the town center, there are two small restaurants and a small kiosk that offers the most essential groceries - nothing more. ;)

Our days here have been quite similar so far - we wake up, have coffee, relax on the beach or in the hostel pretty much all day, maybe go to Tamarindo to go shopping, sometimes Stefan goes surfing, and in the evenings, he enjoys cooking in the hostel kitchen with the friendly support of his personal kitchen assistant. We have also met some nice people here in the last few days - Costa Ricans, many Americans, and one South African. Very exciting! Today we learned about a delicious drink - the Costa Ricans who are currently here mixed beer with lime juice, then put pieces of mango in it, seasoned it with salt and pepper, and finally garnished the glass with a salty rim. INCREDIBLY DELICIOUS!

What makes Playa Grande special for us?

Playa Grande combines absolute idyll with proximity to the 'city'.

Of course, idyll also has its advantages and disadvantages. During the day, it is simply beautiful to enjoy the tranquility on a deserted dream beach. The sunset is also a highlight every day and always a little different. The idyll is challenging in the evenings and nights because many of the animal inhabitants only wake up then. In the past few days, we have met new roommates every day. In addition to monkeys, crabs, geckos, and numerous insects, there is also said to be a wild panther here. There are also several species of snakes native to this area, which fortunately we have not encountered yet.

We absolutely have to tell you about one encounter: on our second evening at Pipehouse Playa Grande, a skunk wandered into the hostel garden. Of course, it was very scared and unleashed its full load of smell on us. That was definitely a pretty crazy experience - the coming day we spent trying to get the smell out of our clothes again. We had no idea before how intense an encounter with a skunk is. In the future, we will definitely run away a little faster. That would also be our advice to you if you ever find yourself in this precarious situation. :D

And if you ever feel like more shopping, cafes, supermarkets, or beach vendors, it's pretty easy to get from Playa Grande to Tamarindo. You walk through a forest or along the beach at low tide, then get into a boat taxi, which offers a transfer for the equivalent of €1.40, and after about 30 seconds you reach the beach of Tamarindo.

Yesterday we took a long beach walk here and got sunburned - our skin now bears a massive resemblance to the crabs we have here in Playa Grande.

And what's next for us?

We happened to meet another traveler whom we will meet here on Tuesday or Wednesday. Then the journey continues together - probably to the mountains. We will report!