2007 Trip: Week 1

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 After switching to a small prop plane in San Jose we were off to Nosara on the Nicoya Penninsula for a week or so of the Pacific side beach scene. Nosara is not like most other coastal tourist towns in that it has very little development right on its beaches. My kind of place... yoga institute, surf shops, hip hostel, good food, etc. It is also just north of the Ostional Wildlife Refuge which was primarily created to protect the Olive Ridley sea turtles who like to lay down about 100 eggs each during one of two annual mass nesting events called the arribadas.  Hoping to see them...

After ten hours of travel I sit on the beach watching my friend surf wondering if I'll ever be able to pop up like that then briefly fixated on what would be lurking beneath me.  Didn't see any sign of shark attacks in the news (old or new) for that area. SO, I rent a board for the week, tried and failed for a few days, then got up and rode for a few more. Pretty fun! Especially with beginner waves.

Perhaps we were there too early for the turtles... someone called the ranger for us to see if it was worth the somewhat treacherous drive over a flooded Rio Montana.  Apparently not.  Perhaps next time.

We met up with some of Spacialle's friends, DK and Emma.  They purchased land on the Nosara River for $100,000 and are building a home.  They say you must have $60,000 in the bank to get residency here.

Amazing sunset at Playa Guionnes - low tide with Pacific tidepools revealing a unique mix of creatures in each...  brittle stars, sea urchins, and other echinoderms.  Sea anemones that look like frog spawn and cute little bug-eyed gobies.

We're staying at Giardino Tropicale, one of the eco-friendliest lodges around.  Had a good talk with Marcel, the lodge owner, about the politics of the area and issues with building permit regulations, environmental laws, etc.  He helped to develop the Certification of Sustainable Tourism (CTS) system in CR which is based on a 0-5 leaf system.  Said it was very difficult to be rated at 5 leaves but that 50 hotels/lodges had already registered.  Apparently it's not yet mandated by the government.  Sewage treatment seems to be an issue.  Most of the power in CR comes from hydroelectric.

Day 6 - I can finally surf!  Today I popped up almost every time :)  I'm not quite graceful on the board but definitely resilient.  You really get tossed around.  Decided to stay here another day.

Enrique took us to the hillside home of some of his Israeli friends for a fabulous view of Playa Guionnes.  The men had been out spear-fishing with snorkels.  Sounded super dangerous...  Had a talk with their wives about schools in the area and education.  New Montessori school opening soon.

The next day we try to visit the bat caves but the tide was still too high to make it to the 3rd cave.  Beautiful walk and exploration though through smaller caves and along tide pools.  On the way back Enrique took us through the forest edge where we met one of his tico friends living in a small shack.  His wife had a 6-day old baby.  These houses were right on the beach, many of them without windows.  The minimum wage here, usually paid to construction/lodge/hotel workers is 800 colones or $1.60/hr.  However, they're saying this place could be the next Tamarindo.  It also sits in the middle of a Reserve, an even bigger one.  Tamarindo has much more development (even a Pizza Hut) but looked like Nosara 5 years ago.  Do the locals want this?

Saw a Tiger Heron on the beach today!