Costa Rican Honeymoon: Part II

Welcome back to our Costa Rican honeymoon! While our drive from Arenal to Samara was a scenic one, it definitely required patience from us and high-clearance maneuvering from our car. Google maps assured us that we would arrive in 3 1/2 hours however we ended up rolling in roughly 5 hours later because the roads were so bumpy and curvy. But we made it in one piece and were as happy as clams that we decided to stay in the quaint town of Samara over one of the other popular touristy beach towns along the coastline. The town itself consisted of a 3 km long crescent-shaped beach scattered with a few beach-side restaurants, one main surf school, and backed by palm trees and thick green foliage. We could tell at this point Samara hadn't hit the tourist map but we were afraid it was on the verge of it. Only one concrete structure loomed amongst the lush tropical town, sticking out like a sore thumb. Who would build that? And why would you ruin this paradise with that eye-sore?

*Traffic jam on our way from Arenal to Samara.*

We followed our printed directions through town and up a little dirt road towards our home-away from home. Wait, could that be? Could that be the same ugly building we saw from the shore? We were slightly embarrassed to be pulling in to the parking lot of the concrete structure but I have to admit, as we waltzed in to our immaculate condo fit for honeymooners with floor-to-ceiling windows and views of the coastline, we were feeling pretty fortunate. Not to mention, it was low season so it was just us, the caretaker, and his spunky dog which we named Oz. Romantic. Quiet. And Stunning. We already decided that Samara was going to be the highlight of our vacation.

Samara, COsta Rica

That night we decided to forgo eating in our kitchen and opted for a sunset dinner on the beach. We strolled about 15 minutes along and came across a darling, thatched hut restaurant with tables set in the sand, adorned with lit candles, and waitresses who were ready to serve. Not long after we ordered our cervezas, we toasted to the setting sun and light rain began gently tap our roof. As the evening progressed, so did the rain and what was once gentle soon turned into a torrential downpour. Then the electricity went out. We were still content, as the servers rushed around to all the tables, lighting them with more candles and ensuring their guests were satisfied. Surely it was just a quickly passing rain storm and would let up before walking home, right? Not right. We found out the entire village had lost power, we couldn't pay for our meal (bonus!), and we would have to navigate through ankle to below-knee water to try to find our condo in pitch black. It probably turned out to be the most hilarious and most fun time in all of Costa Rica. The restaurant gave us a plastic bag for our camera and we left the safe confines of the restaurant, entering the unknown with rain pelting on our bodies. We were immediately drenched and although we were freaked out (Central American town, pitch black, not sure we were taking the right roads), we found ourselves laughing about the predicament we were in. Nearly 30 minutes went by and our camera battery was close to dead since we were using the flash every few minutes for navigation. We veered left on to what looked like the road to our condo and ta-da! We had made it. We threw open the door to our condo and proceeded to recap the night's event, laughing the whole time.

The following morning, we cooked breakfast in the condo while donning our swimsuits. We hit the beach bright and early, scoped out the surf school, and decided to rent a double kayak for half the day. We had envisioned kayaking out to the islands just offshore however a different scene unfolded. We said 'no thanks' when the employee asked if we needed help, grabbed our kayak and made our way into the water. Gee, do the waves seem a little bit bigger today, I had asked Chip. Nah, it'll be a piece of cake. We saw an opening, threw our belongings into the kayak and I jumped in. A little push from Chip, lots of paddling from me, and within 3 seconds we had flipped and were being pummeled by the waves. We quickly resurfaced, grasping for our sandals, sunglasses, kayak, paddles, snorkel gear, dry-bag, and flippers. We came close to retrieving everything but the ocean ended up swallowing one snorkel flipper and my sunglasses. Feeling defeated, we returned our kayak and decided to sun bathe instead. Then later after lunch, we took full advantage of our infinity pool at the condo and played it safe by eating dinner in that evening.

Carillo Beach, Costa Rica

The following day we made our way to the nearby (and even smaller) village called Carillo Beach. I was training for a marathon so this was supposed to be my "long run" day but I only ended up running 7 miles and just ran back and forth, back and forth because there were creepy dudes carrying machetes. Chip took this time to snorkel in the nearby reef offshore of Carillo Beach but apparently it wasn't anything to write home about.

The afternoon was dedicated to ziplining. Rumor had it, Costa Rica is where ziplining originated so we had to see what all the buzz was about. The first run was definitely exhilarating and after that it just became straight up fun. We tried any and all possible moves that the guides threw at us plus saw a bunch of wildlife in between. There were times when we would be completely surrounded by jungle and on the next zip, the trees would open like a curtain revealing the beautiful beach and ocean below.

Surfing in Samara, Costa Rica

The last two days in Samara we ended up renting surfboards and spent our time hanging ten. The surf and sand in this area is ideal because the water isn't very deep, the waves are perfect size and there is no reef to cut yourself on. It was a blast! There were obviously a few frustrating moments of 'why can't I stand up on this board when I could do it an hour ago' but overall we really enjoyed it.

Overall, our honeymoon in Costa Rica was a fantastic trip. We checked off several must-dos while here like zip-lining, surfing, and spotting an active volcano while finding plenty of time to relax and enjoy the sunshine. It was a pretty darn good way to start a marriage with my lover!

Until next time......

Lindsay and Chip