Day 3 – We bought some eggs, bread, butter and avocado the day before so Tezzy could prepare a small breakfast for me, her and Marcus this morning. Tezzy met Jeff and Lisa, a couple vacationing from the state of Washington who were staying in the apartment next to Marcus. Lisa happens to be a physical therapist and Tezzy encouraged me to speak to her about my back pains and get some professional advice. Lisa and her husband offered some great information and Jeff showed me a few yoga exercises that solved a lot of my problem. The yoga exercises helped me remain pain-free the rest of the day. I might look into some yoga classes when I get back to Grecia. Who knows?
Today Marcus suggested we explore some areas, so we ventured to Brasilito Beach about 17 kilometers (10.56 miles) from Tamarindo. Brasilito is one of the smaller beach communities along the Guanacaste Gold coast on the northern Pacific stretch of the country. Brasilito has a funky, laid-back vibe that I like. We spent some time on their beautiful beach snapping pictures and enjoying the ocean waves. Next, we headed along some obscure roads, narrow paths up hills, past burning embers from a recent brush fire and past some gorgeous custom homes with million-dollar panoramic views of the ocean to Playa Flamingo on the other side of the hill. The beach was pretty much deserted. Playa Flamingo is one of Costa Rica’s most popular beaches. A couple of local vendors came over to offer pasa (coconuts) for sale, which really quenched our thirst because it was a very hot, humid day 91 degrees to be exact. We decided to go to lunch so we doubled back and stopped at Soda Coco and enjoyed a tasty casado. After lunch, it was time to head back to our apartments and time for a little siesta and prepare for our final night’s activities in Tamarindo.
We gathered with Marcus about 4:30 pm because we wanted to catch one more gorgeous sunset during our last night in Tamarindo. If you haven’t seen a sunset in Tamarindo, you’re missing out on something breathtaking Marcus insisted on taking us off the beaten path so we drove down some dusty roads and some very old farm houses, and arrived at Playa Avellanas. Playa Avellanas boasts some of Costa Rica’s best surf spots drawing surfers from all over the world. We stopped at Lola’s Beach Bar, a beachside restaurant where we could catch a glimpse of the perfect sunset. Unbeknownst to us the restaurant was only serving happy hour drinks and closing at 6:00 pm. Bummer! As the sun settled behind the ocean, Tezzy and I enjoyed a mango smoothie and Marcus downed an Imperial beer. We then headed back to Tamarindo to grab a bite to eat before going to our rooms. Marcus wasn’t hungry so he dropped us off at the foodcourt only steps from our rooms and that’s where we ended another beautiful day in Tamarindo.
Day 4 last dayTezzy and I awoke early as usual and she prepared our breakfast in the apartment community kitchen area. I endured another pretty rough night with my ailing back I was able to get in some sleep. When my back pain started acting up in the middle of the night, I remembered the yoga moves Jeff had shown me earlier during the day and performed some of them and got some relief. Time to pack up our belongings and prepare to leave Tamarindo but Tezzy encouraged me to get in a swim because it might help my back loosen up the muscles. I was a bit hesitant at first but then swam a couple of laps did some water exercises which helped. I already scheduled an appointment with my therapist when we get back to see if I can make some needed improvements.
Marcus was kind enough to give us a lift back and we really appreciated that. We thoroughly enjoyed his company on this little trek. During the drive back, we stopped at a couple of local roadside vendors and purchased fresh avocados and mangoes. We always try to support the local farmers. We arrived back in Grecia about 2:30 pm, approximately 4 hours and a half hours after leaving Tamarindo. We said our goodbyes to Marcus as he was on his way back to Atenas where he was staying during this trip to Costa Rica.
We thoroughly enjoyed our 4 days in Tamarindo but if you’re traveling on a budget, like we are, a word of advice is to get a place that’s reasonably inexpensive, close to the beach, eat often at local family-run sodas and have a good friend like Marcus that you can hitch a ride back home with
