STL DPB ON THE ROAD - OLD HIPPIES

Well, so much for scouting out eclipse viewing sites. My car had a nail in one of its tires and I couldn't drive any distance until it was fixed. By then it was too late to hit the road.

So back to Costa Rica. I mentioned that we took a drive to Playa Grande, just north of Tamarindo but 45 minutes away because there is no bridge across the estuary. At the end of the road sits The Grateful Hotel and Sugaree's Bar and Grill, sort of a 60s-70s fantasy for old Deadheads. The restaurant is a decent lunch stop. Was our trip long and strange? Eh, not so much.                

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - DEADHEADS IN PARADISE

Playa Grande is immediately north of Playa Tamarindo across a modest estuary. There is no bridge and the only way to get there is to drive a way inland and then back out to the shore. Much of the area  is nature preserve and development is limited.

There is a hotel and restaurant where the road ends we have visited for lunch a couple of times. It had a new owner and concept and is now the Grateful Hotel. Grateful Dead imagery abounds, along with a little R Crumb thrown in for good measure. Is this  pura vida?              

WE MADE IT

Same place, different place. Back in Tamarindo for the Nth time but in an apartment new to us. Not walking distance to the beach by old folks' standards but what a view. A sliver of Playa Tamarindo in the foreground, the mouth of the Tamarindo estuary and the wide arc of Playa Grande beyond. This'll do just fine.          

Playa Grande

Playa Grande - Big Beach - is across the estuary from Tamarindo. Despite its proximity it is not easy to reach. You have to go quite a bit inland and then circle back toward the shore, maybe a half hour drive. Much of the area is a national park because leatherback sea turtles use it as a mass nesting area. So not much development and no crowds. Surfers' paradise, Central American style.

As you can see, almost everybody has fun, even the iguana who hangs out by the taco stand.   

Bite Me

They got crocodiles in the river here!

Actually, not quite a river. There is an estuary between Tamarindo and Playa Grande that goes a couple of miles inland. Playa Grande is a national wildlife preserve. This is the beach where leatherback turtles come to lay their eggs. You can take a boat tour, which we did yesterday. The lower reaches are salt water, a perfect hangout for crocodiles. 

There is lots of other wildlife, particularly birds. I think that's a snowy egret in the second photo. Beneath that, the cute iguana is a much less menacing cousin of the croc. We don't know the birds in the bottom photo. Any insights?
                        

Playa Grande

We took a ride yesterday to Playa Grande, just up the coast. It is separated from Tamarindo by an estuary but there is no direct way to drive there. You have to go back inland a ways (Note, if you ever visit here: do not follow Google Maps directions through the dirt back roads. You will become lost and, if you don't, one of the roads is washed out. Stay on the paved roads through Villareal, Huacas and Matapalo.)

Playa Grande is a huge swath of pristine beach with very little development. Tamarindo, in the background of the second picture (through a 400 mm lens) is less than a half hour drive away. Hardly any people there but it seemed to be a nice place for families. If you want a perfect beach to have to yourself, this would be a good place to go.

I should note that I am happily married to one of the ladies in the foreground of the third photo.