Our new Costa Rican friend, Alejandro, drove us from Hermosa Beach into Tamarindo. The sun was shining and it was hot. It was the perfect day to travel into this beach town.
“It’s like our version of Las Vegas!” Alejandro was doing his best to explain Tamarindo to us.
Truth be told, Tamarindo didn’t remind me of Las Vegas. Thank the heavens. I didn’t see any smoke-filled casinos or living zombies seated next to slot machines. What I did see were beautiful beaches and a fun loving town. People weren’t trying to escape reality; they were embracing it.
Tamarindo is a town in the Guanacaste Province, on Costa Rica’s Pacific coast. It’s known for it’s beaches with strong surf.
We checked into our hotel, The Wyndham. The hotel was the perfect choice for us. It was modern and had an incredible view overlooking the ocean, as it was up on the side of the hill. Oh, and the infinity pool was enough to make me want to go back there almost every day… especially as it snows here in Washington.
The hotel also had its own reserved beach front with a pool, restaurant, and fitness studio.
After checking in, we took the shuttle down to their beach front and explored the property there. The person at the fitness studio scolded me for wearing my shoes into the yoga studio… I guess that’s a no no. I also guess that’s the first and last time I enter a yoga studio. Ahh, shucks.
We ate a delicious lunch while watching the iguanas walk around us. The iguanas were searching for scraps of food that had fallen off of the tables. If I were an iguana, I’d want French fries too.
The beach had a nice grade into the ocean. The sand was white and the water was warm. There were coconuts scattered along the edge of the water. In the distance, you could see fishing ships anchored for work.
We explored the town of Tamarindo on foot. There were a lot of small shops and people enjoying themselves. I was surprised by the number of young adults in the area. There were several hostels and it appeared that many foreigners lived here for the cheap housing and quality surfing. In another life, I’d probably do the same thing. Until then, #responsibilities.
We ate some delicious ice cream with caramel corn on top. Does ice cream get any better than that? Next I snapped a photo of a sign at a local Mexican restaurant that included Donald Trump. I thought it was pretty hilarious.
We made our way back to the hotel. We could have waited for the shuttle to pick us up; however, we’d eaten garbage food earlier. That meant that the walk up the hillside was a good thing for us.
Once we got back to the hotel, we caught our breath, and hit the pool. The sun was starting to set. The view at that moment is something that will always stay with me, until I get Alzheimer’s, that is. It was as if I was scrolling through some of the best Instagram photos in real life.
After the sunset, we went back into town and stopped at several restaurants. There were live bands playing and we got barbecue food. We stayed in town until it got late and enjoyed watching the locals do what locals do. Ultimately, we were people watching. Don’t act like you don’t do the same…
Tamarindo is an amazing location. If you are traveling to Costa Rica, I highly recommend that you take the time to explore this town and experience all that it has to offer.
Click here to learn more about Tamarindo.
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