2021 September - Day 06 - Costa Rica - Playas Hermosa, Del Coco and Covid Testing

 Our last vacation day is about to conclude here in Costa Rica.  Tomorrow we travel home.  We waited to see if Denise’s test from yesterday would be accepted…but no communication came.  So we asked the hotel to schedule what they call a ‘Doctor’ to stop by and do an antigen test.  It turned out to be quite easy and only cost around $55….we think as we paid in Colones.  The Doctor arrived around 10:30 AM.  But before that, Denise and I went down to Playa Hermosa and walked south, a different direction from yesterday.  It was a shorter walk and took us to some rocks that we went around and into our own little cove.  The water was much calmer and we really enjoyed the hour or so that we were there swimming in the ocean.  Denise really enjoyed it.  We returned to the hotel around 10 AM and swam in the pool thinking the Doctor was coming at 11 AM…which was what was scheduled.  But he arrived a bit early which was great.  We had a lot of Colones to spend so we paid him with that.  And the test was negative…again.  I think this is Denise’s third negative test in about 9 days.  Emed finally emailed me telling me that they could not do anything about the process mistake yesterday with Denise’s mistake.  They apologized.  I responded with an email telling them of my disgust with the way it was handled.  They are now wanting to talk with me on Monday and saying they will send me some test kits for my next trip to Peru in October (if we go…Denise can explain this.).

After hanging out at the hotel to around noon, we headed to Playa Del Coco which is about 5 miles south from where we are.  This is a more touristy area and we found a pretty nice park on the water where we could park our car and just go hang out with the locals.  For about ah hour we sat in the shade and just people watched.  To our right was a family of 3 with the youngest probably 6 months or so.  They had one of the grand fathers with them and he was fishing in the ocean without a fishing pole.  And much to our surprise…he caught a nice sized fish.  It was fun to watch him get it in and to the shore.  The family was excited to see him do that.  The young mother then grabbed some line and a hook and went out to try her hand at it also.  While we were there…she did not have luck like her father.

Clouds began to roll in and sprinkle a bit…just enough to get us moving back to our car.  We thought we’d get some food in Del Coco but decided to go back to our hotel and get showered and then go get some food in Playa Hermosa.  So that is what we did.  I watched some TV (in Spanish of course) while Denise got ready.  I then showered.  But while we were inside getting ready, more clouds came in and dropped some serious rain.  It lasted for maybe 30 minutes and then we were fine even though the skies were still cloudy.  Finally at around 4 PM, we decided to venture out and find food.  We went to another ‘Soda’.  This one was nice and clean, more like a small inside restaurant.  We ordered Nachos and a Hamburger to share.   We also got Pineapple Smoothies.  It was all extremely yummy!  However, it took nearly an hour to get our food.  In the end, the owners apologized immensely for their slowness.  I think the order got dropped.  But I have no idea how since this place was so small.  Anyway…we had a nice visit with the owners and wished them the best.  They had only been in business about 6 months.

We are now getting ready to head out tomorrow at 6 AM to turn the car in and then get checked in.  Adobe Rental Car opens at 8 AM…but they promised to have a guy there at 7 AM to check our car in and take us to the airport.  We fly at 10:15 AM and they are fairly close to the airport and the airport is quite small.  So  I suspect that checking in should be fairly easy.  But you just never know in foreign lands how they handle things.  And I’ve heard that Costa Rica officials can be tough on paper work and such.  But we shall see.

I will post tomorrow only if there are some crazy travel things that go on..  So if there is no post, assume it was a normal travel day.  Costa Rica has treated us well.  The Covid stuff kind of set me back a bit and dampened the last day or two.  That’s on me though.  We’ve really enjoyed the hotels that we chose.  At first glance, they were not the fancy all-inclusives or big hotels.  They were more local ones.  But they were ALL great!  Only positive things to say about all of them.   The food has been a bit pricey but we have stayed in very touristy locations.  So you can kind of expect that.  But it was a bit surprising.  But the quality and taste of the food was very good.  We have been pleased with it all.  The driving…much better than I envisioned.  Yes, the roads are single lanes and pretty narrow.  Some were not kept well having pot holes that could swallow your car.  You just have to be on your toes, keep your distance and take your time.  All good.  The beaches have been beautiful.  The water, not very clear, mostly due to the season of rain we are in.  The ocean is churning more than normal per the locals.  Nonetheless, always fun to get into the ocean and swim.

Some pictures:

Denise’s crepe breakfast this morning.  She even liked the maple syrup they provided for them!

Our cove where we swam in the morning with not one around.  Well…one girl came down by herself and swam around.  But that was it.  Nice morning at Playa Hermosa.

The essentials….bug spray and sun screen!

Fat guy in the water photo bombing the selfie!

Their gutters are deep…rightfully so.  When it rains, it can drop it fast.  These carry it away pretty quickly.

My hamburger for dinner.   Denise said it was one of her top 5.  It was really good.

Another negative Covid test for Denise.  We know she does not have it today!

I just love bug spray and sunscreen stuff (Not!).  Gotta do it though….

Cute little statue at Playa Del Coco.  This was in the park that we strolled along in.  Lots of fun there.

Looking out into the bay at Playa Del Coco.  The water was quite close.  We actually were sitting on some cement bench that was by the park.  Sprinklers actually came on…which was amazing since this place is so green and so humid.

Returning from Denise’s Cove at Playa Hermosa.

This is the park we sat at in Playa Del Coco.  You can see the lawn behind us that had sprinklers come on. The ocean water is maybe 40 yards away…at most.

The successful fisherman.  He eventually gutted it and prepared it to take home for dinner before we went back to the waters edge.  You can see he has no pole.

To say ‘Welcome’ or ‘Thank You’….they say ‘Pura Vida’ here.  Denise got this picture to remind us of that fact and for here to remember the words Pura Vida.  She’s practicing her Spanish much here.

Beautiful foliage everywhere here.  It is very beautiful.

My standard Costa Rican breakfast.  Platano, two eggs, rice and beans and tortillas with crema.  And always a plate of fruit.  I also had a glass of orange juice too.

Yummy pineapple smoothies at the Soda where we at at for dinner tonight.  

More flowers and foliage….

Returning home from our morning walk and time at the Playa Hermosa beach, we were accompanied by this smaller iguana.  They probably are lurking in the woods everywhere around here.