Costa Rica - the southern Pacific coast

 After all of our scurrying around the country, we decided that we needed to slow down and relax in this tropical environment before heading home.  We chose the small coastal communities of Domincal and Uvita.  Dominical is a laid back hippy village with dreadlocked surfers and craft vendors lining the dirt beach road.  But it is also attracting the rich expatriate crowd who build luxurious villas on the hillside above.  It was in one of these amazing villas that we found ourselves relaxing for two nights; thanks to a last minute booking.com steal.  We couldn’t get enough of the surroundings; the jungle lined crescent beach and the constant rhythm of cresting waves.  It was a treat to make our own breakfasts in such an amazing setting.

We hated to leave the villa, but we moved down the road a few miles to the town of Uvita which borders Marino Ballenas Park and hosts a sizable expatriate population with its amenities.  It is still relatively laid back compared to some of the big beach towns along the coast.  We stayed in a very nice boutique hotel owned by a couple who just moved from Toronto.  We were the only guests for two nights and we ended up having some long conversations with our very kind hosts.  We took a couple of trips to the whale’s tail; one at high tide and one at low tide.  It is a bit of a surreal experience to stand in the surf as waves come at you from both sides.  The tail is composed of a rocky shelf met with crashing waves and tide pools.  Staying in an expat community enabled us to enjoy Thai food and an authentic Italian pizzeria with Papa working the earthen wood fire oven.  We even got to experience a tropical downpour one evening.  It was with mixed emotions that we made our way north to Liberia on our last day; sorry to say goodbye to the beautiful Costa Rican country but a little anxious to get home.