September 4, 2009: Playa Grande

Sean: My dad and I got an early start on the day. By 7:00am we were on the road and heading south toward the coast on the Nicoya Peninsula. At around 8:30 we passed a place called Monkey Park that advertised itself as a monkey rehab center. It sounded like an opportunity too good to pass up.

We pulled into monkey park and were surprised to find that we were the only ones there. After a few minutes a young Tica approached us and told us it would cost $10 per person to walk around the park. We hesitantly paid the fee, slightly rattled by the lack of structure. After walking around for a few minutes it became apparent that monkey park was some sort of defunct zoo, not a monkey rescue center.

Thought they had an impressive collection of animals (several small cats, toucans, spider monkey, capuchin monkeys, deer, scarlet macaws, and others), the cages were not well maintained. In fact, the highlight of the entire park was a crocodile that was out of the enclosure! Im not sure if this animal had escaped or if it was wild and was roaming the park but it was extremely cool to walk around a corner and find a crocodile only a few meters away!

After about an hour we got back in the car and continued our journey. We arrived at Hotel Las Tortugas in Playa Grande at around 10:15. Playa Grande is a smaller town near Tamarindo that is on the edge of a national park and is famous for the nesting leatherback sea turtles (which begins in October).

We quickly settled into our room and then set out to find the days adventure. I inquired at the front desk about a boat tour through the mangroves. As luck would have it, the last boat tour of the day was happening at 11:00am, and if we hurried we could make it. The man working the front desk drew us a small map of where we needed to go.

It took only about 10 minutes to reach Bula Bula Hotel, where our small boat would be launching. Because we arrived a few minutes early we grabbed a quick snack at the bar while waiting for Ramone, our guide to show up.

The tour through the mangroves was awesome. Other than my dad and I, the only people on the boat were the driver and a naturalist guide. Almost immediately we saw a tiny (less than 1 ft) crocodile swimming through the water. A short while later we saw a much larger croc that came right next to the boat. We also spotted several herons, hawks, and many other species of bird that no one could identify. About half way through the trip we anchored the boat and took a short walk through the mangroves. We quickly came upon a large troop of howler monkeys and spotted countless mangrove crabs (which local fishermen apparently use as bait).

When the mangrove tour was over we returned to our hotel, grabbed a quick bite at the restaurant, and decided to hit the beach just in front of the hotel. I watched the surfers with envy for about 10 minutes before deciding to rent a board. I spent the next 2-3 hours surfing the 3-4 (and occasionally 5) foot waves. Having not surfed on a shortboard in about a year, it took me a while to get adjusted. After numerous wipeouts and several mouthfuls of water, I found my groove. The waves were fast and fun. I surfed until my arms felt like they were going to fall off…

Exhausted I returned to the room with my dad and we showered up for the evening. At about 4:00pm we decided we should check out Playa Tamarindo, one of the more famous towns on the pacific coast of Costa Rica. It was slightly more built-up than other areas I have visited but I still enjoyed the trip.

After dinner on the beach we made our way back to the hotel to chill out, use the internet, and plan tomorrows adventure! Ohh and I think I got about 100 mosquito bites today, I forgot to bring my bug spray to Tamarindo and got eaten alive! Ugh L…