Playa Hermosa - Day 5

The girls wanted to go back to Playa Hermosa to play in the waves, so that's the plan for today.  We all packed up and left around 9:30am to head over.  Hermosa is the next beach over from Jaco so its not very far.  On the way to the surf competition the other day we noticed a look out back towards Jaco, we didn't stop because it was packed but today we decided to stop because there was only one other car parked.

We didn't do a lot of research on where to go in Hermosa, so the first road that we chose we went down and parked and it was a nature preserve (which for us meant no shade!).  So we back tracked to another road that looked like it would take us to the beach and were in luck!  And the beach had shades set up along the beach as well that you could set yourself underneath, bonus!







The waves were HUGE, Jay disappeared in the waves while the kids played in the surf.













A guy saw Jay and Trev coming back into the water with the kids boogie boards and stopped to warn them that they needed to not get too comfortable because a lot of people had died on this beach.

There wasn't a rip tide here (today) and we didn't go out far so it was fine, but the guys quickly gave up boogie boarding anyway because the wave was high but then dropped and had a tonne of surf so weren't long waves good for boogie boarding.

The sun was SO hot which made the sand SO SO SO hot - I actually burnt the bottom of my feet in about 20 feet of hot sand before getting to the wet sand - and Jay had to carry the girls back up the last 20 ft to the shelter..even with your shoes on the hot sand moved into your sandals and burnt the bottoms of your feet!





While we were sitting I checked Trip Advisor for a good restaurant close to where we were and found Vida Hermosa, which is rated highly in Playa Hermosa and happened to be about 50 m from where our cars were parked, so we walked up the road and along the highway in front of the couple of store fronts and went into the restaurant.

















Jay asked for a picture of this truck, not sure why!



When we got back to the house Jay and Trev had a nap while I went in the pool with the girls.  We played in the pool with the football then I floated and read my book for a bit.  Jill and Ava decided to go back into Jaco and do some shopping and were gone for 3 hours or more.  We had a
"muffin cup" dinner, which is what I used to feed the kids when they were little, essentially a muffin tin with something different in each muffin cup - a little bit of A a little bit of B as Trevor would say.  We had cheese and crackers, veggies, hummus and dip, Ava made guacamole, I made pico de gallo, Jill and Ava had picked up a Tuna Tower from Tsunami Sushi when they were in town and added it to the mix - we needed to get rid of some of our groceries and this was the perfect way to do it!

After dinner Ava and Jill went in the pool.  Jay, Trev the girls and I played half a game of 5 Crowns then called it quits just before 7:30pm and went to bed...pretty much par for the course.

Another beautiful day in Costa Rica!

South Beach Hotel - Day 4

7am is the magic number this trip, its when we all start rolling out of our rooms to congregate in the kitchen.  As I walked out this morning Trev was coming in from a run, he went a little earlier than Jay did yesterday but it was still HOT.

Yesterday we followed up with Jaime about the Beach Passes to a local hotel that she had offered us as an incentive to book here, its $20 per person and includes all the facilities at the hotel and lunch.  We thought that it would be passes and we could go anytime, but she called and made a reservation for us for today - so that's what we're doing.

I had all of one note for today's blog - we were chatting around the table this morning and talking about the upcoming St Patrick's Day concert at Second Wedge, a Brewery in Uxbridge.  We went last year to watch the band and had a tonne of fun.  Trev said "Is that this weekend?  Know anyone who needs a ticket? I have an extra" when he was reminded that he had already told Ava she could use the extra ticket - he has no recollection of that as it happened on Day 2, which he has very little recollection of at all.

The guys and Jill did a workout at 9am and after their workout Sophie said that at camp she and Paige had done plank for 10 minutes - Trev said he thought that was BS, so they showed him!

They did pretty good planks for the most part, they rotated between front and side planks and held it for over 10 minutes.

After workout and showers it was 10:30am and we were off to the hotel.  We tend to get organized and on our way around 10-10:30am every day, which is fine by me because it gives me a chance to write up the blog for the day before.







When we arrived I went into the Reception and they didn't have our reservation, which Jai said "Is so Costa Rican" so she called the front desk and then he gave us all wrist bands, directions to the bathrooms and sent us on our way.

Jay and Trev took the following pictures of this Toyota for Doug (Wood).















We headed past the restaurant, past the pool, past the bar and straight to the beach - set up 4 chairs in the shade and went into the water.





The waves were HUGE today on Jaco beach.  Jay and Trev got totally tumbled in the waves, as Paige said "Uncle Trevor was always in the wrong place at the wrong time!".

There is dark, sticky sand in every possible place in every person who went in the water!



When we got in from the beach Jay, Trev, the girls and I went to the restaurant and had lunch.  You had the option of rice with chicken or meat (beef or pork) or chicken or meat casados.  We all went for the casados, which is fried plantain, rice, beans, chicken and a small salad, it was good - the girls had chicken nuggets and fries.

While we were waiting for our free lunch of limited choice Jay commented that we would save a lot of money if we always traveled like this - but not in a good way, he's not super impressed with this trip I don't think.  I'm glad we've seen another part of CR, but we do love Flamingo and the places we've stayed there.  If this house had a decent kitchen and AC throughout, instead of just in the bedrooms, I think it would be much better.  It doesn't have as nice a view as Flamingo, but there is a nice view across the valley.  Anyway, I suggested maybe we go out for dinner tonight and found a restaurant in Jaco Walk that looked like it would be good for everyone with some good fish and meat options.



After lunch we went back to the beach while Jill and Ava went to the restaurant and had lunch.  They were able to sub out the chicken or meat with a fried egg.



It started to get REALLY HOT, it was about 1pm and we were losing the shade, so we decided to head home to enjoy the afternoon in the pool.  Trev came with us and Jill and Ava opted to stay a while at the hotel and sit by the pool there.  I'd say they stayed another 45 mins to an hour before they were back at the house with us.

Jakarta was sniffing around the drinks at the side of the pool so Jay got a pool noodle and chased him off.  lol.





















See, the view is pretty just not as spectacular as we're used to.







At 5pm we could make reservations for dinner, so we called and made a reservation for 6:30pm and then after much back and forth decided that no one could drive and we should take a taxi to dinner so Trev called Jessi, someone who Jai had recommended, and arranged for him to pick us up at 6:15pm.  Trev wasn't sure if all of that wasn't lost in translation so he messaged Jai and asked her to give directions to Jessi and she messaged back to say no problem he would be here at 6:15pm.

He arrived on the dot and we piled into his truck.  The trip was ridiculously cheap, about 3,000 Colones or $6 approx.











The girls wanted to go and try these little cars you can rent for 15 minutes and drive around the outdoor mall, so I told them if they got all the details I would pay - which meant they had to go out, ask the guy how much it was, etc.  They went out several times but said that there was no one there and so I went back out with them and asked the guy, in Spanish, how much it cost and he told me, in English.  lol.  Then he asked how old they were and I said, in Spanish, they're 10 years old (using my had to gesture to them) and he said, in English, they're too big, they have to be 7 so I said, in Spanish "tienes siete anos" (using the same gesture again), he laughed but said they couldn't do it.

Dinner was delicious!  Jill and Ava started with a tuna tower.



Trev had lobster corn dogs.



Jay and I shared a shaved beef crostini, cajun fries and sweet and spicy edamame with the girls.  The edamame were SO spicy.  I also had 2 glasses of amazing sangria, there was vanilla and cinnamon in it.







For dinner I had a cocoa and coffee rubbed tenderloin and had blackened shrimp added - it was SO good!  I forgot to take a photo when it was well presented, sorry!  Jay, Jill and Ava all had the tuna, which was amazing also and Trev I can't remember, he maybe had the same as me.



Jill went to the washroom and came back with a photo of this block and the instructions on its use from the door.  Its a squatty potty, and apparently is great for getting your body in the right position to poop!





We called Jessi again and asked him to pick us up at 8:15pm and headed back home.  On the car ride back Ava said "Now I see why you guy go to bed so early, I'm so tired!".  We all went to bed, except Jill and Trev who stayed up to play a game of cards.