Pura Vida in Tamarindo

Ahhhh, Tamarindo.  The beaches, the scenery, the atmosphere ... there is not much to dislike about this quaint surfer town.  It even rolls off the tongue nicely...Tamarindo.

The town is just that: a surfer's mecca.  We chose to except relax, walk along the beach and try a surf lesson with a local.  In fact, Tamarindo is home to surf legend, Robert August, who claimed this town as home after filming the epic surf movie, Endless Summer.  He has a surf camp, shop and restaurant here.  We happened to walk over to his restaurant for dinner on the night of his birthday extravaganza.

Our view from our room at the Tamarindo Diria Hotel -- Morning

Morning....

Evening....

Along with the surf, we managed to find a little more adventure along the way.  The Pinilla Canopy tour just out of town provided some exciting thrills.  We saw monkeys, iguanas and snakes here.

Again, it was the friendly people of CR that made our trip so enjoyable.  Here are two of the guides from our canopy tour.  Pura Vida! 

Hello, Mr. Iguana

There were families of monkeys in the trees near the canopy tour

The Costa Rican national football team checked in shortly after our arrival.  There was a swarm of fans taking photos when they check in.  But the team settled in and worked hard and played hard while they were here.

Daily, they headed out to the beach after breakfast for drills and sprints and playing games against each other.

At night, things would wind down and we'd walk the streets to choose a restaurant for dinner.   When it got dark, the rains would come down hard.  But we would wake up the next morning to perfection once again.

All the restaurant in the town have a patio that faces the beach so our nightly dining also included a spectacular show.   Like clockwork, people would emerge from their hotel rooms or restaurants to stop and enjoy the sunset.

 And everyday we tried surfing.

I have complete respect for those surfers who have mastered the sport.  It takes balance, strength and perseverence to learn to stand upright and ride the waves.  And it's addicting, for sure.  The best thing about surfing here is the waves kept coming and the water stayed warm.  "Just one more time," I'd say...

Each day I got a little better.

Three days here just wasn't enough.

The morning of our departure we had one last stroll on the beach. Our international flight left out of the larger airport in Liberia, 90 minutes away,  so we had one last drive through the jungle.  I kept trying to take pictures of the scenery from our taxi because I wanted to take it all in...

Costa Rica is a magical place.  It truly is Pura Vida, the pure life.  We loved every minute here and promise to return.  Thank you for the memories Tamarindo.  Hasta Luego!