Saying farewell to the beautiful beaches of Costa Rica was not easy. The landscape on the coast of this country is difficult to describe.  Comparing it with the fantastic images the imagination immediately conjures up just does not seem to do it justice.

Culturally, Costa Rica is somewhere between Mexico and California. Our Spanish routine slipped completely out of sight as just about everyone speaks excellent English. We took advantage of this surprising break from the Central American norm by trekking further off the beaten path than we have in any other country.

Tamarindo is a clear leader as a tourist destination but still maintains a high level of genuine surfer vibe. If you can get over the existence of a few high rise condominiums, there is a lot of charm and excellent surf breaks to be found. This is probably one of the best towns to set up camp for an extended time. As we discovered, you can spend two weeks here and still not see everything. Thanks to our wedding, we know we will be back.

Playa Hermosa had outstanding surf, too big for Logan and his board but lovely to watch at sunset. This was another beach town where we were thankful to have an AC unit in the camper. After meeting up with SprinterLife we got some excellent recommendations for Uvita and Pavones. We found ourselves awestruck and lingering at Hotel Tucan in Uvita. Each morning was sunny and gorgeous and when the rain hit mid-afternoon we retired to the common area for coffee, writing, and music. Uvita was the end of easy access beaches and we found Pavones at the end of a 2.5 hour pot-hole journey. The seclusion and remoteness give this beach a chilled out vibe that can’t be beat. The one cantina in town is positioned perfectly to view the second longest surf break in the world. There is something clean and untouched about Pavones and leads one to hope the road conditions never change, keeping it protected and serene.

There is an infrastructure built for travelers here. Because of their laws regarding real estate and citizenship, there is a thriving expat community which creates an entirely different atmosphere from the surrounding countries. This benefit comes with a downside though, one zip lining tour here costs the same as two full days of adventuring on the coast of Nicaragua. Despite the cost, we often found ourselves puzzling over the logistics of a full timer life in Costa Rica.