Parting shots from Carillo

Today, Friday 6/5, we are leaving Carillo on the pacific coast and heading to Lake Arenal in the north central area of Costa Rica. We have rented a small house overlooking Lake Arenal. We will be staying there one week before heading back home to the states. We have decided to cut our trip short by two weeks to allow us to do other things before heading to Kansas for our grandsons wedding in July. A few last shots from Carillo!

Playa Carillo

Monday morning we left Tamarindo and headed to our last Pacific coast stop at Playa Carillo. It is about a 2 hour drive south of Tamindo. We went to the beach late afternoon and found ourselves being the only people on the beach. Wow! It is by far the prettiest beach we have seen yet. In addition it is very quiet with no restaurants or bars nearby. Ron really enjoyed body surfing the waves!

We are staying at Hotel Leyenda which is bordered by many palm trees and rich flora with beautiful panoramic views. We will explore this area till Friday before heading back towards cooler weather in central CR. 

Playa Tamarindo

Friday, May 29th we arrived at Tamarindo. As we drove into town Ron & I were reminded of our old college party days. Tamarindo is famous for its surfing and party tourist destination. So... you might ask why did we come here???? Well we had a great opportunity to meet up with the writer for International Living. If you are not familiar with International Living, it is a magazine geared towards people thinking of living outside the United States. In addition they offer conferences in different countries on living internationally with speakers from various countries with expertise in moving, legal matters, realty,  healthcare, language and tons more. Ron & I attended such a conference a few years ago in Quito, Ecuador and then explored other areas of Ecuador while there. We highly recommend attending their meetings if you have not traveled a lot abroad or have an interest in relocating.

We have been emailing Jason prior to leaving the US about our travel plans and our hopes of meeting him along the way. He has been living in CR since 2008  and currently lives with his wife and two children in Tamarindo. He covers Costa Rica for International Living and as a result has rented homes in many different areas of the country. We so enjoyed meeting with him! Jason gave us a lot of good advice and feedback on our thinking.

While here we have taken pleasure in swimming in the Pacific and have enjoyed our stay at Arco Iris, an off the beaten path hotel. (one of Jason's recommendations) We rented a wonderful cabin and have dined in their well known Seasons by Schlomy restaurant. Tonight our last night here we will search out a wood fire oven cooked Pizza!

Arco Iris in Tamarindo

Pool at our condo at Playa Potrero

Sunset at Playa Potrero

Art wall outside of Tamarindo 

Visitor at pool in Arco Iris

Meeting with Jason

Nogui's Restaurant in Tamarindo

Playa Tamarindo

Playa Conchal, Morning Walks Outside our Condo, Ron's New Buddy

Yesterday morning after Ron made us a hearty delicious breakfast we took a ride over to Playa Conchal. Playa Conchal is a very isolated beach with virtually no waves, no strong undertow and beautiful water. This is truly a spectacular spot to swim. It takes a bit of creative driving to get to it but it is worth it!

Scrambled eggs w/cheese, roasted veges & red skin potatoes, avocado. YUM!

Horseback riding on Playa Conchal

Interesting drive to Playa Conchal

Super tall cactus all over the Pacific

Playa Conchal

These guys are everywhere

This morning we took a long walk along the beach. There are hardly any people on Playa Potrero since it is mostly privately owned condos & homes.

Nobody wanted to face the camera 

Poro tree, definitely got to have one at our next house 

Two pit bulls loving the ocean

Beautiful private home on Potrero beach

Interesting shell

Ron's new buddy

We have named her Maya