We arrived in Samara on December 22nd, after an hours drive from Playa Pelada. It is further south on the Guanacaste coast about 35km away. It is a much more bustling town  with a mix of locals and expats. There are the typical souvenir shops and restaurants geared towards the tourists but they are intermingled with the local hardware store, neighbourhood “sodas” and surf shops. The commercial centre has about a 3 block radius and butts up to the beach. And the beach is spectacular, about 2km long and is great for swimming. The waves pick up in the evening and then the surfers come out.

Our AirBnb is called Case Amarilla and it is located on the edge of town. It has been recently taken over by a lovely woman named Kate who moved here from Montana 7 years ago to get her massage ticket and never left. Our apartment in on the second floor overlooking the pool, it is very comfortable and the 2 hammocks on the patio are our regular hangout place for our afternoon siestas. Nick and I have spent our days hiking in mornings, followed by swimming until the sun gets too hot and back home for lunch and hanging poolside in the afternoons. We have found secret beaches and walked under many trees filled with monkeys and all kinds of exotic birds.

The girls are having a very different holiday. The hiking does not interest them in the least and besides, we have already walked for a few hours by the time they wake up. Their days are spent in the shade, a little beach time in the evenings and occasional shopping excursions. I do think that bringing a friend with them would have been a good idea; more fun and more likely to go out and explore the area together. As it stands, it is lovely to spend all this time with them but I think they would be happy to be back home and hanging out with their friends.

Christmas Eve and day were quite uneventful. It was so nice and relaxing, no hustle and bustle, no cooking up a feast; just a chicken curry for dinner and volleyball on the beach. We played spike ball on Christmas Day with a family from Vancouver staying downstairs. Have you heard of this game? It’s played with a small soft ball and you have to hit it to your teammate who then has to hit it down onto a small mini trampoline and the opposing team has to take it from there and do the same. The idea is for the ball to not touch the ground. A point is scored when the ball is dropped. Super fun!

Last night we went for dinner at Gusto’s on the Beach. It is this really beautiful restaurant that is decorated in all whitewashed wood and has comfy couches and cushions everywhere. The menu is primarily Italian and we had a couple pizzas, a superb salad with tuna and Gigi stuck to pasta. We shared a little with the dogs mooching around the tables and it was entertaining to watch them work their racket in the room.

We are staying here for another 2 nights and then we move just one beach south to Puerto Carrillo where we are staying in a house up in the hills a little. It is only 7km down the road but it is much, much quieter there. Only a few shops and a giant beautiful beach. We have bicycles that come with the rental and I am looking forward to exploring the area that way.