{Costa Rica 2011} - Day 8 - Montezuma

Our last full day in Montezuma started out splendidly with yoga in the open air pavilion with the sounds of the ocean outside. It was a great class, but not all that different than what I was used to in terms of the things that we did. I did notice I was breathing harder and sweating more than usual, though. The sweating I got because it was very humid out there but the breathing confused me. It's not like we were at a higher altitude or anything. Perhaps it was due to being away from yoga for almost two weeks at that point. :) Anyway, it was great class and it was packed! Nice to see so many people getting up for yoga in this sleepy town.

After yoga I cooled my toes in the pool for a bit and then headed to the room to get ready to head to Santa Teresa, a beach 30 minutes or so away. The only thing wrong with this pool is that there are power lines in your view of the ocean but I won't complain. Ocean to the front, yoga pavilion to the back, and monkeys in trees throwing mangoes on the ground in between.

Marie Claire had told us that Santa Teresa was a lovely beach and more suited for actually getting in the water so we headed there for another day of relaxation. This town is also packed full of surfers but the beaches were a bit less intense. The water was still pretty rough when we got there but again I was hypnotized by waves.

We had situated ourselves on a nice part of the beach where the waves came crashing hard on the rocks off shore. Further down the beach there were more people in the water, mostly surfers, and it looked like it would have probably been okay to swim as long as you knew how to get out of rip tides (swim to the left or right, FYI). I'm too much of a chicken-shit and was afraid I'd drown so I just relaxed and watched the surfers.

You can see from the picture below that it was pretty windy and the surfers were hitting the waves.

Lucy was hanging onto her dress to keep it from blowing all over the place. I thought it was a cute mother/daughter picture, myself!

There's just something about relaxing on the beach with a book and listening to the waves that sucks all the stress right out of you. In Tony's case, it puts him right to sleep.

I was worried about having such a low key trip to a place so far away. I figured his sister would get bored or someone would want more to do, but as it turns out we all loved it. It was nice to just relax and let the tide dictate your schedule. Or the monkeys. The monkeys did their best to keep us from getting too relaxed. There were a couple of howler monkeys in the trees behind us that were drawing a crowd. They were LOUD. I know howler monkeys aren't that big but damn are they loud and they sound ANGRY. After a while I got used to it and was able to zone out staring at the water some more.

Once the tide went down our rocks were exposed and it turns out it was a cool little tide pool. Lucy and I went on a shell hunting mission and found some very colorful shell bits. I just wish we could have found something more substantial but with all the rocks at the shore there's no way a shell could survive crashing into that with the waves. In the tide pool we found a few whole shells and millions of tiny snails stuck to the rocks. It was fun walking around on the rocks looking in nooks and crannies for hidden treasure all the while hoping you don't slip on a rock and crack your head open. :)

We had hoped for a sunset but, like almost everywhere else we went, we were in the wrong place at the wrong time. I really need to visit in December when the position of the sun is perfect and it produces brilliant sunsets...or so I've heard.

By the time we left I had a bag full of shell bits and rocks and was incredibly relaxed. I wish I could sit and just stare at something for a few hours in Iowa and not get bored but instead feel refreshed and happy. But no, I get distracted and want to "do" something. Maybe I need to rethink what I need in order to be entertained. In Montezuma and Santa Teresa all it took was waves, a blanket, and a breeze and I was content.

Oooh, deep thoughts. Anyway.

We headed back to Montezuma and got cleaned up for dinner. This time we decided to try a place called Puggo's. It's owned by Israeli's and is known for it's fresh focaccia bread and lemon mint slushies. And, of course, it has a kitty.:) When we got there we sat at a table and immediately I was bitten by a HUGE fire ant. Lucky us, we had sat down in a table where a parade of ants was crossing the restaurant. After it rains they move to higher ground and the shortest path was apparently right through this outdoor dining room. It hurt like hell. The poor waitress kept getting bit every time she'd go out to wait tables. We had moved tables out of the path of ants but it was like a game watching people sit down and waiting to see how long before they got up and moved. That ant bite itched for a week after I got back to Iowa and I still have a spot where it bit me! Little bastard.

I'm glad we stuck around though because the food was delicious. The focaccia bread was served with pesto and was piping hot out of the oven. The hummus was wonderful and you got a huge bowl of it with your order and more focaccia bread for dipping. Oh and the lemon mint slushies were super refreshing. I've since made those at home and plan on adding vodka, of course. :)

One thing to note is that most places in Montezuma only take cash. I'm the cashless wonder so this could have been an issue, but we made it work. El Sano Banano is not only one of the only places to have wifi but they also are one of the few to take credit cards. So, if you visit, have cash (colones or dollars).

Once again, after dinner we fell into a deep Montezuma sleep by 9pm. Another successful day! The next day we planned on visiting Marie Claire at the weekly market in the park so I could buy that necklace and then we had to head back to the "airport" in Tambor.