After a rich breakfast in Selina we went off to Tamarindo, another famous beach in Costa Rica.
On our way there we discovered a huge pineapple plantation, another gorgeous beach and a restaurant where we had the best fish ever – La Ostra, located right on the side of the road.
As a result to all these pit stops we made it to Tamarindo pretty late at night, and encountered some pouring rain and an electricity blackout in the whole region. Pretty of bad news for a fresh welcome, right? Anyways, I grabbed my hand luggage in one hand and the flashlight in the other and made my way through inside our Selina Hotel accommodation. I wasn’t however very keen on carrying all my luggage inside, given the complete darkness and the unappealing mud we were walking in, so I postponed this trip for later on.
Photos by Rares Pulbere
In the meanwhile the electricity switched back on, the rain crumbled and so I decided to go get all my suitcases from the car that was parked in front of the hotel. But when we got to the car… Guess What? The window was broken and both suitcases were gone. GONE! With this being said, my big Costa Rica adventure had begun. Now the question was, how was I going to survive 7 days in a new and wild place with only the clothes I had on at hand and nothing more?!
Fortunately – and I really do feel fortunate for this – I still had my ID, credit cards and equipment on me, so I think it was a true blessing that I wasn’t left without an ID in a foreign country after all. I was feeling really disappointed and sad while going through all my missing stuff in my head, trying to check on all the things I had lost, but at the same time thanking God I was left with the more important things.
Shopping was not on my To Do list, but given the circumstances, I found myself looking for open shops in the search for new clothes to change into. I finally found some black shorts (which you will hence see in most of my pics), 2 T-shirts, a swimsuit and a towel. The essentials for a week at the beach. Enough to feel fresh and lay on the beach all day long. All the fancy shootings I had in mind vanished the second I lost my suitcases, so I decided I would stick to photograph only the places I was about to visit. As makeup, I only bought a soap and some cleansing pads (nobody on the island knew what miscelar lotion even was), a sunblock cream and a lipgloss. With a touch of sunglasses and a hat I managed to even look nice and cool.
Bottom line, Tamarindo is wonderful, and Selina is such a ‘hipstery’ places that reminds me dearly of the first location we stayed in, Venao.
The three days we spent here were so much more peaceful and relaxed – except the half day of shopping, we just hiked and discovered some savage beaches and amazing places around. One of my favourite memories will be, however, the breakfast on the sand at Nogui’s. That will definitely be top of the line in my Do It Again list.
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Our location was perfect for surfers and people seeking a nice vacation to lay back and relax. There are all kind of accommodation packages in Selina, including training camps and diverse classes. I’m tempted to send my son to camp there, or we could even go together if I think about it twice.
So after our three days of sunrays and chill time we wanted to change the scenery and headed towards the volcanos – not before I was inspired enough to get some boots and a new shirt for our next adventure. First stop: Rio Celeste.
Because this one trip was not in our plans, we didn’t have any accommodation booked, so on our way there we found the Celeste Hideaway Hotel; a beautiful green oasis with rooms hidden between plants and balconies facing a botanical garden that made you want to stay there for weeks. Unfortunately for us it was just one night, but so worth it! The first wonder we came across was an imposing waterfall overflowing into a crystal clear river – a vision worthy of a postcard, which I would so want to repeat in the future.
When we hit the road again, we still couldn’t get rid of the pouring rain that had accompanied us throughout almost the whole trip (don’t forget that the best time to visit Costa Rica is November-April).
Our next destination was Catarata Toro Amarillo, for which we had to surpass mountains and steep valleys for about two hours to get to our mini hotel, Villas Escondidas. Reason for which we even run out of gas, by the way. Thank God for a nice senor who was kind enough to sell us a couple of liters. As I told you, this vacation was anything but monotone.
So our last night approached and we headed to San Jose, where we did some last minute shopping to buy things we needed on the plane; and then straight home where we packed our things at 4 am and got ready for my 4 flights towards home. But the rest of the trip wasn’t that adventurous anymore, except for the big delay in Atlanta and hence almost missing the plane in New York – which is my favourite city in the world and despite my exhaustion I could still feel the positive vibes coming from this place.
Well, one thing is for sure: I came back home determined to change something about my life, and this is what I did. However, I will tell you more about it in another post. Until then, Costa Rica still remains on my wishlist, because there is so much more to see and discover about that country, and I see myself having some big future plans related to Costa Rica.
So, guys… Collect memories!!!
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