We are now in Monteverde after 7 days and nights in Samara. Samara is a laid back beachside town with quite a backpacker vibe. We took a bit of time to settle in and get used to our new hotel after we were so spoilt at the Conchal Hotel. After out boat tour on the way here our time has been spent doing not to much; swimming, body boarding each day on some awesome waves, walking down the beach and back to the town and then exploring the different restaurant options each night. One of the highlights was also our tour out to Ostinal to watch day two of a turtle arribada which I will write up seperately.
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On Friday July 14th we hired a car to get to Samara and took the chance to drive Palo Verde National Park to go on a boat tour instead of doing it via a planned tour from our hotel. It was an adventurous drive through dirt roads but worth it. I think because we came independently to a tour they wanted to keep us seperate and we were lucky enough to get a boat and guide to ourselves. We were lucky and saw:
Long nosed bats Crocodiles including a month old baby Snake Howler Monkeys White Faced Monkeys Huge Crickets Iguanas We have really loved our time in Conchal and Brasilito. The two days we spent on Playa Conchal are unforgettable as it is one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever swum at. I think NZ has beaches just as stunning but I can enjoy them more here as it's so warm. Everyone has gone well over the four swim count each of our last two days here. Read more below...
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"First we walked to Conchal beach then we walked to the middle of the beach and had a swim. After that we walked down to the end of the beach and built stuff out of sand. Then we walked back and had another swim and then snorkelled and we saw fish" for more story behind the other pictures click read more below. Swim count for day three hit 4! It is only day four in Costa Rica now but it feels like we have slotted into beach life and being on holiday well in that unless I look it up, I don't know the date, day of the week or how many nights we have been here. It is warm, the pool is warm and the sea is warm. I am happily swimming as many times as the girls but not for so long. They swim for 2+ hours straight.... continued below
Day 3 swim count = 2. Yes! We are here. After our night and day in Houston, a night near the airport in Liberia we have transferred out to Playa Hermosa where we get to hang out for the next 5 days.
Day One - Swim count = 1. Big tick for the first swim. It was 31 degrees and the first thing we did once we checked in at our airport hotel was all jump in the pool. It is HOT! My perfect swimming weather especially as it's too hot to do much else especially for 6 year olds who have already said the one thing they don't want to do on holiday is walk anywhere. I knew we'd only post pictures of the good stuff though.
Woah, somehow we are here checked in and ready to start our first leg. It is only just feeling real right now which is super exciting. A huge thank you to all the help from Mum in the final rush this morning, all the last play dates which meant the girls were entertained and to our house sitters who are looking after our home for us. Bags are on the way to the plane soon we will be!
We now have a travel plan for 105 days. We have kept the later half a bit more flexible so we can see how things go and change it as we get closer to that time. So if you want to know what the start of our plan looks like:
Planning TipsThe first thing we had to do was read lots of books. Lonely Planet, Fodor's, The Rough Guide and Auckland Public Libraries were invaluable. From there we started pulling together a travel path and rough outline. Then it was on to booking.com and actually making some bookings for where we would be heading. Booking.com was great as we could make bookings with easy cancellations.
That meant we could change our length of time places really easily as we made changes based on what we wanted to do in each place. |